June 30, 2024

It’s the best time of the year. That’s what happens when we’re all set and ready to go for USAV nationals. The 16s age group is set to go at it July 3-6 in Las Vegas so we won’t have to wait long to see how the conclusion of the 2024 club season plays out. Below, we check in on 16 Open. You can see how the teams stack up in our national rankings, see players to know, as well as check out our brief outlook plus our predictions for how it’ll go down. Number of Teams: 36 Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (34): 1. Mintonette Sports m.61 OH 2. TAV 16 Black TX 3. Arizona Storm 16 Thunder AZ 4. Boiler Jrs 16 Gold IN 5. Austin Skyline 16 Royal TX 6. Legacy 16-1 Adidas MI 7. SCVC 16 Roxy CA 8. Skyline 16 Royal TX 9. A5 16-1 Gabe GA 10. Madfrog 16 Green TX 11. Wave 16 Scott CA 12. Hou Skyline 16 Royal TX 13. 1st Alliance 16 Gold IL 14. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami KY 15. MN Select 16-1 MN 17. Elevation 16 Goller OH 18. Club V 16 Ren Reed UT 19. Pohaku 16-1 KS 20. Forza1 North 16 One CA 21. AZ Sky 16G AZ 22. HJV 16 Elite TX 23. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold NE 24. WPVC 16 Armour Black FL 25. Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal FL 26. OP2 16-1 Elite OK 27. MKE Sting 16 Gold WI 28. Metro 16 Travel DC 29. GP 16 Rox FL 30. Vision 16 Gold CA 32. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar CA 33. Coast 16-1 Luis CA 34. Academy 16 National CA 35. Co Jrs 16 Kaleena CO 36. Academy 16 Diamond NC Vital 16-1 MN (unranked) Jupiter Elite 16E FL (unranked)   5-Star Players to Know: Nadiya Johnson RS Metro 16 Travel (Baylor) Gigi Artiles OH Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal (Georgia) Brooke Harwood MB Arizona Storm 16 Thunder (UCLA) Nadi’ya Shelby RS Hou Skyline 16 Royal (Florida) Halle Thompson OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal (Wisconsin) Henley Anderson OH Austin Skyline 16 Royal (Texas) Riley Malloy OH Austin Skyline 16 Royal (USC) Genevieve Harris S Academy 16 Diamond (Texas) Elena Hoecke MB MN Select 16-1 (Minnesota) Kayla Nwabueze MB Legacy 16-1 Adidas Gabi Divita OH Legacy 16-1 Adidas (Nebraska) Ella Andrews MB Legacy 16-1 Adidas Emma Cugino L/DS Mintonette Sports m.61 (Texas) Ella Grimes L/DS Elevation 16 Goller Ella Florez S Pohaku 16-1 (Iowa State) Kinsley Young MB TAV 16 Black Danielle Whitmire S/RS TAV 16 Black (Penn State) Layla Austin OH TAV 16 Black Keoni Williams MB Skyline 16 Royal (Nebraska) Audrey Flanagan OH SCVC 16 Roxy (Wisconsin) Finley Krystkowiak OH Wave 16 Scott (Penn State) Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 16 Gold (2027)   4-Star Players to Know: Taylor Clarke RS Skyline 16 Royal (2025, Princeton) Millie Bauer MB MAVS KC 16-1 Kylie Buttars OH Club V 16 Ren Reed (BYU) Brooke Christoffersen RS Club V 16 Ren Reed Avery Poulton OH Club V 16 Ren Reed (Oregon) Ava Wilkerson MB Academy 16 Diamond Elle Vandeweghe MB Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar Bella Lopez RS Madfrog 16 Green Gabi Rodriguez L/DS Madfrog 16 Green (Texas AM) Henlee Moszkowicz L/DS Hou Skyline 16 Royal Lacy Tinnell MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal (Baylor) Jayden Robinson OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal (Nebraska) Blair Thiebaud S Hou Skyline 16 Royal (Louisville) Sara Bowcutt OH Arizona Storm 16 Thunder (Texas AM) Erin Clark L/DS Arizona Storm 16 Thunder (Alabama) Kendall Northern MB Elevation 16 Goller Sidney Sprada OH Elevation 16 Goller (Dayton) Sydney Geselbracht MB Elevation 16 Goller Makenna Crosson OH Vision 16 Gold Morgan Williams OH Metro 16 Travel Levariya Pinder MB Skyline 16 Royal Ryan Sadler OH A5 16-1 Gabe (Kansas) Sofia Guerrero-Wilson RS A5 16-1 Gabe Kalyssa Taggart S A5 16-1 Gabe Anna Flores S/RS TAV 16 Black (Cal) Julianna Hernandez L/DS TAV 16 Black (Baylor) Kylie