Tuan Nguyen

After three full days of 119 teams battling it out, one team was able to crown itself the AVP 16U Junior National champs. Thursday was single elimination bracket play, starting with 32 teams and ending with one champ. Below is a recap of the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship match. Finals The fight for the gold medal featured Kathleen Morley/Erin Inskeep against Sarah Wood/Gella Andrew. The formula for Morley/Inskeep leading into the match was great ball control and then converting with an array of cut shots and pokies to the end line. Wood/Andrew had a counter to that and it heavily involved the blocking of Andrew. She can block jump on the sand and get her 6-3 body and elbows over the net. That coverage took away a lot of court allowing Wood to easily read and convert. Woods reads on defense is next level as she anticipated sharp angles a frustrated Inskeep was looking for. She would then convert her defense with a boom as her arm swing is heavy and powerful. In the end, Wood/Andrew pulled away with a straight set victory claiming the gold! Semifinal Match 1 One half of the semis came down to Kathleen Morley/Erin Inskeep facing Aubrey McBride/Lily Davis. Morley/Inskeep’s ball control was on full display. Offensively, they both have a wide array of power swings, cut shots and pokies. Having so much in their arsenal made life so difficult for opponents to rally. Defensively, Morley was a beast hustling, diving and covering the back court. Inskeep continues to impress with her ability to drop then dig and control, sometimes even with one arm and then convert. Semifinal Match 2 The other of the semis pitted Sarah Wood/Gella Andrew against Stacy Reeves/Isabella Gamache. Wood/Andrew continued to dominate the playoffs with their strong play. Andrews uses her height at the net so effectively. She dominates with her block but she is so smart offensively. With a block up she uses her height to peek over the block and chip balls over to the open court. Without a block she is as close to automatic as you can get. Wood/Andrew took the contest in straight sets. Quarterfinal Match 1 This one featured Kathleen Morley/Erin Inskeep pairing off against Claire Sun/Emma Markoff. With Sun/Markoff coming off a big upset of Massey/Langham they tried to keep the momentum going. Sun’s net play was big with huge blocks and great swings. Problem was they ran into the Morley/Inskeep duo. Their serve receive was flawless, continually pressuring Markoff defending. Morley made good reads and converted consistently. Morley/Inskeep moved on in a straight set win. Quarterfinal Match 2 Maddy Bryne/Mallory Labreche took on Aubrey McBride/Lily Davis in this contest. What a great battle of styles. Bryne/Labreche play with such confidence in their ball control, serving and defense. They don’t rattle at all. McBride/Davis are more traditional with Davis patrolling the net and McBride compliments her net play with outstanding defense. In the end it came down to a third set with McBride and Davis moving on. Quarterfinal Match 3 Sarah Wood/Gella Andrew faced Audrey Jackson/Kennedy Coakley for a spot in the semis. With three 6-0 kids on the court, there was not much real estate for balls to land. Coakley – a UCLA commit – was trying to keep it close with big swings teaming with Jackson’s pesky serving but Wood/Andrews won this match easily and moved on. Quarterfinal Match 4 Kyra Zaengle/Elena Fisher took on Stacy Reeves/Isabella Gamache in the last quarterfinal. If you are a fan on long rallies this was your match. Both teams feature strong ball control and the willingness to hustle and not give up for any ball. Gamache’s powerful jump serve and Reeves energy and conversion were the X factor as they won in straight sets.

