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SLC: Outsides Bringing Heat (Part 2)

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s qualifier in So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top outsides we saw throughout the course of the weekend. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Alexandra Richter, Outside, Skyline 15 Royal – A tall, lanky outside, Richter is the go-to option for Skyline. That’s because she’s an effective scorer. Set her high and let her go up and get it, as she’s capable of hitting over blocks. Bellamie Beus, Outside, ID Crush 15 Bower – Beus can bring some power and pop to the Crush attack. When the sets there and she’s able to go after, she’s capable of really connecting. Alyssa Aguayo, Outside, Aspire 15 Premier – A six-rotation option for Aspire, Aguayo gets her share of swings in helping carrying the offensive load. She definitely had some moments taking some nice solid swings. Lily Davis, Outside, Austin Skyline 15 Royal – Davis is a key part of the attack as the go-to on the left. She’s a consistent scorer who can take aggressive swings and will get the ball in the back row as well. Simone Roslon and Kiana Greer, Outsides, Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar – These two outsides for Beach play a similar style. Neither are the biggest, hardest hitters at their position but they are critical to what Beach does. That’s because both are strong passers out of serve receive and smart, heady hitters who don’t try to overdo it. 16 OPEN Denasia Maxey, Outside, Excel 16 National Red – Wherever Maxey is on the court defenses need to be aware. She’s a high-flyer who can put a ball down from anywhere. Maya Witherspoon, Outside, Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite – It was a tough Day 1 for Rockwood, which lost a pair of tight three-set results and didn’t break pool. However, Witherspoon flashed her talent and arm swing and has ton of potential. Brooklyn Tealer, Outside, Gainesville Jrs 16 Black – If you like attackers who get up in the air and let it loose, you’ll love Tealer. She flies, has a big arm and gets set all over making her a definite weapon for Gainesville. Abby McClain, Outside, SIVBC 16 Black – McClain is an instrumental part of the offense for Sudden Impact. She’s tall and a physical hitter who’s more than capable of putting down balls and carrying the load offensively. Brianna Watson, Outside, Madfrog 16 Green – Long and lanky, Watson soars on the attack. She’s still learning and developing obviously but one thing is for sure. You can’t set her high enough and that can make her difficult to defend. Lainee Pyles, Outside, Madfrog 16 Green – Listed as a middle on the roster, Pyles was pushed to the outside because of an injury on the roster. It might be difficult putting her back in the middle as she could stay at outside or even switch to right side. She’s long and posed a legitimate threat on the outside with her ability to score. 17 OPEN Nayeli Gonzalez, Outside, Alamo 17 Premier – The Iowa State commit played a large and important role in helping Alamo qualify over the weekend. Gonzalez seems to play bigger than her listed height of 6-0. She’s a physical attacker who hits with power and defenses don’t have much luck slowing her down. Alexandra Acevedo, Outside, ID Crush 17 Bower – Acevedo plays a big role as a six-rotation outside in Crush’s plan. She’s lengthy and really good offensive player who can score in multiple ways. Torrey Stafford and Drew Wright, Outsides, Sunshine 17 LA – When Stafford is on, watch out. The Pitt commit can soar and hit over blocks with ease, making her a major offensive force for Sunshine. Meanwhile, Sunshine was dealing with some injuries and Wright really stepped up and played solid role, especially with her strong passing skills out of serve receive. Sydney Dunning and Daniela Cranford, Outsides, Co Jrs 17 Kevin – Both outsides proved to be reliable options for Co Jrs throughout the weekend. Dunning, who is committed to Cal State Bakersfield, will get her share of sets and can scoring consistently. Cranford knows how to score off the block well and seems to excel at swinging down the line.

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SLC: Right Sides Out In Force