Kleckner OH TAV 16 Black (Washington) Sarah Hickman RS HJV 16 Elite Lynney Tarnow MB 1st Alliance 16 Gold (Wisconsin) Natalie Surges OH 1st Alliance 16 Gold Eva Long S Legacy 16-1 Adidas (NC State) Meredith Martin L/DS Legacy 16-1 Adidas (Michigan) Ella Mottola S WPVC 16 Armour Black Cassidy Bruns L/DS MKE Sting 16 Gold Margaret Czajka MB MKE Sting 16 Gold Marlee Sivak OH MKE Sting 16 Gold Willow Weninger RS Pohaku 16-1 Mallory Matheny S Mintonette Sports m.61 (Indiana) Sara Snowbarger OH Mintonette Sports m.61 (Indiana) Layla Hoying OH Mintonette Sports m.61 (Ohio State) Abby Zimmerman RS SCVC 16 Roxy (Cal) Milly McGee S SCVC 16 Roxy (USC) Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 16 Gold (Indiana) Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 16 Gold Madison Miles OH Boiler Jrs 16 Gold (Illinois) Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 16 Gold (Kansas State) Lexi Shondell S Boiler Jrs 16 Gold Eva Swenson S/RS MN Select 16-1 Presley Thompson L/DS Wave 16 Scott (UCLA) Audrey Dyas MB NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Mia Gold OH Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Westley Matavao OH Forza1 North 16 One (2027)   Outlook A fun storyline to follow with this division is whether or not we’ll see a repeat from last year with how AAU and USAV nationals played out. Last summer, Mintonette defeated Skyline in the finals of AAUs before Skyline downed Mintonette in the gold medal match at USAV. With Mintonette beating Skyline in the final of AAUs recently for 16 Open, we are halfway to another repeat. While I think it’s too improbable to happen once more, it would be a great topic should it happen again. Moving on, I think the overall seedings were relatively strong. With it, there was one pool that really stood out to me and that was Pool 3. It contains three teams that I feel like could win the whole thing in Legacy, Boiler Jrs and Hou Skyline. That’s a deep pool. It also features MN Select, Club V and Metro. MN Select reached the semifinals at AAU and held two match points against eventual champion Mintonette.

It all comes down to this. USAV nationals are finally here! The 17s are scheduled to compete July 3-6 in Las Vegas. When it’s over, we’ll know the best team in the country and the club wearing the gold medal around its neck. Below, we check in on 17 Open. You can see how the teams stack up in our national rankings, see players to know, as well as check out our brief outlook plus our predictions for how it’ll go down. Number of Teams: 36 Vballrecruiter Nationally-Ranked Teams (35): 1. Hou Skyline 17 Royal TX 2. Arizona Storm 17 Thunder AZ 3. 1st Alliance 17 Gold IL 4. MKE Sting 17 Gold WI 5. TAV 17 Black TX 6. Skyline 17 Royal TX 7. OT 17 Aaron FL 8. Circle City 17 Purple IN 9. Nebraska One 17 Synergy NE 10. Surfside 17 Legends CA 11. Wave 17 Juliana CA 13. HJV 17 Elite TX 15. Mich Elite 17 Mizuno MI 16. MAVS KC 17-1 KS 17.  Co Jrs 17 Kevin CO 18. Legacy 17-1 Adidas MI 19. Coast 17-1 Rodrigo CA 20. Idaho Crush 17 Bower ID 21. Northern Lights 17-1 MN 23. Dynasty 17 Black KS 25. AZ Sky 17G AZ 26. Excel 17 National Red TX 27. Alamo 17 Premier TX 28. VCNebraska 17 Elite NE 29. Drive Nation 17 Red TX 32. OT 17 Felix FL 33. Triangle 17 Black NC 34. CUVC 17 Open NC 36. GP 17 Rox FL 37. Austin Skyline 17 Royal TX 38. AJV 17 Adidas TX 39. Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar CA 40. Club V 17 Ren Reed UT 41. AVA TX 17 Adidas TX 47. TAV 17 Haroun TX Norco 17 Black (unranked)   5-Star Players to Know: Addison Horner S/RS 1st Alliance 17 Gold (Wisconsin) Abby Vander Wal OH 1st Alliance 17 Gold (Texas) Logan Parks S/RS MAVS KC 17-1 (Stanford) Natalie Wardlow MB Nebraska One 17 Synergy (Wisconsin) Amina N’diaye OH OT 17 Felix (Miami) Kassidy O’Brien S Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Kentucky) Bailey Warren OH Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Wake Forest) Bayleigh Minor MB Hou Skyline 17 Royal Kaci Demaria OH Surfside 17 Legends Jordan Taylor MB HJV 17 Elite (Minnesota) Campbell Flynn S Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Nebraska) Addison Gaido RS Austin Skyline 17 Royal (Texas) Madison Quest OH MKE Sting 17 Gold (Wisconsin) Zoe Gillen-Malveaux MB Skyline 17 Royal (Duke) Reese Messer S Dynasty 17 Black (USC) Abigail Mullen RS Dynasty 17 Black (USC) Teraya Sigler OH Arizona Storm 17 Thunder (Nebraska) Megan Fitch OH Alamo 17 Premier (Texas AM) Taylor Harvey OH Club V 17 Ren Reed (Texas) Jaidyn Jager OH Coast 17-1 (Indiana) Layli Ostovar OH Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar (2026, USC)   4-Star Players to Know: Ariel Chime MB Coasty 17-1 (Vanderbilt) Gabby Nichols MB Triangle 17 Black (Penn State) Gabriela Pitcel MB MKE Sting 17 Gold (Illinois) Olivia Durst L/DS MKE Sting 17 Gold (Michigan State) Emma Koceja OH MKE Sting 17 Gold (Iona) Brookelyn Hatton L/DS MAVS KC 17-1 (Arizona) Anna Blamires RS Co Jrs 17 Kevin (BYU) Erika Sayer MB Co Jrs 17 Kevin (Stanford) Keri Leimbach L/DS Nebraska One 17 Synergy (Nebraska) Chichi Nnaji RS Skyline 17 Royal (Notre Dame) Taylor Cook S Skyline 17 Royal (Kansas) Naya Salfiti RS Skyline 17 Royal (Yale) Bella Ocampo OH Skyline 17 Royal (LMU) Sophia Thornburg OH Skyline 17 Royal (Notre Dame) Izzy Busignani OH Mich Elite 17 Mizuno (Cincinnati) Izzy Mogridge S OT 17 Aaron (Oregon) Elena Maynulet OH GP 17 Rox (Columbia) KK Green S/RS GP 17 Rox (Holy Cross) Tenesyn Frye S ID Crush 17 Bower (Houston) Callie Krueger L/DS Austin Skyline 17 Royal (Texas) Rebekah Pfefferkorn MB Hou Skyline 17 Royal (FIU) Taylor Porter RS Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Vanderbilt) Morgan Madison L/DS Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Baylor) Izzy Mahaffey L/DS Arizona Storm 17 Thunder (Long Beach State) Kenna Cogill MB Arizona Storm 17 Thunder (Oregon) Devyn Wiest OH Arizona Storm 17 Thunder (Utah) Kennedi Rogers OH AVA TX 17 Adidas (SMU) Hannah Beauford S Drive Nation 17 Red (Cal) Reese Jackson MB Drive Nation 17 Red Quinn Loper OH Wave 17 Juliana (USC) Sydney Bryant OH HJV 17 Elite (Vanderbilt) Aaliyah Smith OH HJV 17 Elite (Rice) Mesaiya Bettis OH Northern Lights 17-1 (Iowa State) Sarah Mendoza L/DS TAV 17 Black Shelby Burriss MB TAV 17 Black (Princeton) Alex Richter OH TAV 17 Black (Georgia) Sarah Pfiffner S TAV 17 Black (West Virginia) Madison Winkler L/DS TAV 17 Black Reese Dunkle MB Circle City 17 Purple (Stanford) Logan Bell OH Circle City 17 Purple (Oregon) Kalyssa Blackshear MB Surfside 17 Legends (Louisville) Aniya Warren L/DS 1st Alliance 17 Gold (Indiana) Maya Evens L/DS Wave 17 Juliana (Notre Dame) Brooklyn Hardy MB ID Crush 17 Bower (2026, BYU) Bellamie Beus OH ID Crush 17 Bower (2026, Kentucky) Elizabeth Bower L/DS ID Crush 17 Bower (2027) Malorie Boesiger S Nebraska One 17 Synergy (2027)   Outlook: Let’s begin with seedings. Fans can get wrapped up in overall seedings but what is far more important is how the pool overall measures up. Always better to get a lower overall seed and to end up in a more favorable pool than to receive a higher seed only to land in an overall harder pool. With that said, one thing that stood out was Co Jrs 17 Kevin receiving the No. 4 overall seed. Co Jrs is No. 17 in our Top 50 national rankings. Co Jrs is in Pool 4 with Circle City, Dynasty, Excel, AJV and Long Beach. Dynasty and AJV received at-large bids, so two of the three at-large teams are in the same pool which is a bit unusual given there are only three at-large teams (Drive Nation is the other). It’s impossible to make the pools perfectly even. I think Pool 1 – with Hou Skyline, TAV, Wave, Triangle, GP and Club V – is top heavy. There’s a clear gap between the top three teams in the pool and the remaining