We debuted vballrecruiter.com’s daily All Red Hat Team beginning with 14 Open last week. This week, we move on to 15 Open, which kicked off its Day 1 action on Sunday at the AAU Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando.
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 1 ALL RED HAT TEAM
Meena Kasirajan OH Nor Cal 15-1 Black: There’s plenty to like about Kasirajan. She’s an absolute fearless attacker who is relentless. She’s a wirey 5-10 with a whip for an arm that effortlessly generates lots of pace. She’s the go-to hitter who carries a large load of offense and when she connects she was ripping it down with the best of them.
Meaghan Kreiser OH MN Select 15-1: Kreiser is another 5-10 outside with a loose arm who lets it fly. It looks like she’s jumping off a trampoline when she goes up for an attack. She explodes off the ground in a hurry and combined with her arm was delivering impressive kills tooling blocks or going straight down with it.
Sophia Stallworth MB WPVC 15 Armour Black: The way Stallworth was playing, she was an easy choice to occupy one of the middle positions for Day 1. She’s 6-0 and moves very well side to side. She has a lively arm, the benefit of also playing on the outside. When in system, WPVC is going to look to feed Stallworth. She’s a reliable scorer and can also turn around and make plays on the defensive side with her blocking.
Lily Bosworth MB Illini Elite 15 Cardinal: This was our first time catching Bosworth this season and what a prospect she is! We couldn’t find an exact height but we are guessing 6-4 maybe even 6-5. With that kind of length and the ability to move well for her size, Bosworth was a force at the net on both sides of the ball. Defenders who aren’t used to her length have trouble getting the ball around her. Offensively, she has no trouble going over blocks or running the slide and putting balls away in that manner.
Kalyssa Taggart S/RS A5 15 Bob: We first caught Taggart last year here at AAUs and a year later she’s still making plays all over the court. She’s a fierce competitor who brings a lot of flexibility to the lineup with her ability to run a 5-1 or be part of a 6-2 and hitting across the front row. That latter was the case on Day 1. She did well in both roles, scoring effectively when called upon and running the offense well on the back end with her soft touch and accurate location.
Ava Brown S/RS Black Swamp 151: At 6-1, Brown has the length and size to excel at the next level, as well as the talent to back it up. She was another two-way star helping her team succeed. She has a big, strong arm when she’s swinging and Black Swamp likes to take advantage of it as much as possible. She’s also a steady, consistent setter with a nice touch.
Elle Mottola S WPVC 15 Armour Black: Mottola has great energy on the court and is definitely one to keep tabs on as she moves up the ranks. She’s 6-0 and is touching 9-11. She has very nice hands and a smooth delivery. She does well moving the ball pin to pin and also plays sound defense.
Brooklyn Myers S AP 15 Adidas: We really love Myers’ court demeanor and the way she was guiding the attack. She’s 5-10 and sets a clean ball and locates well. She did well connecting with her hitters and playing under control rather than trying to do too much.
Elena Estudillo L/DS NE Elite 15 Phoenix: Estudillo was doing everything needed of a libero – passing, defending and hustling all over the court keeping the ball in play. She was one of the more exciting defenders to watch as she was steady in the back row.
Kaylee Maikranz L/DS High Tide 15 Elite: Maikranz is tough to get a ball down on. She covers and moves well. She was sound out of serve receive and giving High Tide a defensive edge.
