June 26, 2023

With the 17 Open division ending Sunday at AAUs, it meant the conclusion of the season for some of the athletes participating. For others, we’ll see them real soon in Chicago for the USAV national championships. Below, we highlight standout players with our Show Stoppers.   DAY 4 SHOW STOPPERS Juleigh Urbina S OT 17 Felix: Urbina – a 4-star Georgetown recruit – helped OT reach the gold bracket, falling to Far Out. Urbina has nice hands and mixes her sets around well to get her hitters involved. Caylan Russ L/DS OT 17 Felix: A 3-star Florida State commit, Russ is a super-quick libero who closes space in a hurry. She’s also a strong passer and defender and plays with lots of fire and passion. A’siya Magazine RS OT 17 Felix: A UNC-Wilmington commit, Magazine is a high-flying right side who can bash the ball down with authority. She gets utilized across the front by getting set in different spots, including out of the middle, to keep defenses guessing. Isabelle Swiercz RS Far Out 17 Black: Swiercz, a Central Michigan recruit, was coming with it on the right side. She’s a lanky attacker with a fluid swing and Far Out likes to get her the ball. She does well tooling blocks and scoring down the line. Kendall Hopewell MB Far Out 17 Black: A Northern Kentucky commit, Hopewell is a feisty middle who does well blocking and scoring in her role. She can get up and put balls down, as well as turn around and provide stuff blocks for points. Madison Evett OH Academy 17 Tsunami: Evett is a lanky outside with a loose arm and ability to let it fly when she connects. She was taking aggressive swings and nailing balls through gaps. Leah Richmond S Academy 17 Tsunami: A 3-star Western Michigan commit, Richmond is a bit undersized but she’s an athletic setter who gets her feet to the ball and sets with consistent accuracy. Alaleh Tolliver OH Academy 17 Tsunami: Tolliver – a 3-star Butler commit – is the big arm that powers the attack. When Academy needs a point it is Tolliver they are looking for. She’s an easy jumper with an easy swing and can crush balls. Hadley Burger RS Northern Lights 17-1: Burger is an undersized lefty right side but she’s fearless. She also has a whip for an arm and can blast balls that you might not expect her to be able to. Luca Bredenberg L/DS Northern Lights 17-1: A Lipscomb commit, Bredenburg was among the standout liberos. She patrols the back row like a predator on the hunt, not letting balls drop and defending with a passion. She’s also someone servers like to keep the ball away from, as she doesn’t get challenged a lot. *** Reese Ptacek MB Northern Lights 17-1: Ptacek – a 3-star Kanas commit – is an impactful middle on both sides of the ball. She times her blocks well and gets a lot of touches on shots. On the other side, she’s a smart hitter who can boom balls down or tip to open spots. Lucy Mott L/DS @legacyvolleyballclub 17-1 Adidas: Mott – a 3-star Boston College commit – is a steady setter who locates well and mixes the ball around. Samantha Bowron OH Top Select 17 Elite: Bowron, a Coastal Carolina commit, plays a valuable offensive role with her scoring. She’s a strong attacker, able to send the ball off blocks or cross court with pace. Kamyla Vega David S Top Select 17 Elite: Vega David is quick on her feet. She sets a clean, consistent ball and does well going behind her. Dionna Mitchell OH Top Select 17 Elite: Mitchell carries a big arm and she can tee off with it. She’s the type of hitter when she connects you can feel it. Kaylee Musick S Mintonette Sports m.71: Musick – a 3-star FIU commit – helped Mintonette reach the gold bracket by was stopped in the opening round by A5. Musick is a taller setter with smooth hands and spot-on location. Linnea Nesheim OH Kairos 17 Alpha: Nesheim is an undersized outside who doesn’t back down no matter the challenge. She’s a free swinger who knows how to score against and frustrated bigger blocks. Izabela Molina MB Miami Hype 17 Emilio: Molina is a force in the middle. She brings strength and physicality to the position. She has a powerful arm and Miami Hype likes getting her the ball as much as possible. Kelsey Niesen L/DS Tri-State Elite 17 Blue: Niesen plays with lots of energy and goes all out in efforts of making saves and digs to keep her team in the rally. Maria Drapp S Tri-State Elite 17 Blue: We’ve featured Drapp a couple times already and for good reason. She runs a smooth offense and knows how to get all her hitters involved. *** Taylor Bedinghaus OH OT 17 Aaron: Bedinghaus is a six-rotation mainstay. She plays solid defense and is a smart attacker who places her shots well. Olivia Hart OH OT 17 Aaron: Hart can send down highlight kills with the way she elevates and swings. She gets up and unleashes, leading to monster kills at times. Bella Lee L/DS OT 17 Aaron: Lee – a 3-star Florida commit – brings a defensive edge to the lineup. She’s vocal in the back row and is a sharp passer who covers ground well.