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s qualifier coming So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top right sides we saw throughout the course of the weekend. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Addison Gaido, Right Side, Austin Skyline 15 Royal – A good option for Austin Skyline on the right side because Gaido brings height to the front row and can really go at smaller blocks with some strong rips at the ball. Evelyn Potter, Right Side, Flyers 15 APX-John – Flyers isn’t a particularly big team but Potter helps make up for it with her attacking. She’s able to play with physicality and is capable of hitting hard balls when it lines up for her. Raegan Richardson, Right Side, AZ Storm 15 Thunder – Richardson helps balance out the Storm attack when she checks in the front row because Storm will look to get her the ball when in system. She had moments where she had some big swings and loud winners. 16 OPEN Avah Armour, Right Side, Co Jrs 16 Sherri – A junior already committed to Central Florida, at 6-5 Armour is a handful for defenses to figure out and slow down. Co Jrs will line her up at outside or right side and at times can be part of serve receive. Wherever she’s at though Co Jrs is going to get her the ball and let her over and around blocks with her long frame. Jessica Jones, Right Side/Middle, Flyers 16 APX Dylan – There’s a lot to like about Jones and her long presence on the court. She’s a versatile player for Flyers, playing at middle or right side depending on what Flyers wants to do. It really doesn’t matter because she’s effective at any spot with her fluid swing and ability to hit from the left, middle or right and always keeping pressure on the defense. Howdy Hawkins, Right Side, Livewire 16 Adidas – Hawkins can raise some eyebrows when she swings. She carries a lively arm and can crack some balls with she gets a hold of them, including when she’s getting set in the back row. Madison Bland, Right Side, SIVBC 16 Black – Sudden Impact can move Bland around, setting her on the right and on the X in hopes of getting her involved in the offense. The lefty is definitely an option when she’s front row who can provide consistent scoring. Gia McGrew, Right Side, Gainesville Jrs 16 Black – One thing McGrew brings to the lineup is her physicality. Gainesville will get her the ball on the right side and she can take some powerful swings. She’s also able to return the favor with her blocking. 17 OPEN Sarah Wadsworth, Right Side, Arizona Storm 17 Thunder – This 5-11 right side can get up and is an explosive attacker for Storm. Eryn Jones, Right Side, AZ REV 17 Premier – With the firepower at outside, teams can’t forget about Jones on the right. When in system, she helps balance out the attack in a big way. She can get up and hit with power and some of her kills really fire up the team. She also is used in serve receive at times, adding another element to her game. Gabriella Placide, Right Side, Co Jrs 17 Kevin – The more Placide is involved in the offense, the better Co Jrs is playing. At 6-2, she has a big jump to boot and those two things cause lots of problems for the defense when she’s on the attack. Olivia Babcock, Right Side, Sunshine 17 LA – Another Pitt commit who stood out, Babcock has the ability to take over matches at times. She can absolutely blast balls when she’s on and if the block isn’t tall enough there’s not much the defense can do to slow her down. Kierstyn Barton, Right Side, Aspire 17 Premier – Opponents don’t want to let Barton get going. She’s a big swinger and a physical attacker who can unload on her shots, pumping up her teammates when she sends down a ball with authority.

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SLC: These Middles Were Hangers And Bangers

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s qualifier coming in So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top middles we saw throughout the course of the weekend in Utah. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Isabella Ehrlich, Middle, Absolute 15 Black – It’s easy to see the potential Ehrlich holds. While the connection was shaky at times, Absolute certainly looks for Ehlrich when she’s in and she can put down when she connects. She also plays with a fiery energy, especially when she delivers a stuff at the net. Amelia Robinson, Middle, Austin Skyline 15 Royal – Teams need to be aware of Robinsons when she’s up front as Austin Skyline will get her involved. They do like running the 3 set with her and for good reason as she’s effective scoring off of it. Aniya Hall, Middle, Alamo 15 Premier – Hall can factor into the Alamo offense when the pass is there. She gets off the ground well and moves well which makes her a good option running the slide. Kaelynn Sims, Middle, Skyline 15 Royal – Sims is another middle with good jumping ability. She also can line up and hit from the left which add a wrinkle in the attack. Makena Rumple, Middle, Arizona Storm 15 Storm – Rumple adds some physicality in the middle for Storm. She’s also a capable blocker who can help slow down the opposing attack. Olivia Wayne, Middle, Madfrog 15 Green – Madfrog can put up a big front row and Wayne is part of that equation. When in system Madfrog will look to get her going. She can also line up and attack from the left side. 16 OPEN Lillian Croshaw, Middle, Madfrog 16 Green – Talk about a physical presence in the middle. That’s exactly what Croshaw adds to the lineup. Madfrog will get her involved offensively when in system and she can score on good sets, but her blocking can be a game-changer at times. Ashley Duckworth, Middle, Vegas Aces 16 UA – Duckworth is a tireless worker and is a rare middle who plays all the way around. Vegas runs all kinds of sets to get her going and involved and she carries a strong swing and really can carry the offense at times. Zoey Burgess, Middle, Club V 16 Ren Wayne – Plenty of top college coaches were watching Burgess do her thing. She’s a legit weapon on offense who can pound balls down and she moves really well in her 6-2 frame. Thea Carter, Middle, Alamo 16 Premier – Another lanky middle in the division. Carter swings well and can really connect and score when the set is there. Carly Butler, Middle, UPVBC 16 Open – Ultimate was in the mix on Day 2 but lost out on tiebreakers to finish third. The more Butler can be involved in the offense the better. She jumps and swings well. Chelsea Sutton, Middle, OT 16 Will – At 6-3, Sutton definitely can hit down on the ball when she gets a whack at it. She changes the game when she’s in with both her attacking and blocking and she also serves fairly well. Addisyn Pohl and Bria Carlisle, Middles, AZ Rev 16 Premier – AZ Rev has a good middle combo with Pohl (6-4) and Carlisle (6-2). Carlisle will get out on the slide and can be an effective option for Rev there. Pohl is a physical presence who can put up a big block in the middle. Mackenzie Parsons, Middle, Coast 16-1 – When Coast’s ball control breaks down it loses the ability to get Parsons involved and the offense can bog down. She’s an efficient scorer when things are clicking and she’s getting set and can carry the offense when she’s up front. 17 OPEN Farah Farooq, Middle, Asics Willowbrook 17 Gold – One thing we noticed about Farooq in the middle was her explosiveness. She can get up and hit straight down with booming success. Hannah Whittingstall, Middle, Alamo 17 Premier – A 6-1 threat in the middle, Whittingstall delivers for Alamo on both ends. She runs a capable slide to help out on the offensive side. She’s also came through with some big blocks at times to contribute defensively. Mia Lee and Taylor Harvey, Middles, Club V 17 Ren Reed – The middle duo for Club V bring some serious athleticism to the position in their own ways. Harvey, who is part of the 2025 class, is 6-2 and can touch 10-5. She’s lanky, gets up quick and can definitely put it down. Lee is listed at 6-0 but can touch 10-7 so she really soars and as a result can deliver some impressive kills at times. GG Greenlee, Middle, AZ Rev 17 Premier – A Northern Arizona recruit and standing 6-3, Greenlee gives Rev a good offensive option in the middle when in passing well. She’s an effective scorer who takes hard cuts and is a threat on the slide. Brooklyn Briscoe, Middle, Coast 17-1 – At 6-4, Briscoe adds a physical presence to Coast’s lineup. She’ll attack out of the middle or hit from the right side when she’s lined up there and is capable of putting down some powerful swings.

