July 1, 2024

As we near the end of the club season, the 14s division is part of the second wave at USAV nationals. The age group is scheduled to compete July 8-11 in Las Vegas. It’s typically the most unpredictable of the age groups because of the youth and inexperience and makes for an incredibly fun time. Below, we check in on 14 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. Madfrog 14 Green TX 2. HPSTL 14 Royal MO 3. Hou Skyline 14 Royal TX 4. A5 14 Helen GA 5. Alamo 14 Premier TX 6. TAV 14 Black TX 7. Tribe 14 Elite Cardinal FL 8. Dynasty 14 Black KS 9. Coast 14-1 Luis CA 10. Circle City 14 Purple IN 11. NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami KY 13. Legacy 14-1 Adidas MI 14. ARVC 14-1 Adidas NM 15. Elevation 14 Molly OH 16. AVC Cle 14 Red OH 17. MAVS KC 14-1 KS 18. Boss Cle 14-1 OH 20. Club Sand 14 Nina UT 21. Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar CA 22. OT 14 Laura FL 23. Skyline 14 Royal TX 24. Tstreet 14 Tara CA 25. AZ Sky 14G AZ 26. Vision 14 Gold CA 27. Arizona Storm 14 Thunder AZ 28. SG Elite 14 Rosh CA 29. Metro 14 Travel DC 30. Ozark Jrs 14 Elite AR 31. KC Power 14 Black KS 32. HJV 14 Elite TX 33. Premier Nebraska 14 Gold NE 34. Mintonette Sports m.41 OH 37. OP2 14-1 Elite OK 39. Absolute 14 Black CA 47. AJV 14 Adidas TX PVA 14 Elite KS (unranked)   5-Star Players to Know: Leilani Lamar OH OT 14 Laura Sarah Albers RS HPSTL 14 Royal Maya Ogbogu OH Madfrog 14 Green Sarah Floyd RS TAV 14 Black   4-Star Players to Know: Janneh Lee RS AJV 14 Adidas Molly Monday S/RS OT 14 Laura Izzie Penrose L/DS OT 14 Laura Milan Hendrickson OH Absolute 14 Black Gracie White MB Madfrog 14 Green Olivia Kitur OH Madfrog 14 Green Hayden Thomas MB Madfrog 14 Green Aleyna Bramschreiber S Madfrog 14 Green Lia Ray OH Tribe 14 Elite Cardinal Jaelyn Jordan S MAVS KC 14-1 Nora Goodenow MB MAVS KC 14-1 Carsyn Chitty L/DS Mintonette Sports m.41 Piper Coady OH Tstreet 14 Tara Bella Turcios L/DS Tstreet 14 Tara Sade Bello OH HJV 14 Elite McKenzie Andrews MB Legacy 14-1 Adidas Bethany Benjamin L/DS A5 14-1 Helen Caitlin Carrizales L/DS TAV 14 Black   Outlook: Madfrog and HPSTL have been the two most consistent teams all season and as expected they open as the top two seeds respectively. HPSTL defeated Madfrog back in January at the Tour of Texas. Madfrog returned the favor in the final of Triple crown in February. They have not faced off since. The question is will they square off in Vegas? And if so, will it be in the championship match or perhaps prior? And if not either one of them winning it all, then who? Dynasty is coming off its 14 Open gold medal at AAUs and could be the one to disrupt it all. As for the pools, Madfrog is in Pool 1 with NKYVC, Coast, MAVS, Ozark Jrs and AJV. NKYVC, Coast and MAVS have performed steady all season, so it’s going to be very difficult for Ozark Jrs or AJV to breakthrough. HPSTL is in Pool 2 with SG Elite, Legacy, AZ Sky, Mintonette and PVA. While SG Elite and Legacy should move on with HPSTL, the fourth spot is up for grabs between the final three teams. Dynasty is joined by Hou Skyline, Club Sand, ARVC, Tstreet and Absolute in Pool 3. Though Tstreet is the No. 5 team, I like Tstreet to advance with Dynasty and Hou Skyline, while the fourth spot is up in the air. Pool 4 is a challenging pool. It consists of A5, AVC Cle, OT Laura, HJV, Long