Twelve teams woke up with hopes and aspirations of winding up on the podium as the 17 Open division fought its way to its conclusion Sunday at the AAU Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando. vballrecruiter.com was on hand taking notes and we selected our last All Red Hat Team for this wave. The goal is to highlight a daily team consisting of two players from each position – outside, middle, right side, setter and libero who – were our absolute favorite players of the day. Favorite doesn’t mean only a 5-star recruit or a familiar name. These are players who stood out to us for a variety of reasons, from amazing play to great energy or attitude or making key hustle plays. These are daily all-stars who really stood out the most to us for one reason or another. DAY 4 ALL RED HAT TEAM Navea Gauthier OH Far Out 17 Black: Gauthier – a 5-star recruit from the Class of 2025 who spent the season playing up on the 18s – is a rock star on the outside. She’s a high-flying, hard-hitting slugger who takes swings from all over the court. She gets set on the left, the right, on combos, back row left, back row right. Defenses can never relax with her on the court. Hannah Benjamin OH A5 17 Jing: Benjamin – a 5-star Kentucky recruit – brings it on the outside. She has a powerful swing and can blast balls as hard as any hitter in the division. She doesn’t come off the court as she’s the go-to hitter and carries a big chunk of the attack. Logan Wiley MB A5 17 Jing: Wiley – a 4-star Georgia Tech commit – was virtually unstoppable on the attack. She’s wirey, high-flying hitter who bounces ball straight down at 12 feet on the regular. She’s quick and gets up fast, which makes her tough to block. Especially when she can get up high enough to go over blocks. Faith Young MB Tri-State Elite 17 Blue: We love Young, a 3-star Western Kentucky commit – and her play in the middle. She’s a workhorse and has a no-nonsense approach when it comes to competing and winning. She’s a fearless, heady attacker who can beat defenses with her power or her off-speed placement. She’s a vital part of the attack and she changes the offensive dynamic across the front row. Madison Loiselle RS OT 17 Aaron: Loiselle was holding down the right side. She’s a physical presence. She puts up a strong block and she crushes balls to the floor with her strength attacking. She plays a key role as she helps open up the attack by being a legit threat defenses must account for. Nayelis Cabello S/RS Top Select 17 Elite: Cabello – a 5-star Louisville commit – is the real deal and a huge reason for Top Select’s success. She’s a two-way star. She excels setting, as she moves and gets to the ball well. She can jump set well too, and she sets a clean, consistent ball that she locates accurately. She’s just as good on the attack. She jumps well, has a strong arm and rips winners corner to corner.   Abbigail Pickard S Far Out 17 Black: Pickard – a 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025 – is fun to watch run the show and do her thing. Far Out runs a more complex offense than most and it’s possible because of Pickard’s ability to dish the ball to different spots. Far Out runs a lot of combos and off-centered back row sets. It definitely keeps the defense on its toes. She’s also has great hands and connects well with all her hitters. Taylor Parks S OT 17 Aaron: Parks – a 4-star Florida commit – is another smooth operator at the setter position. She plays with so much poise, composure and confidence. She’s certainly a steadying presence. She’s also a terrific setter with great hands and silky delivery. She knows how to hold defenses too and not give all her sets away. Maggie Meister L Kairos 17 Alpha: Meister continues to impress and own the back row. Kairos is not a big team and must rely on its defensive play to hang in rallies. Meister is all over the court making plays. She’s a dime passer out of serve receive and doesn’t get flustered under pressure. Carley Piercefield L Far Out 17 Black: A Western Michigan commit, we love Piercefield’s play in the back row. She plays under total control and is seemingly always in the right spot to make the play in front of her. She’s another strong passer out of serve receive and she makes a few highlight saves each match.