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Red Rock Rave: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

It’s an earlier trip to Las Vegas than usual for those making their way to the Red Rock Rave taking place Saturday-Monday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The qualifier usually falls in April but is among the first to be held this season. This coming weekend is the first of back-to-back weekends and it features the younger ages vying for their bids. Below, we run through the 14 and 15 Open divisions to see how they might play out. 15 Open Number of Teams: 38 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (22): 1. Skyline 15 Royal 4. Madfrog 15 Green 5. TAV 15 Black 7. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder 10. SCVC 15 Roxy 12. Alamo 15 Premier 13. AZ Sky 15G 14. Hou Skyline 15 Royal 15. Wave 15 Brennan 18. Dynasty 15 Black 19. Forza1 North 15 One 21. HJV 15 Elite 23. Drive Nation 15 Red 29. SG Elite 15 Rosh 32. Actyve 15 Black 33. GP 15 Rox 34. Tstreet 15 Curtis 38. AZ Rev 15 Premier 39. Coast 15-1 41. Aspire 15 Premier 42. Club V 15 Ren Reed 46. MAVS 816 15-1 5-star Athletes To Watch Layla Austin OH Skyline 15 Royal Keoni Williams MB Skyline 15 Royal Kinsley Young MB TAV 15 Black Brooke Harwood RS Arizona Storm 15 Thunder Finley Krystkowiak OH Wave 15 Brennan Danielle Whitmire S/RS TAV 15 Black Audrey Flanagan OH SCVC 15 Roxy 4-star Athletes To Watch Erin Clark L/DS/S Aspire 15 Premier Anna Flores S TAV 15 Black Ava McBride S/RS Actyve 15 Black Paisley Pavliska OH Alamo 15 Premier Emmerson Champagne MB/RS Tstreet 15 Curtis Milly McGee S SCVC 15 Roxy Gabi Rodriguez L/DS Madfrog 15 Green Caroline Huseman OH TAV 15 Black Kylie Kleckner OH TAV 15 Black Outlook/Prediction: With 20 teams in the field featured in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 it makes for a loaded field. With the only path to qualifying coming with a top-three finish, there are going to be plenty of unhappy teams heading home. On the flip side, for the fortunate few who are able to secure bids there is no doubt it will be well deserved. Skyline 15 Royal enters fresh off of winning Triple Crown and looking to keep the momentum going. Triple Crown runner-up SCVC 15 Roxy is also searching for a bid and will carry the confidence of its performance in KC with them to Vegas. Madfrog 15 Green, TAV 15 Black, Arizona Storm 15 Thunder, Alamo 15 Premier and AZ Sky 15G all fared well at Triple Crown too and any of them could walk away with a bid. A team like SG Elite 15 Rosh is ranked No. 29 but can’t be overlooked. SG was close to knocking off Boiler Jrs 15 Gold at Triple Crown. It’s that type of field where the one thing for sure is plenty of unexpected results are going to take place. The final comes down to Alamo knocking off Wave. Skyline takes the final bid. *** 14 Open Number of Teams: 26 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (14): 2. Arizona Storm 14 Thunder 3. Tstreet 14 Carson 4. Madfrog 14 Green 5. Skyline 14 Royal 10. MAVS KC 14-1 11. Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar 14. Forza1 14 One 15. Wave 14 Tammy 16. AZ Rev 14 Premier 19. Forza1 North 14 One 22. AZ Sky 14G 25. Club V 14 Ren Silver 33. HJV 14 Elite 47. Coast 14-1 Outlook/Prediction: Much like 15 Open, it’s going to take a special effort to come through with one of the three bids in play. There is no trickle down, so teams must place in the top three. That leaves very little if any wiggle room. Lots of eyes will be on the favorites like Arizona Storm 14 Thunder, Tstreet 14 Carson, Madfrog 14 Green and Skyline 15 Royal. All showed strong at Triple Crown and it’s hard envisioning not one in the group earning a bid. It’s possible three of the four get bids. Still, it’s volleyball. Wave 14 Tammy was close to upsetting Arizona Storm in KC and could surprise. Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar is likely hungry to finish higher than it did at Triple Crown and get its bid out of the way. MAVS 14-1 can’t be forgotten about and certainly has what it takes to get the bid. It’s a tough field to predict, but the call goes to Tstreet beating Storm in the final. MAVS takes the third bid.