Beach and Arizona Storm. A5 and AVC Cle should be safe so to speak, but the other two spots could go in any combination. Pool 5 is another interesting pool. Circle City has been consistent all season. Tribe, after a slow start, has been playing very well the second half of the season. Skyline, Elevation, Vision and Metro have been up-and-down at times, so who knows how that plays out? As for Pool 6, it’s Alamo, TAV, Boss Cle, KC Power, OP2 and Premier Nebraska. TAV and Alamo should finish 1-2 in some order, but again after that it’s a very tough call. Predictions: ROUND 1 POOL 1 (predicted finish) Madfrog 5-0 Coast 4-1 NKYVC 3-2 MAVS KC 2-3 AJV 1-4 Ozark Jrs 0-5 *** POOL 2 HPSTL 5-0 Legacy 4-1 SG Elite 3-2 AZ Sky 2-3 Mintonette 1-4 PVA 0-5 *** POOL 3 Dynasty 5-0 Hou Skyline 4-1 Tstreet 3-2 Club Sand 2-3 Absolute 1-4 ARVC 0-5 *** POOL 4 A5 5-0 AVC Cle 4-1 OT Laura 3-2 Long Beach 2-3 HJV 1-4 AZ Storm 0-5 *** POOL 5 Circle City 5-0 Elevation 3-2 Tribe 3-2 Skyline 3-2 Vision 1-4 Metro 0-5 *** POOL 6 TAV 5-0 Alamo 4-1 KC Power 2-3 Boss 2-3 Premier Nebraska 1-4 OP2 1-4 ***** ROUND 2 POOL 1 (predicted finish) Madfrog 2-0 Tstreet 1-1 KC Power 0-2 *** POOL 2 HPSTL 2-0 Tribe 1-1 OT Laura 0-2 *** POOL 3 Dynasty 2-0 NKYVC 1-1 Boss 0-2 *** POOL 4 A5 2-0 Skyline 1-1 SG Elite 0-2 *** POOL 5 Coast 2-0 Circle City 1-1 Long Beach 0-2 *** POOL 6 TAV 2-0 Legacy 1-1 Club Sand 0-2 *** POOL 7 Hou Skyline 2-0 Alamo 1-1 AZ Sky 0-2 *** POOL 8 AVC Cle 1-1 Elevation 1-1 MAVS KC 1-1 ***** CHALLENGE Madfrog d Tribe HPSTL d Tstreet Dynasty d Skyline A5 d NKYVC Coast d Legacy Circle City d TAV Hou Skyline d Elevation

Part of the second wave at USAV nationals is the 15s division. We’ve waited a long time to get to this point. After six plus months it’s time to decide a national champion. Below, we check in on 15 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. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder AZ 2. TAV 15 Black TX 3. Skyline 15 Royal TX 4. Tstreet 15 Asics CA 5. OT 15 Randy FL 6. Wave 15 Brennan CA 7. AZ Rev 15 Premier AZ 8. Hou Skyline 15 Royal TX 9. Club V 15 Ren Kalee UT 10. Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar CA 12. A5 15-1 Kelly GA 13. Legacy 15-1 Adidas MI 14. Excel National 15 Red TX 15. Madfrog 15 Green TX 17. VCNebraska 15 Elite NE 18. PVA 15 Elite KS 19. Premier Nebraska 15 Gold NE 20. Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite MO 21. TAV 15 Fifer TX 23. Vision 15 Gold CA 24. Forza1 North 15 One CA 25. Forza 15 One CA 26. KC Power 15 Black KS 27. HPSTL 15 Royal MO 28. Madfrog 15 Black TX 29. AZ Sky 15G AZ 30. 1United 15 Blue TX 31. City 15 Gold CA 33. Peak 15 Black TX 34. Dynasty 15 Black KS 35. Nebraska Elite 15 Revolution NE 36. 1st Alliance 15 Gold IL 39. OK Charge 15 UA 44. Paramount 15 Nick VA 48. GP 15 Rox FL Circle City 15 Purple IN (unranked)   5-Star Players to Know: Peyton Kubik OH Dynasty 15 Black Taylor Harrington MB Paramount 15 Nick Shaye Witherspoon OH Rockwood Thunder 15 Elite Naomi Livings OH TAV 15 Black Nyla Livings MB/RS TAV 15 Black Brynn Stephens S/RS TAV 15 Black Kendall Omoruyi MB Arizona Storm 15 Thunder Marissa Jones S A5 15-1 Kelly Megan Hodges MB Tstreet 15-1 Asics (2028) Janiah Burrage OH Forza1 15 One (2028)   4-Star Players to Know: McKinely Moser S VCNebraska 15 Elite Kailey Leonard L/DS A5 15-1 Kelly Kylee Evans MB