Number of Teams: 75
vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (14):
3. A5 Mizuno 17 Jing
10. Legacy 17-1 Adidas
13. MN Select 17-1
17. OT 17 John
28. ID Crush 17 Bower
30. Top Select 17 Elite
32. Mich Elite 17 Mizuno
35. AVC Cle Rox 17 Red
37. Aspire 17 Premier
38. NE Elite 17 Vici
41. Academy 17 Diamond
44. Rev Raptors 17-1
48. Northern Lights 17-1
50. No Name 17 Doug
vballrecruiter.com 5-star recruits (8):
Sydney Schnichels, RS, MN Select 17-1 (Minnesota)
Laney Choboy, L, Academy 17 Diamond (Minnesota)
Nya Bunton, MB, Adidas KiVA 17 Red (Texas)
Jordyn Byrd, OH, No Name 17 Doug (Texas)
Harper Murray, OH, Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Nebraska)
Alex Acevedo, OH, ID Crush 17 Bower (2024)
Stella Swenson, S, MN Select 17-1 (2024)
Alex Bower, S, ID Crush 17 Bower (2024)
vballrecruiter.com 4-star recruits (10):
Laurece Abraham, MB, Legacy 17-1 (Yale)
Sarah Vellucci, L, Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Long Beach State)
Arya Jue, L, A5 Mizuno 17 Jing (Yale)
Kierstyn Barton, RS, Aspire 17 Premier (Washington)
Erin Kline, S, Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Miss State)
Sydney Helmers, OH, Adidas KiVA 17 Red (Texas)
Kenna Wollard, OH, Illini Elite 17 Cardinal (Purdue)
Neomi Beach, OH, Aspire 17 Premier (San Diego)
Kaia Caffee, MB, MN Select 17-1 (2024)
Olivia Swenson, OH, MN Select 17-1 (2024)
Outlook: The favorites are certainly seeded atop the field. Legacy 17-1 Adidas – ranked No. 10 in our national rankings – opens at No. 1 followed by No. 2 A5 Mizuno 17 Jing. Rounding out the Top 8 seeds are No. 3 MN Select 17-1, No. 4 OT 17 John, No. 5 Top Select 17 Elite, No. 6 Adidas KiVA 17 Red, No. 7 Rev 17-1 and No. 8 Academy 17 Diamond. The team that could be under-seeded some is Idaho Crush 17 Bower at No. 20. This group is good enough to finish in the Top 10. NE Elite 17 Vici, seeded No. 23, and A4 Volley 17 Joaco, seeded at No. 24, are two more teams who could finish much higher than their initial seedings. AVC Cle Rox 17 Red is coming off a third-place showing at JVA SummerFest and if it can keep it up can play a spoiler role. Aspire 17 Premier, starting as the No. 12 seed, is a team to keep an eye on. Aspire played a strong schedule and wasn’t far off from qualifying for 17 Open for USAV. The same goes for Mizuno Northern Lights 17-1 at No. 11. Ultimately though, the likely gold medalist is going to emerge from one of the top six seeds unless someone else can spring an upset.
Prediction: Legacy and A5 have proven to be the two most consistent teams in the field throughout the year. However, we are not going with either to win it all. The pick is OT John prevailing in a mild surprise, beating MN Select in the final. Legacy and A5 take bronzes.