Bluegrass Tournament: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

When the club schedule reaches March, it’s qualifying season to be sure. Still, not every tournament in March and April is centered on earning a bid for Junior Nationals. Take the Adidas Bluegrass Tournament for example. The two-day event takes place Saturday and Sunday in Louisville and is hosted by KiVA. That’s where I’m headed this weekend and will be on hand providing coverage. Given that, let’s take a look at what we might expect. Below, is a preview and prediction for the 14-18 Open age groups. 18 Open Number of Teams: 31 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 3. Munciana 18 Samurai 15. Circle City 18 Purple 20. Adidas KiVA 18 Red 23. Tri-State 18 Elite 30. Elevation 18 Spinney 33. NKYVC 18-1 Tsunami 41. Far Out 18 Black 45. Union 18-1 UA 5-star Athletes To Watch Ramsey Gary L/DS Munciana 18 Samurai (Indiana) Lola Schumacher L/DS Munciana 18 Samurai (Wisconsin, 2024) Brooke Bultema MB Elevation 18 Spinney (Kentucky) Nya Bunton OH/MB Adidas KiVA 18 Red (Texas) Navea Gauthier OH Far Out 18 Black (2025) 4-star Athletes To Watch Gabby Dean MB Adidas KiVA 18 Red (Illinois) Charlotte Vinson OH/RS Munciana 18 Samurai (2025) Abbigail Pickard S Far Out 18 Black (2025) Outlook/Prediction: Munciana 18 Samurai is the team to beat after taking bronze at Triple Crown. Munciana should run into familiar opponents in Tri-State Elite 18 Blue and Adidas KiVA 18 Red. All three are part of the Mideast Power League. Thrown into the mix in this tournament is SPVB 18 Elite, which will be seeing its stiffest competition of the season to date. Circle City 18 Purple just recently punched its ticket to 18 Open in Columbus after qualifying at Music City and is going to be among the top contenders. When the dust settles, look for Munciana lifting the trophy over SPVB. *** 17 Open Number of Teams: 38 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (7): 9. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami 21. Academy 17 Tsunami 23. Tri-State 17 Blue 37. Elevation 17 Ulland 40. Adidas KiVA 17 Red 41. Boiler Jrs 17 Gold 50. Team Pineapple 17 Black 5-star Athletes To Watch Morgan Gaerte OH Team Pineapple 17 Black (Notre Dame) Allie Shondell S Boiler Jrs 17 Gold (Purdue) 4-star Athletes To Watch Kiana Dinn S/RS Tri-State Elite 17 Blue (Pitt) Riley Whitlock RS Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Mya Ball S Team Pineapple 17 Black (Central Florida) Julia Hunt MB NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (Washington) Elizabeth Tabeling L/DS NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami (Ball State) Alaleh Tolliver OH Academy 17 Tsunami Alec Rothe OH/MB EliteVBTC 17 Black (Florida) Outlook/Prediction: Triple Crown champ NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami is the highlight of the field but is not the top seed. That honor goes to Academy 17 Tsunami followed by NKYVC at No. 2. Academy defeated NKYVC at Central Zone when NKYVC was playing shorthanded. No doubt NKYVC would like pay back and is going to be seeking that this weekend. We’ll see if anyone can turn it on and surprise, but the contenders should be the usual suspects. In addition to Academy and NKYVC, Tri-State Elite 17 Blue, Boiler Jrs 17 Gold and Adidas KiVA 17 Red are factors as well. We are sticking with the collision course, with NKYVC downing Academy in the final. *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 40 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 11. Circle City 16 Purple 19. AVC Cle 16 Red 23. Adidas KiVA 16 Red 24. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue 25. Munciana 16 Blaze 29. Team Pineapple 16 Black 40. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami 50. Pitt Elite 16-1 5-star Athletes To Watch Addison Tindall OH Team Pineapple 16 Black Annabelle Groomes S/RS AVC Cle 16 Red 4-star Athletes To Watch Bella Bullington OH SPVB 16 Elite Ava Tilden OH NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Reese Dunkle MB Circle City 16 Purple Kristen Simon L/DS Adidas KiVA 16 Red Logan Bell OH Circle City 16 Purple Katie Gielas RS Elevation 16 Goller Julia Grace NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Lauren Coyne RS SPVB 16 Elite Riley McCloskey OH NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red Ava Harris S Team Pineapple 16 Black Outlook/Prediction: The 16s division might be the most competitive of the bunch. Circle City 16 Purple is playing its toughest tournament since Central Zone, when it finished runner-up to 1st Alliance 16 Gold. Circle City might be the team to beat here but is hardly a lock. AVC Cle 16 Red showed solidly in Kansas City. AVC has shown to be competitive against other top teams and hasn’t had a bad loss yet. The MEPL group of Adidas KiVA 16 Red, Tri-State Elite 16 Blue and Munciana 16 Blaze are going to be in the mix. I think Munciana gained a lot of confidence from its time at Triple Crown and could be on the rise. The pick comes down to Circle City beating Tri-State Elite for gold. *** 15 Open Number of Teams: vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (8): 3. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold 8. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami 17. Elevation 15 Tony 20. Far Out 15 Black 22. AVC Cle 15 Red 24. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue 35. Team Pineapple 15 Black 48. TVC 15 Black 5-star Athlete To Watch Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (2027) 4-star Athletes To Watch Cala Haffner L/DS Team Pineapple 15 Black Sienna Fry RS Summit 15 Blue Elite Sydney Geselbracht MB Elevation 15 Tony Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Sidney Sprada OH Elevation 15 Tony Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Madison Miles OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Ella Grimes L/DS Elevation 15 Tony Addison Haberthy S Circle City 15 Purple Outlook/Prediction: On paper, this division looks to be all Boiler Jrs 15 Gold. The question is can anyone stop Boiler Jrs from taking gold? It’s not the deepest 15s field and that means it is a great opportunity for an unexpected club to grad the spotlight. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami having success wouldn’t

Sunshine Classic: Preview and Predictions (FREE)