A5 15-1 Kelly Ireland Real OH Wave 15 Brennan Jaycee Mack OH Wave 15 Brennan Aspen Brown RS Hou Skyline 15 Royal Natalie Norton OH Excel National 15 Red Kamryn Mullican S Excel 15 National 15 Red Lauren Forelli OH AZ Rev 15 Premier Kristen Sheehy MB AZ Rev 15 Premier Ryah Brock OH Forza1 North 15 One Peyton Heatherly S 1st Alliance 15 Gold Sophia Puleo OH OT 15 Randy Evie Pool MB Forza1 15 One Kiersten Moore S Forza1 15 One Ella Johnson OH Forza1 15 One Ava Burgess OH Club V 15 Ren Kalee Zamari Christensen S Club V 15 Ren Kalee Landri Trice OH TAV 15 Fifer Lexi Martin OH TAV 15 Black Gentry Barker OH TAV 15 Black Ansley Shafer L/DS TAV 15 Black Mariah Akinsola MB TAV 15 Black Sophee Peterson S/RS TAV 15 Black Ella Olson OH Tstreet 15 Asics Hanna McGinest OH Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar Cedra Talaga L/DS Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar Reagan Wallraff OH Premier Nebraska 15 Gold Tessa Larkin OH Arizona Storm 15 Thunder Pulelehua Laikona L/DS Arizona Storm 15 Thunder Mia Diouf RS GP 15 Rox Kate Kalcyznski OH Legacy 15-1 Adidas Cynthia Ockerman MB Legacy 15-1 Adidas Ryan Spencer OH Skyline 15 Royal Bo Bronson OH KC Power 15 Black   Outlook: Arguably the biggest storyline with 15 Open is are we set to see a repeat of last summer or can someone stop it before it happens? A season ago, TAV and Arizona Storm had established themselves as the two top teams in the division. Given that, it was hardly a shock to see the two sides go at for the 14 Open gold medal. Here we are once more, with TAV and Arizona Storm having proven thus far they are the two top teams in the division and they enter as the top two seeds respectively. TAV opens in Pool 1 with OT Randy, Club V, City, KC Power and OK Charge. What stands out to me about this pool is the fact that OT Randy and Club V made the semifinals at Triple Crown, where TAV captured the title. That makes for three of the four semifinalists in the same pool. On top of that, KC Power finished tied for fifth in KC back in February. KC Power is a very dangerous No. 5 team in any pool. That’s not to say KC Power is under-seeded. KC Power starts as the No. 25 overall seed and is currently ranked No. 26 in our Top 50 national rankings. It’s just more evidence to show how deep and competitive nationals really is. Storm is in Pool 2 with Excel, HPSTL, Forza1 North, Madfrog Black and NE Elite. You never know, but by the looks of it I would much rather be in Pool 2 than Pool 1. Pool 3 is going to be a wild ride. While I fully expect Skyline to own the pool, the remaining teams in Premier Nebraska, Rockwood Thunder, Forza1, Paramount and AZ Sky can all beat up on each other. So who knows which other three teams to advance with Skyline will be? In Pool 4 it’s Tstreet, Vision, AZ Rev, PVA, Circle City and 1United. AZ Rev and PVA are tough teams to beat and can upset anyone. And though 1United is an at-large recipient I think it’s a team that can spring an upset or two. Pool 5 is another really tough one. It features Wave, VCNebraska, Hou Skyline, Madfrog, Peak and 1st Alliance. Again, it has nothing to do with the seedings being off. I just think the chips fell with they fell and it makes for a difficult pool. Wave, VCNebraska, Hou Skyline and Madfrog can all beat each other, so I’m interested to see how the standings play out