Welcome back to an action-packed Day 2 at the AVP 16U Junior Nationals. The field was trimmed in half, from 64 to 32 teams vying for the gold. There weren’t too many surprises as most of the top-two seeds in each pool advanced. Here are the Show Stoppers who caught our attention the most on Day 2. Sarah Woods/Gella Andrew – A USC commit, Andrews continues to impress with her dominance at the net. Standing at 6-3 her blocking forces many errors or easy roll shots for Woods to pick up and demolish. Maddy Byrne/Mallory Labreche – This is a team which is truly comfortable with their ball control. They both have amazing serves capable of runs to give them separation. When they both drop and defend they have no problem covering sideline to sideline with ease. Elise Lenahan/Keira Tanioka – You can tell this group has ball control when they run the option play with ease. The option play is when the defender digs the ball close to the net and the partner hits it over with the second contact. They did this multiple times with good results. Hannah Taylor/Ally Fuchs – Taylor had a strong day both on the net and on the end line. She picked up multiple stuff blocks and overpass kills, then headed to the serving line and recorded a bunch of aces. They showed some grittiness rallying from a 5-1 deficit in the third to win and move on. Molly Labreche/Avery Towne – This duo is very strong in serve receive. Watching them we felt they got a lot of clean looks because of their first contact. They also shined in defense as they scrambled well and had plenty of well-placed cut shots leading to easy points. Aubrey McBride/Lily Davis – McBride plays the net well with good eye work she reads the hitter’s arm swing well. She was also getting touches and consistently slowing down balls for Davis to pick and convert to points. Kathleen Morley/Erin Inskeep – This duo crushed it as no team scored more than 10 points against them! Watching Inskeep is fun as she has good court vision and has a high volleyball IQ. Sometimes you wonder why she runs the option but when it scores it amazes that she sees what’s open and where the defenders are. Madeline Walker/Adeline Walker – This duo was involved in a nail biter in their first match. Down 13-10 in the third, they showed heart and toughness with exceptional defense. Hustling and scrapping for loose balls they ended up winning 16-14. It set the tone for the rest of the day as they breezed through their next two matches and taking first. Stacy Reeves/Isabella Gamache – A well balanced team as both are splits with the ability to play the net and defend with no drop off. Gamache has a tough jump serve that doesn’t get returned much. Reeves’ energy defending and ability to convert makes this a team to watch. Carly Hixson/Adelina Okazaki – They are a smaller team but play with big energy. Hixson has a powerful swing and doesn’t need much room to approach to score. Okazaki is a wizard defending, from her placement to her hustle getting to balls. She’s got an array of shots to help her convert and score. Audrey Jackson/Kennedy Coakley – Coakley – a UCLA commit – continued to dominate net play. She got tons of blocks but her foot speed dropping back defending and then converting with a powerful swing was a huge reason for her team’s success. Myriah Massey/Lennox Langham – The more we watch Langham, she has to be the fastest defender on the beach. Paired with Massey’s strong net play and big swing makes this team one of the favorites for this tourney.

After a two-year absence, the AVP professionals returns to Hermosa July 8-10. Starting July 5-10 the AVP will concurrently host its Junior Nationals at the courts surrounding the Hermosa Pier. Tuesday was the start of the 16s age group. The field cut from 119 teams to 64 teams for the top half. There was action everywhere on this beautiful day and here are the Show Stoppers who caught our attention. Sarah Wood/Gella Andrew – Both Wood and Andrew are over 6-0 tall with skills to match. Their net presence changed the way other teams attacked, getting tons of blocks and errors from their opponents. With their good ball control they breezed through Day 1. Myriah Massey/Lennox Langham – Massey – just off her USAV U19 championship – continued her dominance. She’s extremely athletic at the net and paired with Langham, who is one of the quickest defenders, makes them one of the favorites in Hermosa. Taylor Ponchak/Danielle Sparks – Sparks’ ball control is truly amazing. She turns medium to hard defensive digs into legitimate easy scoring conversions. Paired with Ponchak’s net play makes this