March 2, 2023

The second half of the Sunshine Classic takes place Friday-Sunday in Orlando. Last weekend, the youngers punched their tickets to Junior Nationals in Chicago this summer. Who is going to join them by earning bids this weekend? Below, we take a look at the 16 and 17 Open divisions and make the guess as to who is going to win it all as well as gain the bids. 17 Open Number of Teams: 39 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club (1): A5 17 Jing vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (10): 1. A5 17 Jing 4. TAV 17 Black 5. Triangle 17 Black 10. OT 17 Aaron 24. OT 17 Felix 25. Miami Hype 17 Emilio 27. Skyline 17 Royal 30. MKE Sting 17 Gold 33. Top Select 17 Elite 43. Rock City 17-1 5-star Athletes To Watch Nayelis Cabello S/RS Top Select 17 Elite (Louisville) Favor Anyanwu MB TAV 17 Black (USC) Jadyn Livings OH TAV 17 Black (USC) Cari Spears OH TAV 17 Black (2025) Ryan Hunter RS Triangle 17 Black (2025) Hannah Benjamin OH A5 17 Jing (Kentucky) Camille Edwards S TAV 17 Black (Michigan) Gillian Pitts L/DS TAV 17 Black (2025) 4-star Athletes To Watch Fallon Stewart OH OT 17 Felix (Cincinnati) Taylor Parks S OT 17 Aaron (Florida) Sarah Brodner OH/RS Jupiter 17 Elite (Virginia) Asia Thigpen OH Triangle 17 Black (Kentucky) Kiarrah Horne OH Triangle 17 Black Ashlyn Philpot MB Triangle 17 Black (Illinois) Samantha Bowron OH Top Select 17 Elite (Coastal Carolina) Mia Hood MB A5 17 Jing (Michigan State) Molly Kate Patten RS A5 17 Jing (Georgia) Mallory Bohl MB Legacy 17-1 Adidas (Notre Dame) Logan Wiley MB A5 17 Jing (Georgia Tech) Chelsea Sutton MB OT 17 John (Tennessee) Claire Luoma L/DS MKE Sting 17 Gold (Clemson) Anna Bjork MB MKE Sting 17 Gold (Notre Dame) Mikala Young OH TAV 17 Black (TCU) Anna Boatner MB TAV 17 Black Outlook/Prediction: I’m excited to see what the 17s bring in Orlando. Triple Crown was wild in that division with big-time upsets rocking the final standings. I’m looking for A5 17 Jing and TAV 17 Black to re-establish themselves after finishing out of the running in Kansas City. For TAV, that means earning an Open bid. A5 doesn’t have that concern, as it’s the only club in the field with an Open bid after qualifying at Northern Lights in January. Everyone else, including TAV, is chasing one of the three available bids. It can’t trickle down past fourth place, that’s if A5 finishes in the top three. Triangle 17 Black showed strong at Triple Crown and is a team to pay attention to. Miami Hype 17 Emilio is an intriguing team, having beat Dynasty 17 Black in KC. And of course OT 17 Aaron earned the silver in KC, so that club is going to be feeling confident about bidding this weekend. As for the picks, I think A5 tops Triangle in the final. Triangle gets its bid, as does TAV and OT Aaron. *** 16 Open Number of Teams: 40 Number of Bids Available: 3 Previously-Qualified Club: n/a vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (16): 5. Hou Skyline 16 Royal 8. A5 16 Gabe 9. OT 16 JP 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno 15. Dynasty 16 Black 16. Legacy 16-1 Adidas 17. Austin Skyline 16 Royal 18. Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal 20. Skyline 16 Royal 22. OT 16 Roberto 30. HPSTL 16 Royal 39. MAVS KC 16-1 41. Top Select 16 Elite 42. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite 43. No Name 16 Sarah 44. GP 16 Rox 5-star Athletes To Watch Logan Parks S/RS MAVS KC 16-1 Kelly Kinney OH Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Amina N’diaye OH OT 16 Roberto Kassidy O’Brien S Hou Skyline 16 Royal Bayleigh Minor MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas Charlotte Glass S Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Asia Harvey OH A5 16 Gabe Bailey Warren OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal 4-star Athletes To Watch Zoey Matias L/DS Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Lily Dee Davis OH Austin Skyline 16 Royal Callie Krueger L/DS Austin Skyline 16 Royal Kayden Green S/RS GP 16 Rox Rebekah Pfefferkorn MB Hou Skyline 16 Royal Ella Lewis OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal Taylor Porter OH/RS Hou Skyline 16 Royal Morgan Madison L/DS Hou Skyline 16 Royal Taylor Cook S Skyline 16 Royal Leni Stanton-Parker OH Metro 16 Travel Bella Ocampo OH Skyline 16 Royal Francesca Popescu L/DS A5 16 Gabe Camryn Jeffery RS A5 16 Gabe Addison Gaido OH/RS Austin Skylin 16 Royal Abigail Li S A5 16 Gabe Izzy Mogridge S OT 16 JP Izzy Busignani OH Mich Elite 16 Mizuno Outlook/Prediction: This is the first qualifier of the season for the 16s, so teams must finish in the top three to earn one of the three Open bids. It’s going to make for an exciting weekend. The favorite without question is Hou Skyline 16 Royal, which is both the highest seeded and ranked team in the field and is coming off a silver medal at Triple Crown. It would be shocking if Hou Skyline doesn’t earn a bid here. A5 16 Gabe is looking to keep its good play going. After struggling at Central Zone, A5 did very well with a bronze at Triple Crown. If A5 can keep with that type of consistency this weekend, it’ll bid for sure. OT 16 JP, OT Roberto, Austin Skyline 16 Royal and Mich Elite 16 Mizuno are other teams to watch for in terms of bidding, as well as Dynasty 16 Black. MAVS KC 16-1, Legacy 16-1 Adidas, Skyline 16 Royal and HPSTL 16 Royal could bid as well but are longer shots to do so. In the end, Hou Skyline tops Mich Elite for gold. Both qualify, with A5 beating Austin Skyline for the final bid.

