You know what time it is. It’s time to get to the happenings of Day 2 from the 14s and 18s from AAUs in Orlando. Keep scrolling down to see recap with news and notes from the second round of pool play. Before getting to that though, we present our Day 2 Show Stoppers from the aforementioned age groups.
Elle Mottola, S/RS, WPVC 14 Armour Black – Mottola showed what she can bring to a lineup with her setting and hitting abilities. She was delivering with consistent location when setting.
Kampbell Niepagen, RS, Illini Elite 14 Cardinal – A lanky right side, Niepagen was showing nice extension on her swings and generating pace that had shots going deep cross court.
Alana Whitfield, OH, Illini Elite 14 Cardinal – Whitfield is the go-to hitter and a valuable six-rotation outside. She was showing great skill in the back row passing and running down balls to extend rallies.
Isabella Taveras Seda, L, JJVA 14 Teal – Seda is a fiery libero with lots of spirit. She’s also quick and able to cover a lot of court.
Mollie Vandeusen, S/RS, JJVA 14 Teal – Vandeusen has nice size and is part of a 6-2 package, setting in the back and hitting across the front. She does well at both, with accurate sets and solid swing.
Ryan Murphy, S/RS, JJVA 14 Teal – Murphy is also a big piece of the lineup, as she can also play in part of a 6-2. She also has nice height and sets a good ball with the ability to give the team a boost offensively as well with her hitting.
Reagan Hare, RS, CJV 14 Kim – A lefty, Hare is a vital piece. She has a good arm and sees the court well, varying between strong contacts and roll shots to the open court. She was also hitting out of the back row on D balls.
Riley Nagamine, L, 808 14 Sheri – Nagamine showed a sound platform and was passing nails in serve receive. She also showed her grit and determination chasing down errant balls.
Amira Bailey, MB, TPV 14 Legacy – It’s fun identifying future prospects and Bailey is definitely one to keep tabs on. We don’t know her exact height but she’s the tallest player in the division. Her upside is tremendous, as she already gets her hands way above the net when blocking.
Maggie Szlachcic, OH, Far Out 14 Black – Szlachcic was providing key offense for Far Out. She was showing a solid swing and wasn’t holding back at times in challenging the defense to make a play.
Kam’Bre Jones, MB, OT 14 Laura – Even if defenses know the ball is going to Jones, she can be tough to slow. She has a quick jump and fluid swing and can seemingly score at will.
Laila Ornick, L, Roots 14 Green – Ornick is a quick libero who makes up ground in a hurry. She was showing her hustle by running down balls all over the court and also doing a good job covering touches.
Ella Meador, L, FCA Upstate 141 – Meador is a gamer with a steady demeanor. She was passing dimes out of serve receive the times teams dared come at her.
Nalanie Neal, RS, RVJ 14 Caleb – Neal has a high ceiling and could be a future prospect. She’s wirey with a good arm. RVJ definitelys looks to get her involved as much as possible, so defenses must be ready for her attacks.
Cali Foster, OH, Boiler Jrs 14 Gold – An all-around contributor, Foster is a lights-out passer and defender. She’s also a smart hitter who can tool blocks and consistently put pressure on defenses with her ability to go down the line.
Avery Stephens, L, OT 14 Cristobal – Stephens has the ability to make dazzling saves, like when she dove to her left and made a one-arm dig near the sideline to extend a rally.
Gabby Semona, MB, Tri-State Elite 14 Blue – A 6-1 middle, Semona brings size to the front row. She’ll line up and hit on the right as well as Tri-State moves her around to get her more involved.
Mckenna Morton, OH, Madfrog 14 Black – Madfrog 14 Green is the top 14s team in the nation, so you know the Black squad has seen high-level volleyball this whole season. While undersized at every position, there’s so much heart and passion. Morton is part of the group, attacking front and back row without fear.
Bradi Weidman, S/RS, Madfrog 14 Black – Weidman is a big piece to what Madfrog does. She sets and hit and she’s also a strong defender who makes hustle plays.
Kayla Nwabueze, MB, Legacy 14-1 Adidas – We wrote about Nwabueze at the JVA SummerFest. This 6-0 middle is a freaky prospect. She hits from all over – on the left, on the right, on 1s and on 3s. When she gets full extension she almost never gets dug.
Reese Resmer, MB, Boiler Jrs 14 Gold – We also watched Resmer at SummerFest, where she was one of the best middles in the age group. She was owning the second set against Legacy with her quick jump and swing that generates plenty of pace.