team well balanced. Kathleen Morley/Erin Inskeep – Inskeep has such great imagination. Whether it was digging one handed to hitting a wide set with her off hand, her skill set gave her team more chances than most. Savanna Lau/Charlotta Bell – Bell’s size and presence at the net dominated their matches. They seemingly won every point against a tight set by the opposing team. With Lau covering the back with her speed and relentless effort this duo has a chance to make some noise. Calliandra Otjen/Reese Thai-Sandoval – This group would catch anyone within earshot’s attention. While they are both defenders in size they played with energy and emotion unmatched by any other team there. It was definitely fun to watch them as they pulled of an upset to finish second in the pool. Audrey Jackson/Kennedy Coakley – Coakley plays the net well. From her ability to either read or drop combined with Jackson’s stellar defense is what makes scoring on this team a tough task. They frustrated a lot of teams on offense as they tried but couldn’t find a consistent way to score against them. Carly Hixson/Adelina Okazaki – This group can defend. Both are really fast covering. Hixson has a powerful swing and Okazaki converting from defense to offense with her cut shots makes them well balanced. Elise Lenahan/Keira Tanioka – One word to describe this team is “solid.” They do everything so effortless and clean. So many rallies were controlled by their reads and ball control leading to many easy conversion points. Hannah Taylor/Ally Fuchs – Taylor and Fuchs were impressive all day. This duo’s ability to put tough serves in the same area continuously put so much pressure on their opponents. Combined with sound ball control and good arm swings let the dominate pool play. Nya Coury/Ryan Lambert – Lambert bringing the heat and Coury’s defense was the formula they used to take first in their pool. This team is tough. After losing a set they showed their resiliency battling in a seesaw third set and winning a drama-filled match. Giselle Lau/Sadie Snipes – This duo does all the small things well. Their ball control was excellent and both had good serving runs picking open areas. They were also not afraid to hustle and dive on defense and their ability to convert points after digging led to exciting points. Madeline Walker/Adeline Walker – Both of these girls showed such confidence in their ability to read and cover the court. Time and time again their ability to hustle and scrap their way to winning rallies was amazing.

Day 2 in 13 Open from AAUs in Orlando was all business for most of the top seeds as four out of the six went undefeated in matches and sets. The only upset was in Pool 6 where GP 13 Rox upset the No. 1 team in Tribe 13 Elite. Tomorrow will consist of three pools of four, with the top three in each pool advancing to gold bracket. There should be plenty of great volleyball on Day 3. Now, let’s take a look at our Day 2 Show Stoppers, featuring the players that stood out to us the most. 13s SETTERS Marissa Jones, A5 MIzuno 13 Karen – Jones dominated the net with her size. She was putting up block after block while throwing down some powerful one-handed dumps. Addison Traina, GP 13 Rox – In GP’s upset of Tribe, she handled the setting duties efficiently, seemingly making all the right sets at the right time. Avery Thompson-Stepp, Legacy 13-1 Adidas – Thompson-Stepp has strong hands with high contact. She set a good slide with pace and got results. Kenna Robinson, Asics Munciana 13 Stingrays – Robinson showed her creativity with a slew of combination plays and confusing the blocks. Addison Hurley, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Hurley made all the right sets as she rallied her team back from a 18-14 deficit late in the game for a great win. LIBERO Abril Fernandez, GP 13 Rox – Fernandez plays with excitement and energy that is contagious. She also uses her hands for overhead digs with ease. Dannah Kerberg, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Kerberg showed great hustle chasing balls down all over. She was also consistent in serve receive. McKenzie Willkie, A5 Mizuno 13 Karen – Willkie makes good reads on plays, constantly placing herself where the ball ends up. Lyndsey Robinson, Asics Munciana 12 Stingrays – Robinson delivered key serves when her team was down and needed it. She seems like a coach on the court coming out of a timeout talking and high fiving everyone on the court. MIDDLES Emily Poteraj, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Poteraj’s blocks changed a lot of decisions by hitters. She also had hard