Triple Crown Day 3: Gold Medal Rundown

February 20, 2023

The good news is plenty more coverage is on the way from this weekend’s Triple Crown NIT in Kansas City. The bad news is you are going to have to be patient as we churn it out over the course of the next couple of days. I’m going to go through and highlight the results from Day 3’s championship action below. Also, this week we’ll be releasing the vballrecruiter.com All-Tournament Team, our Day 3 Show Stoppers as well as a final write up from the weekend and the things I think and thought about it. Getting to the gold medal matches from Monday, vballrecruiter.com’s top-ranked team in the 18s division in Drive Nation 18 Red continued its magnificent beginning to this season. Drive Nation already captured two national qualifiers at Florida Fest and Lone Star and now adds the Triple Crown 18s Elite Division championship after topping Coast 18-1 in three sets, 23-25, 25-19, 16-14, in the final. It capped a perfect 9-0 run for Drive Nation, but the North Texas Region squad definitely had to work for it. The championship match was one of six three-setters for Drive Nation, including in its final four outings of the weekend. Drive Nation downed both Club V 18 Ren Reed and Premier Nebraska 18 Gold in three on Day 1, then closed Day 2 by outlasting Adidas KiVA 18 Red before continuing on Monday by edging NPJ 18 Forefront in the quarterfinals and Munciana 18 Samurai in the semis. For now, there’s no doubt about it. Drive Nation is the team to beat in the 18s. Moving to the 17s, the craziest upsets took place on Day 2 and I highlighted those here. That meant the crown was completely up for grabs as none of the favorites were around to contend for it. The last two standing were NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami and OT 17 Aaron, just the final everyone predicted! NKYVC finished runner up last year in 16s and wasn’t going to accept second place again as NKYVC swept 27-25, 25-20. You have to give it up to NKYVC, which only lost to Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite on Day 1. Among NKYVC’s victories were Madfrog 17 Green, Skyline 17 Royal, Coast 17-1, A5 17 Jing and Premier Nebraska 17 Gold, which already is qualified for 17 Open this summer. NKYVC recently finished tied for fifth at Central Zone, where the team was playing without standout middle Julia Hunt. Clearly, NKYVC was determined to show out better here in KC and it certainly did in very impressive fashion! I had NKYVC ranked No. 12 in the country to begin the year but they tumbled down to No. 28 in the latest update after the Central Zone result. Next time, NKYVC is sure to move up. In the 16s division, Surfside 16 PV Legends made a statement by downing Hou Skyline 16 Royal, 25-18, 25-22, and taking home the trophy. Surfside came into the tournament ranked No. 11 in our Top 50 while Hou Skyline was No. 5. Surfside only lost against fourth-ranked Drive Nation 16 Red on Day 1. Seeing Surfside improve its roster from last year’s 15s bunch, it stood to reason that the club would take a step forward this season. But this quickly? No, that wasn’t expected. The 15s championship match was incredible, with third-ranked Skyline 15 Royal clipping No. 16 SCVC 15 Roxy in three, 23-25, 25-23, 16-14. Skyline was swept by Boiler Jrs 15 Gold on Day 1 but didn’t lose outside that. While it wasn’t surprising to see Skyline perform as well as it did because of additions to its roster, SCVC started off in Power Pool C and certainly wasn’t expected to make the final. Closing out with the 14s, it was the TAV 14 Black show. The NTR club went 9-0, capping its run by sweeping Drive Nation 14 Red, 25-12, 25-21, in the final. TAV downed Arizona Storm 14 Thunder in an emotional match in the semis. TAV took it in three, 25-21, 17-25, 15-9, in a rematch of last year’s 13 Open semifinals showdown, which Arizona Storm won in three. They’ll be more from the amazing weekend in the coming days, please stay tuned.

