All that is needed to advance on the first day of 15 Open at AAU in Orlando is avoiding finishing in fourth place. Everyone else advances, including all three teams from all three, three-team pools. Of the 13 four-team pools, the No. 4 team failed to advance in seven of them. The highest-finishing No. 4 team was CVH Select 15u out of Puerto Rico, which finished in a three-way tie at 1-2 with Wildfire 15 Ore and Summit 15 Blue Elite and took second. Summit finished in fourth based on tiebreakers and was eliminated as the No. 3 team.
Wildfire wasn’t the highest-seeded team bumped from contention Sunday. Two No. 2 teams were relegated to Group 2 starting Monday in EliteZ 15 White and K2 15 Adidas. Both went 0-3 in their respective pools. As expected, the No. 1 teams in their respective pools did very well. The 16 teams combined to go 41-4 overall, with none finishing lower than second place.
The lowest-seeded team to fare the best was High Tide 15 Elite. It was a bit shocking to see how low High Tide was placed to begin. We have High Tide ranked No. 41 in our Top 50 National Rankings, yet High Tide began the tournament seeded No. 40! Let that sink in. High Tide went 3-0 as the No. 3 team in its pool and moved up to the No. 8 overall seed to begin play Monday. High Tide downed Illini Elite 15 Cardinal, AVA TX 15 Adidas and EliteZ.
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DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS
Eva Swenson S MN Select 15-1: Swenson, a 6-3 setter, was running the show well as she continues getting better and better. She was locating well and putting up a big block on the right side.
Abby Conklin MB MN Select 15-1: Conklin is a lanky middle with a really nice arm. She hits at a high contact point and can be a tough cover.
Marlee Schumacher MB No Name 15 Erin: Schumacher was another middle who was owning the net at times. She’s a physical presence who puts up a strong block and has a powerful arm.
Ryan Sadler OH A5 15 Bob: Sadler was swinging away on the outside. She gets up and was letting balls fly left and right as she delivered her share of highlights.
Gabriella Brodner OH Jupiter Elite 15E: Count Brodner among the many prospects doing their thing on Day 1. At 6-1, she’s lengthy with a fluid swing and smarts to back it up. She can really extend and connect and it makes her tough to cover.
Jessica Smallwood OH EVA 15 Blue: At 6-5, Smallwood towers over just about everyone in the division. She has a huge impact at the net because of it. Attackers trying to tip balls too low found out the hard way. She’s also had no issue going over blocks and putting balls down.
Gigi Artiles OH Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal: This is a name fans will be hearing for years. At 6-2, is one of the top attackers in the division. She’s more than a handful at the net, where she powers ball after ball with her heavy arm.
Ava Flores S Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal: Flores is an undersized setter but she does a nice job getting to the ball and putting her hitters in great positions to score.
Cosette Bartling OH NE Elite 15 Phoenix: Bartling is another outside who is a bit undersized but has springs in her legs and can really get up and crush. She was a featured part of the attack and delivered a few eye-popping winners.
Camden Rahn S/RS OT 15 Will: Rahn was a strong two-way player. The 6-1 setter/right side flashed tons of potential in both areas. She was OT’s second-best offensive threat and was helping to open up the attack on the right side. She’s also an above-average setter with a smooth release who spots well.
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Isabela Lopez OH OT 15 Will: Lopez was a big-time offensive weapon for OT. She’s another outside who jumps very well and unloads.
Norah Busch MB Club Integrity 15-1: Busch was among the taller middles in the division and is a game-changer across the front row for Club Integrity. She changes both dynamics of blocking and attacking with her length and helped Club Intregity to an upset of NorCal 15-1 Black.
Taytum Nelson MB Elevate 15 Nike: Nelson is even taller than Busch and also has a lot of potential. She had zero issue going over the block and scoring.
Madison Anspaugh OH VC United 15 Elite: Anspaugh was impressive in shouldering part of the offensive load. At 6-1, she can hit high and she has a big arm. She gets the ball both front and back row and can send it flying equally well.
Darby Felts OH K2 15 Adidas: Felts is a fun one to watch swing away. She jumps out of the gym and has a very lively arm. She lets it rip from the front and back row in style.
Colbie McKenna OH EC Power KOP 15 True: McKenna was definitely among the standout outsides. She was another taller hitter who was trouble from both the front and back. She extends well and hits with lots of pace.
Ellie Stiernagle S SPVB 15 Elite: Stiernagle has nice height for a setter and solid hands. She did well mixing up her sets and getting her hitters involved.
Abigail Knight OH SPVB 15 Elite: Knight was taking big swings and sending balls down. She hits with a lot of power.
Jordin Southall OH GP 15 Rox: Southall is an athletic outside who explodes up and has a whippy arm to deliver with. She had highlight moments that showed what she can be in the future at the next level.
Sarahbelle Jameson OH JJVA 15 Teal: Jameson needs to be included among the taller outsides in the division. She’s a six-rotations anchor and has big arm that she crushes ball with.
Mollie VanDeusen S JJVA 15 Teal: VanDeusen was steady dishing the rock and made a few high IQ plays as well.
Macie Smith OH Academy 15 Venom: The outside position is obviously one of strength in this division, with the list only growing with Smith. She’s on the tall side and can swing it from the front and back row with authority.
Merritt Sliwa OH Rev 15-1 Fuego: Rinse and repeat. Sliwa was yet another outside strutting her stuff. She’s lanky with a quick arm and the ability to bounce balls.
Alanah Clemente RS Supernova 15 All-Stars: Clemente is a legit prospect. She’s very long at 6-3 and can jump well. She’s a lefty with a loose arm and with more reps and work has the potential to be next-level special.
(I saw something you don’t see very often and so I’m going to highlight those involved below. You may see a two-person serve receive being utilized by one team, but we saw four teams going with that method on Day 1)
Avery Stephens/Olivia Heekin L/DS OT 15 Semei: Stephens and Heekin made up the two-person serve for OT. Stephens is a lights-out libero while Heekin was very sharp with her passing.
Ruby McDermott/Adeline Wieler/Gabrielle Emch L/DS/DS A5 15 Bob: A5 went a step further, going with the two-person serve receive almost exclusively. McDermott is a fine defender who wasn’t served very much in receive. Both Wieler and Emch showed well when the balls came their way.
Madeline Kraft/Sidney Burley Northern Lights 15-1: Kraft and Burley traded off at libero and DS for their two outings on Day 1 and was yet another going with two passers. Both were doing very well and have great ball control.
Isabelle Masten/Aubry Dowling L/DS Rev 15-1 Fuego: Rev was the last squad we saw using a two-person serve receive. Masten and Dowling were also on point and proving why Rev uses both in that regard.