hits to both sidelines in her resume. Sofia Tausinga, Club V 13 AR – Tausinga’s quick hops are a nightmare for anyone’s timing trying to block her. Brooklyn Sippio, GP 13 Rox – Sippio was very athletic around the net moving sideline to sideline well and also transitioning and hitting tight sets. Cynthia Ockerman, Legacy 13-1 Adidas – Ockerman has good size for blocking bur her slide attack is her bread and butter that lands many kills for her team. RIGHT SIDES Mia Diouf, GP 13 Rox – This lefty set the tone in her team’s upset match. Her big blocks and powerful swings caused confusion and hesitation with the other team. Kaitlyn Wohl, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Wohl was very reliable with her attacks, getting key kills but rarely making any mistakes. Ava Gould, Asics Munciana 13 Stingrays – Gould does a good job of saving balls that are set in trouble and keeping those hits in play. OUTSIDES Brooke Codey, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Codey had five kills in a row late in a match for her team’s comeback victory. Nafanua Alofipo, Club V 13AR Jess – Alofipo is a solid six-rotation player with great passing skills. Offensively, she is very quick and a definite plus in transition. Paige Rudolph, Asics Munciana Stingrays – Rudolph has a good arm and hits with pace. Her hits were beating defenders to the spot. Kaylee Forman, Tribe 13 Elite Hector – Forman had good swings down the line with pace and rarely made any errors. 12s The underdog to root for on Day 2 was fourth-seed GVA 12 Jayson from Puerto Rico, which beat everyone in its pool and starts tomorrow as the No. 2 overall seed. Friday’s gold pools feature two pools of four. Before that action takes place however, let’s get to our Day 2 Show Stoppers highlighting the players who stood out. SETTERS Paislee Terry, Asics Munciana 12 Peppers – Terry did a good job distributing the ball as the defense had a tough time getting in position for either quick sets or sets to the pin. Amanda Martinez, GVA 12 Jayson – Martinez has a good setter’s mentality. She was hustling for balls and kept good composure when her serve receive was in trouble. Kaelyn Easton, Legacy 12-1 Adidas – Easton has really good footwork and it showed when passes were tight and she was able to get there and jump set a nice ball. Chelsea Torrence, A5 Mizuno 12 Jing – Torrance has a good touch and gets the ball to the same spot consistently, whether she is setting conventionally or running and bump setting. Marlan Rolon, Borinquen 12-1 Juan – Rolon really shined in the back row with her tough serves and sound defense. LIBERO Danica Waterman, OT 12 T Kesha – Waterman is a strong server with not only pace but accuracy. She was also able to locate a weak area and keep the pressure on. Rebekah Tigertail, Tribe 12 Elite Altone – Tigertail is a strong defender who not only will dive and chase down ball, but she also digs overhand confidently. Arianys Salgado, Borinquen 12-1 Juan – Salgado is a very active defender, will cover all hitters, chase down loose balls, and set all out of system balls without hesitation. Brooke Neale, Asics Munciana 12 Peppers – Neale is very good in serve receive with her technique and her communication to her teammates. She also plays strong middle back defense. MIDDLES Lexi Coleman, Legacy 12-1 Adidas – Coleman is really good in transition. She showed good footwork with a quick arm swing. Kennedy Davis, A5 Mizuno 12 Jing – Davis has good timing and technique on her blocks, consistently getting touches. Hailli Winkle, Asics Munciana 12 Peppers – Winkle is strong and dynamic. She gets a

AAUs in Orlando features stiff competition in the 13 Open division. Day 1 showcased 27 teams. All the top seeds proved dominant in pool play. It has all the makings for exciting pool play moving forward as the cream is rising to the top. Plenty of individuals stood out as well. Here are our Show Stoppers from the first day of action. 