FREE: Triple Crown Preview And Players To Watch

February 15, 2023

When it comes to the Triple Crown NIT, there is no debating the event has established itself as the premier tournament outside the season-ending national championships. The same rings true as the latest version rolls around this coming President Day’s weekend in Kansas City, once again delivering an unmatched depth of the field with the format allowing for something we don’t see elsewhere throughout the season. It is really a perfect combination. That’s the beauty of Triple Crown. There is no national championship on the line. No team in the field is chasing any bids to qualify. The results really don’t mean much in the big scope of the season and yet because so many of the top teams from around the country are in attendance, there is undeniable prestige when it comes to winning the one-of-a-kind tournament. Like the national championships and qualifiers, teams do begin Day 1 of Triple Crown in pool formats. However, that’s about the only similarity between the tournaments. The format of Triple Crown varies in that it uses a Power Pool format for the opening day, in addition to traditional pool play. The 15-18s have four, eight-team power pools, while the 14s have three, eight-team power pools. These teams are guaranteed to make the 64-team bracket. That’s another difference, with bracket play starting on Day 2. Also, teams not in Power Pools can still advance to the 64-team bracket. It’s unique in that there is no Open, Premier or Club divisions, so any team entered in a respective age division has a chance to win it all regardless of initial placement. The fact remains that we get to see so many high-octane matches from first serve is what truly separates this tournament. It’s even different than USAV’s national championships, which feature 36 of the best teams in the country. Even then, the top teams are split up and don’t play each other over the course of the first two days. At Triple Crown, we are going to see powerhouse clubs going head-to-head on the first match of the weekend! Get ready, it doesn’t get any better than what’s ahead. Below, we run through the 14-18s divisions, highlighting the teams in the Power Pools and where they are ranked in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings, as well as spotlighting Players to Watch and providing brief analysis and predictions (that are sure to fail!). (Updates, fixes, changes or questions please email chris@vballrecruiter.com) 18s POWER POOL A (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings) POWER POOL B (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings) POWER POOL C (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings) POWER POOL D (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings) Other vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs Outside Power Pools 5-Star Athletes 4-Star Athletes OUTLOOK/PREDICTION: The 18s are in a much different spot than the rest of the age groups. The 18s have already started their qualifying season and thus have played more volleyball on bigger stages than the youngers. In fact, 17 of the 19 Open qualifiers are in attendance. Metro 18 Travel and Paramount 18 VBC are the only two with Open bids so far not here. Every team from vballrecruiter.com’s Top 10 is here, and Circle City 18 Purple joins Metro as the only Top 20 teams missing from the field. Overall, 42 of the 50 teams in our national rankings are participating. Last year’s USAV 17 Open gold medalist 1st Alliance 18 Gold starts off in Power Pool B. Drive Nation 18 Red has captured two qualifiers so far and is looking to keep its hot start going. Historically, tournament winners come from Power Pool A but the depth of teams in Power Pool B could upset that fact this year. 1st Alliance and Wave 18 Juliana are both capable of coming out of Power Pool B and winning it all. But of course the top suspects are coming from Power Pool A. Drive Nation, Coast 18-1, Sunshine 18 LA and A5 18 Marc are among the handful of teams I’m picking from to win it all. Munciana 18 Samurai came on and surprised last year in an upset, so we can’t discount Munciana. However, the feeling here is the title match is going to come down to Drive Nation and Club V, with Drive Nation leaving with another trophy to add to its collection so far this season. *** 17s POWER POOL A (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings) POWER POOL B (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings) POWER POOL C (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings) POWER POOL D (w/vballrecruiter.com National Rankings) Other vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs Outside Power Pools 5-Star Athletes 4-Star Athletes OUTLOOK/PREDICTION: There are only five teams missing from vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 national rankings! That’s how loaded this division is. The storyline of the 17s is can anyone touch the very top of the division? Dynasty 17 Black, TAV 17 Black and A5 17 Jing lead an unbelievable field but we want to know if anyone can surpass them? Yes, HJV 17 Elite has defeated TAV this season, so we know it’s definitely possible. But will it happen? Dynasty, A5 and Premier Nebraska 17 Gold already have secured their Open bids, but for many of the rest Triple Crown represents the first big travel tournament of the season. It’s much less predictable than the 18s. That’s the fun of this division, is we are going to see teams rise up and establish themselves as the next tier of teams behind the Big 3. I was a bit surprised not to see Co Jrs 17 Kevin and 1st Alliance 17 Gold both land in Power Pool A. Instead, both are in Power Pool B. They are a pair of teams to watch as both could make very deep runs and wind up in medal contention. Two dark horses – if you can call any team from any Power Pool a dark horse – are Vision 17 Gold and Triangle 17 Black. Both are strong enough to be in Power Pool B, but are both in Power Pool D. I

2026: Player Rankings Update (Feb. 15)