Emily Keiran, L, Adidas KiVA 14 Red – Keiran passes a lot of court in serve receive. She was also making well-timed saves while showing her scrappiness.
Kathryn O’Toole, DS, Adidas KiVA 14 Red – Admittingly, we should write about more DS’s like O’Toole. She was part of a two-person serve receive and was covering and passing well during her time in the back row.
Dasia Johnson, OH, Wildfire 14 Albert – An undersized outside, Johnson proves plenty of punch to the attack. She jumps well and hits a heavy ball with lots of topspin due to a nice wrist snap.
Alayna Vaeth, S, Dynasty 14 Black – Vaeth is steady, not getting too high or low. She has a strong group of hitters to work with and she can get all of them involved when in system.
Catherine Palmi, OH, GP 14 Rox – A bit undersized, Palmi is powerful and fearless. It’s a great combination, as she gets up well too and lets it rip whether front or back row.
Angeles Alderete, OH, High Voltage 18/17 – Alderete is on her way to East Carolina. She’s an athletic outside with a big jump and arm to back it up. She was unloading on plenty of shots.
Mia Gonzalez, S, High Voltage 18/17 – A sophomore playing up, Gonzalez displayed her athleticism at the position. She’s able to jump set and make some untraditional sets to keep the offense flowing.
Sabrina Skyers, MB, USANY Fortitude – A 6-1 Tulane commit, Skyers was showing her prowess with her attacking skills out of the middle. A pin hitter in the fall for high school, she elevates well and carries a solid arm, making her a great option for her setter.
Zoe Rachow, S, Coast 17-1 – This three-star Tulane recruit was running the offense fluidly in Coast’s victory over Munciana. She was getting her hitters good looks and connecting well with her middles and right side to keep the defense guessing.
Avery Ross, OH, Munciana 18 Samurai – Ross, who is signed with Notre Dame, is an undersized outside at 5-9. Yet she explodes off the ground in ways that defy the imagination. It’s her pogo-stick jump that makes her hard to time and someone Muncie relies on to deliver points consistently.
Lovie Wallace, MB, Munciana 18 Samurai – A 6-1 UNC-Greensboro commit, Wallace was giving defenses something to think about with her ability to run the slide effectively. She was scoring consistently, whether going 1-on-1 or facing a double block.
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Coming into 14 Open, there were 12 clubs who appear in our Top 50 National Rankings. All made it through to Day 2 but after Thursday’s results there were some casualties. The highest-ranked team to get eliminated from contention was No. 38 Kairos 14 Adidas. Kairos – the No. 3 overall seed – was beaten by MN Select 14-1 and Mich Elite 14 Mizuno during the second round of pool play and thus failed to advance. Two more ranked clubs also were shown the exits in No. 40 OT 14 Cristobal and No. 50 Munciana 14 Chipmunks.
OT took over the No. 5 overall seed after upsetting Legacy 14-1 Adidas on Day 1. However, OT was upended by A5 Mizuno 14 Helen and Vaqueras Freddy on Thursday and finished third in Pool 5.
Munciana was in one of two pools that ended in three-way ties at 1-2. Munciana lost to Rev 14-1 and Northern Lights 14-1 while beating Summit 14 Blue. Pool 7 also finished with three teams tied at 1-2 in Tri-State Elite 14 Blue, Triangle 14 Black and Mets Volleyball. Tri-State took second behind WPVC 14 Armour Black based on tiebreakers.
Both Madfrog 14 Black and Adidas KiVA 14 Red won their respective pools as the No. 2 team. In each case the No. 1 team in the pool in Top Select 14 Elite and Tribe 14 Elite both advanced as well.
The teams remaining in the hunt for gold based on our National Rankings are No. 8 Boiler Jrs 14 Gold, No. 11 GP 14 Rox, No. 19 Dynasty 14 Black, No. 30 Legacy, No. 31 Rev, No. 34 Top Select, No. 39 WPVC and No. 49 KiVA.
In 18 Open, the two, eight-team pools continued on Thursday. SPVB 18 Elite, in Pool 1, and Coast 17-1, from Pool 2, are both 6-0. Coast scored a big win over Munciana 18 Samurai in an exciting match. Coast pulled it out in three, 18-25, 25-16, 15-9. Game 1 was tied at 18 all before Muncie used a 7-0 run to close it out.
Teams have one pool match left Friday before breaking for challenge matches. They must finish in the top six in their respective pools to remain in contention and play for a spot in Saturday’s gold bracket.