13s SETTERS Addison Hurley, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Hurley has a solid serve which resulted in long serving runs. Additionally, the location of her sets were consistent. Marissa Jones, A5 Mizuno 13 Karen – Jones’ hands are strong and the release is smooth. She was able to set a “3” going backwards showing her athleticism. Zamari Christensen, Club V 13 AR Jess – Christensen’s trust in her middles in evident in the fact that she sets them frequently and they reward her with kills. Kenna Robinson, Asics Munciana Stingrays – Robinson was very effective running combination plays with two quick attacks or two players crossing, giving her hitters no blockers. Caitlin Crino, Tribe 13 Elite Hector – Crino was very good at getting her feet to the ball with a nice release making her sets consistent. LIBERO Lyndsey Robinson, Asics Munciana Stingrays – Robinson has a consistent and strong serve. Peyton Beatty, Lexington United 13 Adidas – Beatty displayed good touches in serve receive and is confident in her out of system setting. Addison Traina, GP 13 Rox – Traina is an energetic and active libero who also moves well and covers the backrow. Paige Lee, Top Select 13 Elite – Lee likes to move the serve around. She also flashed strong serve receive and played good middle back defense. MIDDLES Cynthia Ockerman, Legacy 13-1 Adidas – Ockerman was the only middle who ran a slide and it was effective. Milana Mays, Asics Munciana Stingrays – Mays runs a very quick “1” attack in serve receive and in transition. Sitoafa Tausinga, Club V 13 AR Jess – Tausinga’s “3” attack is hard to dig because it is so quick. Emily Poteraj, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Poteraj’s presence at the net was felt during tight balls as she had quite a few stuff blocks. Ava Mineer, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Mineer possesses a heavy arm swing resulting in many big kills. RIGHT SIDES Kaitlyn Wohl, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Wohl has a lot of range on her swing including the sharp cross court. Ava Gould, Asics Muncian Stingrays – Gould is a lefty with a sound swing. She does get kills in row 1 on the outside. Jenny Glushakov, Top Select 13 Elite – Glushakov has a good, high contact that allows her to hit line consistently. Bradee Boyd, Tribe 13 Elite Hector – Boyd was engaging with her teammates, bringing smiles from everyone. OUTSIDES Brooke Codey, Adidas KIVA 13 Red – Codey has a high wrist snap on her swing giving it a lot of topspin. Darby Felts, K2 13 Adidas – Felts is a fearless hitter who swings hard with or without a block. Abbie Stewart, Asics Munciana Stingrays – Stewart has good court sense as she moves the ball around and tips to open spots for points. Jada Cripe, Boiler Juniors 13 Gold – Cripe not only can move the ball around but also put some monster blocks on tight sets and passes. 12s The 12 Open division at AAU is not as big as others with 19 total teams. The top seeds mostly dominated with four out of the five pool winners not dropping a set. We present our Day 1  Show Stoppers featuring the standouts who caught our attention the most. SETTERS Mila Zujovic, OT 12 T Kesha – Zujovic has nice, strong hands and very consistent location. Kaelyn Easton, Legacy 12-1 Adidas – Easton is very athletic as she will jump set consistently. Paislee Terry, Asics Muncian Peppers – Terry has a great touch and shows confidence in setting slides regularly. Marian Rolon, Borinquen 12-1 Juan – Rolon has a hard serve that is also accurate. LIBERO Danica Waterman, OT 12 T Kesha – Waterman has a consistently accurate serve that frustrates passers. Stella Smith, Legacy 12-1 Adidas – Smith is an energetic and talkative teammate. She’s very quick on hustle plays. Brooke Neale, Asics Munciana 12 Peppers – Neale was solid in serve receive and such a good passer she plays defense in middle back. Arianys Salgado, Borinquen 12-1 Juan – Salgado is very quick and can set out of system wherever the setter passes the ball. MIDDLES Adriana Hernandez, Borinquen 12-1 Juan – Hernandez hits a hard quick attack that defenders don’t expect to come so fast. Haili Winkle, Asics Munciana 12 Peppers – Winkle was the only middle to run a slide attack in her age group, showing her athleticism. Lexi Coleman, Legacy 12-1 Adidas – Coleman can hit a variety of hard shots, including quick attacks as well as a “2” out of transition. McKenzie Andrews, Legacy 12-1 Adidas – Andrews is a tall and very athletic middle. She will run “3s” consistently. RIGHT SIDES Mikaella Fontanez, Borinquen 12-1 Juan – Fontanez is a strong attacker constantly tooling the block and will hit a quick set out of serve receive. Arya Ozel, OT 12 T Kesha – Ozel was very good at the net blocking many outside attackers. Isabel Penrose, OT 12 T Kesha – Penrose is very dynamic. She can hit on the right side and out of serve receive. She will hit a middle set effectively too. OUTSIDES Anabella Valentin, Borinquen 12-1 Juan – Valentin is her team’s lifeline as at any signs of trouble she will get set for a big swing. Itzamar Martinez, Borinquen 12-1 Juan – Martinez is physical on offense with her hard swings and at the net with her blocking. Sofia Rivera, GVA 12 Jayson – Rivera has such a quick swing. Line diggers have a tough time reacting to how fast it comes. Lia Ray, Tribe