February 15, 2023

Part of the past two weeks have been spent updating vballrecruiter.com’s Player Rankings. We started off with the Classes of 2023 and 2024 last week. The updates this week focus on the Class of 2025 and finally, the Class of 2026! Below, you can find freshmen who have moved from 4 to 5-stars and from 3 to 4-stars, as well as all of the new additions. You can access the full Player Rankings here. 4-STARS MOVED TO 5-STARS Layli Ostovar OH Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar Layla Austin OH Skyline 15 Royal Ayanna Watson OH Vegas Aces 16 UA Henley Anderson OH AP 15 Adidas 3-STARS MOVED TO 4-STARS Halle Thompson OH H Skyline 15 Royal Nadi’ya Shelby OH H Skyline 15 Royal Cala Haffner L/DS Team Pineapple 15 Black Ava McBride S/RS Actyve 15 Black Sienna Fry RS Summit 15 Elite Madeline Kraft L/DS Northern Lights 15-1 Paisley Pavliska OH Alamo 15 Premier Genevieve Harris S NC Academy 15 Diamond Sydney Geselbracht MB Elevation 15 Tony Brooklyn Hardy MB ID Crush 15 Bower Sidney Sprada OH Elevation 15 Tony Natalie Surges OH MKE Sting 15 Gold Marlee Sivak OH MKE Sting 15 Gold Mallory Matheny S Mintonette Sports m.51 Madison Miles OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Layla Hoying OH Mintonette Sports m.51 Ella Andrews MB Legacy 15 Adidas Ella Grimes L/DS Elevation 15 Tony Caroline Huseman RS TAV 15 Black Kylie Kleckner OH TAV 15 Black NEW ADDITIONS Erin Clark S/L/DS Aspire 15 Premier Anna Flores S TAV 15 Black Leilani Lawrence OH OT 15 Randy Haley Robinson OH/RS ESVC 15 Black Gianna Reamer OH Revolution PGH 16 White Ammecy Ray L/DS SPVB 15 Elite Gwen Koss OH HJV 15 Elite Tierney Ervin OH NPJ Seattle 15 National Addison West OH Premier Nebraska 15 Gold Alia Schoonover MB Mintonette Sports. m51 Geli St. Laurent RS Drive Nation 15 Red Arianna Muoneke OH HJV 15 Elite Ashlyn Seay OH/RS Drive Nation 15 Red Bellamie Beus OH ID Crush 15 Bower Carly Markham DS/L Triangle 15 Black Casandra Doll OH Balboa Bay 15 Blue Chyanne Robinson OH Dig This 16 Black Elle Holley OH TAV 15 Black Francesca Lorenzo OH Lions 14-1 Kinnady Boothe S/OH Piedmont NTR 15 KM Laura Eichert OH WVBA 16 Adidas Liv Hosford MB MVA Peyton Carlson OH FC Elite 18 Elite Ryea Jackson MB Drive Nation 15 Red Sienna Franks OH TAV 15 Blue Soraya Dennis S Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar Grace Herzog MB Elevation 15 Tony Mackenna Golden RS Mizuno M1 151 Madison Anspaugh OH VC United 15-1 Kennedy Tisdale MB MKE Sting 15 Gold Ava Brown S/RS Black Swamp 151

2025: Player Rankings Update (Feb. 14)

February 14, 2023

Last week, vballrecruiter.com released updates to the Player Rankings for the Classes of 2023 and 2024. The updates move forward, with the latest featuring the Class of 2025! Below, you can find those players who have moved from 4 to 5-stars and from 3 to 4-stars, as well as all of the new additions. You can access the full Player Rankings here. 4-STARS MOVED TO 5-STARS Kaci Demaria OH Surfside 16 PV Legends Madison Quest OH MKE Sting 16 Gold 3-STARS MOVED TO 4-STARS Ryan Murphy S/RS JJVA 16 Teal Bella Bullington OH SPVB 16 Elite Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC 17 Roxy Izzy Mahaffey L/DS Arizona Storm 16 Thunder Lauryn Mack OH TAV 16 Black Taylor Porter OH Hou Skyline 16 Royal Shelby Burriss MB Drive Nation 17 Red Reese Dunkle MB Circle City 16 Purple Kristen Simon L/DS Adidas KiVA 16 Red Katie Gielas RS Elevation 16 Goller Izzy Busignani OH Mich Elite 16 Mizuno Emma Koceja OH MKE Sting 16 Gold NEW ADDITIONS Abbie Hagedorn RS Premier Nebraska 16 Gold Anna Barr OH Madfrog 16 Green Anna Cathcart OH OVA 16 Black Bria Dawson MB Pohaku 16-1 Britton Finley OH Madfrog 16 Green Delaney Dorscht OH WVBA 16 Adidas Georgi Stein OH AZ Sky 16G Hannah Leftridge OH HPSTL 16 Royal Jane Gambel OH NOLA 16 Alyx Kamden Mitchell S OJVA 16-1 Gold Laney Wilson Opp AZ Sky 16G Michaela Zuniga DS/L TAV 16 Black Morgan Collier MB Waco VBC 16 Black Morgan Inemer OH/RS Madfrog 16 Green Morgan VanVoorhis OH TAV 16 Black Savannah Simpson OH Coast 16-1 Zoey Matias L/DS Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Rebecca Ring OH VC United 16 Elite Sonja Laaksonen OH Vital 16-1 Gold Addison Horner S/RS 1st Alliance 16 Gold Maylynn Mitchell OH Forza1 North 16 Gemma Morris L/DS MAVA 17-1 Select Audrey Nuckols RS SG Elite 16 Rosh Lauren Farris OH Tstreet 16 Naseri Macey Hughes RS Alamo 16 Premier Zoe Baliva OH/RS HPSTL 16 Royal Pyper Nelson OH/MB A4 Volley 17 Tyler Jillian Tippmann S/RS Team Pineapple 16 Black

