With spots in the gold bracket on the line, the intensity was turned up a full notch more than the previous two days on Saturday, which was the third day of 17 Open competition at the AAU Girls Junior National Championships in Orlando. It made for difficult choices for the All Red Hat Team, which we present below.
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 3 ALL RED HAT TEAM
Julia Lewkowitz OH Miami Hype 17 Emilio: A 3-0 outing has Miami Hype in the gold bracket. Lewkowitz – a 2025 outside – carried her duties well. She’s a bit undersized compared to the biggest hitters in the division but she’s not lacking for power or smarts. She hits a heavy, hard ball. She’s also smart with her placement of off-speed shots as she comes through with key kills in big moments.
Linnea Nesheim OH Kairos 17 Alpha: A streaking Kairos also went 3-0 in winning its pool, upsetting top-seeded Tribe 17 Elite Cardinal in the process. Nesheim is the perfect fit for the All Red Hat Team. She’s another undersized outside but she’s fearless and comes at bigger blockers with a vengeance. She has a great, upbeat energy on the court and she exemplifies Kairos’ fighting spirit.
Logan Wiley MB A5 17 Jing: Wiley – a 4-star Georgia Tech recruit – was making herself known in the middle. She moves well side to side and does a nice job of getting touches and her share of stuff blocks as well. She’s also a very difficult cover as she can score to any spot of the court. It includes ridiculous sharp-angled shots cross body that leave defenders looking at each other in disbelief.
Caitlyn Cornell MB Excel 17 National Red: Unlike our first three players, Cornell and Excel won’t be around for the gold bracket after finishing third in pool play. However, Cornell still caught our attention with the way she was booming balls down and hyping up her teammates with it. She dropped the hammer more than a few times and watch out when she does!
Riley Whitlock RS Boiler Jrs 17 Gold: Whitlock – a 4-star Ball State commit – is long and lanky and has a whippy swing. It was a tough day overall for Boiler Jrs finishing third, yet Whitlock had her moments where she showed her athleticism and impact she can make. She puts up a solid block and is one of the main offensive threats across the front row with her ability to get up and deliver from different spots on the net.
Kate Maley RS Legacy 17-1 Adidas: Legacy survived a three-way tie to make the gold bracket. We loved Maley’s play and contributions on the right side. She has an unassuming demeanor and was giving Legacy key production. We saw her getting set a bunch as defenses cheated to the outside and she made them pay time and time again. She has a nice arm and doesn’t try to do too much, instead taking what’s there.
Maria Drapp S Tri-State Elite 17 Blue: Tri-State was part of the three-way tie with Legacy, taking first place and holding onto its No. 2 overall seed. Drapp runs an effective offense, connecting with all her hitters and moving the ball around well in keeping defenses guessing. You can see her competitiveness in the way she gets after in her play and she did something we haven’t seen other setters do. That’s set the middle from behind the 10-foot line in yet another twist to the Tri-State attack.
Whitney Scherrer S Munciana 17 Pandas: Munciana wasn’t able to crack the gold bracket but Scherrer was a bright spot with her setting. She’s long and moves well. She has nice hands and was locating on a consistent basis in helping keep Muncie in the fight until the end.
Sarah Galligan L/DS NE Elite 17 Top Gun: A 1-2 day spelled the end of NE Elite’s medal hopes. Galligan was still exceptionally strong holding it down on the defensive side. She’s a quick libero who covers well and was defending the cross-court shots with ease. She also brings a lot of energy and hustle to the court.
Caylan Russ L/DS OT 17 Felix: Russ helped OT Felix to a 2-1 mark and a spot in the gold bracket. She’s quick on a different level, as she flies around the court taking away space in a hurry. She was also showing strong in serve receive and defending without any hesitation.