This past weekend vballrecruiter.com was in Santa Monica catching the action on the beach at the GNBV National Recruiting Showcase. There were 22, 18u teams and 49, 16u teams vying not only for the attention of college coaches in attendance but also for the automatic bids to the BVNE East Coast and West Coast Championships happening in late June and July. Pool play consisted of two sets to 21 with the winner moving on to the gold bracket and for the playoffs it was one set to 21. The 16s pool play consisted of 12 pools with each pool winner advancing to the gold bracket. Chaos ensued as only five No. 1 seeds advanced as the play was scrappy and exciting. The underdogs were out in full force with four No. 3 seeds advancing to gold. If you wanted drama the 18s division was there to keep you on edge. Out of the five pools there was only one undefeated team. Three pools had two teams with identical records and Pool 2 had three teams with the same records. It was finally determined after a long break that score differentials determined who made gold bracket and who just missed out. The playoffs for 18u was heavily influenced by the blockers and splits who patrolled the net. They continually got blocks but also forced easy roll shots for the defenders and hitting errors giving them easy points. The finals pitted 13th seed Ava Berard and Langley Griffin against Makayla Dimond and Alexandra Leal. Utah-bound Griffin was a big factor at the net and helped her team secure a 21-18 victory. The 16s playoffs had so many ‘wow’ moments as the defenders really shined. Players were diving everywhere and long rallies seemed to be happening on every court. Teams that had good communication won those rallies but it was the players with stamina that kept that momentum for the entire match. The finals saw third seed Sara Moynihan and Annie Xu against 38th seed Haylee Lafontaine and Danielle Sparks. The power of Moynihan and Lafontaine at the net was present as they traded big kills and blocks. In the end it was Sparks making great reads and converting with her well placed swings along the sideline and endlines that gave her team the 21-19 victory. Below are the defenders and split/blockers who caught our eye in each age group. 18s Defenders Ava Berard – Berard has great chemistry. Her first time playing with her partner and all they do is win it all. Ellaina Skale – Skale showed great passing touch with quick feet in the sand. Jordan Brown – Brown covers the court with eyes and body as she dives for anything within reach. Alexandra Leal – Leal reads the play and opponent very well. She seems to be in the right spots most often. Olivia Silacci-Jensen – The Cal State Bakersfield commit plays with good energy and enthusiasm. Splits/Blockers Noelle Niederman – Niederman is a good force at the net as she touches many balls. Langley Griffin – The Utah-bound Griffin has a great arm swing. Any overpass was soundly thumped. Sofia Alkire – Alkire sees the game well. She has the ability to drop, dig, and then convert. Tori Clement – The Stetson-bound blocker was rarely served because of her arm and moved well along the sand to pick up shots. Makayla Dimond – Dimond does a good job of dropping when necessary and digging overhand. 16s Defenders Danielle Sparks – Sparks ability to read the player and opponent is so clean she makes it look too easy. Not too many balls drop with her back there. Annie Xu – Xu showed great footwork tracking down loose balls and shot to sidelines, then converting the sets to scores. Adelina Okazaki – We got tired just watching this defender consistently dive and chase balls all over. Okazaki has such good energy! Carly Hixson – Hixson is powerful and can dive for a ball then get up and put it away with conviction. Isabella Wiklund – Wiklund is energetic and communicates well. She has positive talk on every play during and after that’s great to hear! Splits/Blockers… Haylee Lafontaine – Lafontaine showed her power and finesse. She hits with authority but can also drop and defend with the best. Kenzie Miller – Miller is an athletic blocker who moves like she’s not on the sand. She’s blessed with quick feet and a good arm swing. Sara Moynihan – Moynihan is a lefty split who hits well on both sides, confusing defenders not ready for the unique look. Lucci Alexander – Alexander displayed strong hands and good timing. We saw her block three straight attacks in a rally, then terminate for the point. Kiara Edwards – Edwards is powerful at the net, will eat up anything tight.