Arizona Storm Elite ID Clinic: Red Hat Games Invites And Show Stoppers

February 13, 2023

The vballrecruiter.com Elite ID Clinic tour continued with its latest stop at the home of Arizona Storm in the greater Phoenix area this past weekend. While the Super Bowl and WM Phoenix Open were also in town showcasing the talents of their respective sports, we like to believe the real superstars spent Saturday showing out in hopes of getting on our radar for the upcoming The Red Hat Games set for December in Dallas. The turnout was incredible and was backed by very energetic, upbeat coaches and an on-point DJ who helped set the electric vibe that carried throughout the event. At the conclusion, Vballrecruiter announced the latest round of invites to The Red Hat Games. Here are the players receiving invites: Congrats to all invited! It’s important to know the invitation process is ongoing. We noted many more players from the clinic who could be receiving invites down the road as the season goes on. Additionally, not only did we hand out invites and keep tabs on possible future invites, we also wanted to highlight our Show Stoppers. These are players who in addition to our invites also caught our eye with their performances. SHOW STOPPERS Makena Rumple SO MB/RS Arizona Storm 16 Thunder: The 6-0 Rumple can hit across all spots in the front row. She was swinging away and drilling balls. Kenna Cogill SO MB Arizona Storm 16 Thunder: The 6-4 Cogill is a presence in the middle on the both sides. She was scoring at will during drills and putting up a wall of a block too. Ireland Avalos JR S Arizona Storm 17 Thunder: Avalos was steady and consistent in her delivery and location. Lily Rolfes FR S Arizona Storm 15 Thunder: Rolfes’ vocal leadership was on display. She was both talkative and encouraging. She also has good vision and sees the court the well. Alison Miller JR L/DS AZ Sky 17B: Miller is a fluid libero who moves around the court well. She was playing great defense and showed her scrappiness. Ashlyn White JR S Odyssey 17 Lightning: White showed great body control on her deliveries. She’s an athletic setter who was making sound decisions where to go with the ball. Kendall Omoruyi 8th MB AZ Storm 14 Thunder: At 6-4, Omoruyi is a next-level talent! That’s obvious from her impactful play at the net, from blasting ball after ball over the block or stuffing balls at the net on defense. Reagan Wallraff 8th OH/MB Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: Wallraff, at 5-11, was hitting out of both the middle and left sides during drills and was swinging equally well. She’s a free swinger who was taking big rips and hitting balls hard. Lauren Forelli 8th OH AZ Rev 14 Premier: Forelli is another next-level talent who really stood out with her attacking skills. She hammered the very first ball of the day and only kept it up from there, showing her lively arm and ability to put balls away. Tessa Larkin 8th OH Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: It was impossible to miss Larkin and her hitting clinic she put on. She has a loose arm and can just whip it and delivered impressive kills time and time again. Pulelehua Laikona 8th L/DS Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: Laikona displayed plenty of poise. She was a wall on defense, getting almost everything up coming her way and covering the court very well. Adelyn Chang 8th S Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: Chang was dishing well. She’s an easy-release setter who is smooth with her deliver. Jade Smith 7th S Arizona Storm 13 Thunder: There’s no doubt Smith comes with plenty of upside. She’s young as a seventh-grader but she showed what’s coming down the line with her ability to move the ball around and connect with hitters. Kalli Lipo FR L/DS Arizona Storm 15 Thunder: Lipo brought a lot of energy to the court, making plenty of hustle plays and giving all-out effort. Fara Bronson 8th S/RS Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: Bronson had her moments, as she displayed lots of potential with her versatility. Isabel Miller 7th L/DS AZ EVJ: Miller’s passing was sound and on point. She didn’t miss very many plays that came her way and she showed up well when it came to making plays. Cassidy Armstrong 8th S AZ Sky 14G: Armstrong had a strong outing. She was consistent from start to finish with her setting. She showed a clean, soft release and was connecting well with the various hitters. Olivia Kauffman 8th MB/RS AZ Sky 14G: Kauffman is a physical attacker. She swings and hits hard and can pressure the defense with her power. Joelle Kelly 8th OH Idaho One 14 Blue: There is tremendous potential when it comes to Kelly. She’s a big kid with long arms and she’s a powerful swinger. She’s definitely one to keep tabs on. Kristen Sheehy 8th OH/MB AZ Rev 14 Premier: Sheehy was another who stood out with her arm. She’s a strong attacker and another we marked to follow closely as she continues to develop and improve. Amari Frazier 7th MB/RS AZ Sky 13G: Frazier caught our eye because she was also making herself known at the net. She’s strong and can be a real impact at the net as she continues to get better. Aubrey Butterfield 8th S/RS/DS Club One 14 Platinum: A lefty, Butterfield was a solid, all-around player who can make a difference in several ways. Bailey Lambert 8th MB AZ Sky 14G: Lambert is a lanky attacker with a high ceiling. She has a good arm and was coming on the attack strong. Aniah Brown 8th MB AZ Epic 14 Elite: A couple things about Brown. She is athletic and comes with lots of upside. She’s going to get better at controlling her shots and it’s going to take her to the next level. Kaitlin James 8th MB/RS Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: James is a taller 8th-grader. She flashed her potential

2024: Player Rankings Update (Feb. 9)

February 9, 2023

The latest Class of 2024 Player Rankings update is finally here! We’ll continue watching these players throughout the club season and that will lead to more changes and updates down the road. For now, the latest rankings feature any players who have moved from 4 to 5-stars and from 3 to 4-stars, as well as a bunch of new players added to the list! The full player rankings are available here. 3-STARS MOVED TO 4-STARS Calli Kenny S/RS 1st Alliance 17 Gold Savannah Skopal S AJV 17 Adidas (Rice) Alaleh Tolliver OH Academy 17 Tsunami NEW ADDITIONS Lauren Medeck OH Premier Nebraska 17 Gold (South Dakota) Meg Berkland L/DS Iowa Rockets 17R Andi Spies S 608 Jrs 17-1 (Middle Tennessee State) Malayah Long S VCNebraska 17 Elite (Marquette) Mackenzie Dean OH Club Ignit Select 17 Blue (Kansas) Miliana Sylvester MB 417 Jrs 17 Nat Black (Hawaii) Reese Ricketts OH 417 Jrs 17 Nat Black (North Alabama) Kiana Dinn S Tri-State Elite 17 Blue (Pitt) Alexis Alexander MB Pohaku 17-1 Amelia Creacy RS H Skyline 17 Royal (Angelo State) Ava Houser S Excel 17 National Red Ava Napierski MB Club V 17 Ren Matthew (Utah State) Bella Lee JR L/DS OT 17 Aaron (Florida) Brianna Watson OH/RS Drive Nation 17 Red (LSU) Caroline Tredwell MB TAV (UTSA) Skyline 17 Black Carrington Cook RS HJV 17 Premier Delaney Bub OH Idaho Crush Delany Gash OH Lex United 17 Adidas (Akron) Haley Yount MB Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite Harper Hall S TAV 17 Black Haumea Marumoto OH Spike and Serve Katherine Mansfield MB Madfrog 17 Green (Cal) Landry Braziel OH OP2 Leilia Toailoa OH Vegas Aces 17 UA (Alabama) Livia Niu S AJV 17 Adidas Lola Davila L/DS Alamo 17 Premier (Texas Tech) Malyssa Cawa L/DS Momentous 17 Dan Makena Yates L/DS Ocala Power (Mississippi State) Paisley Douglas L/DS VCNebraska 17 Elite (USC) Rachel Resta S TAV 17 Blue Regan Harp OH Ozark Jrs 18 National (Central Arkansas) Taryn Barnes OH Madfrog 17 Green Bianca Richardson OH Vegas Aces 17 UA Whitney Wallace L/DS Vision 17 Gold

2023: Player Rankings Update (Feb. 8)

February 8, 2023

With the new club season well under way, we have updated our Class of 2023 Player Rankings. The latest rankings features players who have moved up from either 4 to 5-stars or from 3 to 4-stars as well as over 30 new additions to the list! You can view the full rankings here. 4-STARS MOVED TO 5-STARS Noemie Glover RS Coast 18 Ozhan (Oregon) Ava Sarafa S Mich Elite 18 Mizuno (Michigan) Nayeli Gonzalez OH (Iowa State) 3-STARS MOVED TO 4-STARS Morgan Burke S/OH NE Elite 18 (Michigan) Fatimah Hall S/RS Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (San Diego State) NEW ADDITIONS Abigayle Dickinson OH OTVA Orlando (Texas Tech) Alexandra Farquhar Opp Absolute 18 Black (Harvard) Amelia Nott MB Elevation 18 Spinney (Morehead State) Anabel Kotzakov OH Balboa Bay 18 Blue Anika Huelskamp OH LAVA 18 West 18 Molten LS (Purdue University Northwest) Ashley Sturzoiu OH A5 18 Marc (Mississippi State) Ava Schabes S Adversity 18 Adidas (Colgate) Avary DeBlieck MB Sky High Adidas 18 Elite (Loyola-Chicago) Brooke Naniseni OH Ku’ikahi 18 Wahine Claire Dewine S HJV 18 Elite (Colgate) Ella Chaney OH Excel 18 National Red (Louisiana-Lafayette) Ella Lomigora MB Arizona Storm 18 Thunder (Long Beach State) Emily Breazeale OH Birmingham Volleyball Club (West Florida) Emily Matias OH/MB Tribe 18 Cardinal (Coastal Carolina) Grace Flanagan MB Wave 18 Juliana (Santa Clara) Grace Greenlee MB AZ Rev 18 Premier (Northern Arizona) Jalyn Stout OH Gainesville Jrs 18 Black (Coastal Carolina) Jillian Neal OH Wave 18 Juliana Kamden Schrand DS/L Tri-State Elite 18 Blue (Louisville) Kitty Sandt S/RS SPVC 18 Elite (Clemson) Laine Briggs L/DS Balboa Bay 18 Blue (Pepperdine) Lauren Schneider OH Skyline (Kansas State) Mari Lawton MB Ku’ikahi 18 Wahine (Fairfield) Mary Kate Sheehan RS 1st Alliance 18 Silver (John Carroll) Maya Imoto-Eakin S Ku’ikahi 18 Wahine (Illinois) Reese Burry DS/L GP 18 Rox Rylee Busse OH (Memphis) Sarah Schubert OH Hawaii Intensity Senna Roberts-Navarro OH Ku’ikahi 18 Wahine (Seton Hall) Taliah Lee OH Club V 18 Ren Reed (Long Beach State) Tanon Rosenthal S/RS Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar Tatum Holderied MB Northeast (Fordham) Tatum Lane S Surfside 18 PV Legends (San Diego) Zoe Morales DS/L Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar

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