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SLC: Impressive Setter Standouts

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s qualifier in So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top setters we saw throughout the course of the weekend. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Avery Lim, Setter, AZ Storm 15 Thunder – Lim, who is playing up an age group, has some nice options to dish to. Yet, one of the things that stood out is her effort on defense. She did a nice job of getting some balls up and covering a tip. Julia Waller, Setter, Absolute 15 Black – It’s hard to argue against the fact Waller helps the Absolute offense tick. She’s adept at moving the ball around, has nice hands and delivery and just overall looks smooth playing the position. Jordyn Moore, Setter/Right Side, Excel 15 National Red – Moore is a versatile player who Excels relies on. She hits across the front row and does a good job setting across the back as she has a soft touch to her delivery. Tenesyn Frye, Setter, Idaho Crush 15 Bower – Frye is part of an ID Crush team that isn’t lacking for size. She helps make up a big right side block when she’s up front. She also does a good job of varying her sets and putting the ball in a hittable window. Kaia Thiele, Setter, Alamo 15 Premier – Depending on what Alamo wants to do, Thiele can run a 5-1 or be part of a 6-2 where she actually sets across the front row. She’s consistent with her location and effective connecting with the middles. Naya Salfiti, Setter/Right Side, Madfrog 15 Green – As a two-way player, Salfiti is valuable because of her versatility. She hits across the front and sets in the back. In the front, she’s an option to be sure and can help carry the offense at times. She’s also tall and a lefty, so the future looks bright. 16 OPEN Charlie Fuerbringer, Setter/Right Side, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar – When it comes to volleyball IQ, Fuerbringer is top notch. She sees the game well and is smooth in whatever she’s doing. When she hits on the right side, she’s a smart attacker and helps carry the offense. Beach used her in a 5-1 on Day 3 and she excels as a setter with her sharp sets and ability to move the ball around. Gabriella Reeves, Setter, Alamo 16 Premier – We classify Reeves as a gamer. She works hard at her position and puts in a strong defensive effort. Taryn Dewese, Setter, TVC 16 Black – At 6-0, Dewese is a tall setter and adds some needed height to the lineup for Toledo. She does a good job running the offense and can run tempo sets at times to catch the defense off guard. Kate Schneeberg, Setter, UPVBC 16 Open – Ultimate doesn’t have a lot of size so Schneeberg’s height at the setting position really helps out when she’s across the front row. With her running the offense the team was on the cusp of reaching the gold pools. Alyssa Forelli, Setter, AZ Rev 16 Premier – Forelli is pretty consistent with her location and has good hands. Izzy Starck, Setter/Right Side, Co Jrs 16 Sherri – Starck is as an impressive player as there was in the 16s over the weekend, as there’s nothing she can’t do on the court. Co Jrs will use her to pass, set and hit and she’s well above average in all of them. Her location on her sets is rarely off and the way she jumps and attacks with physicality makes her a go-to option in the front row. Kierstin Remensperger, Setter, Coast 16-1 – The better Coast passes the better Remensperger can direct the offense. When in system, she’s good at moving the ball around and connects well with the middles to help balance out the offense. 17 OPEN Annika Sokol, Setter/Right Side, Co Jrs 17 Kevin – There’s no questioning Sokol and how integral she is to Co Jrs’ success. She’s a solid setter who was mixing it up to her hitters. She’s also someone Co Jrs relies on to score when she’s in the front row, as Co Jrs will set her on the right or run her on the X as she’s a smart hitter. Alexandra Bower, Setter, ID Crush 17 Bower – Although Crush wasn’t able to qualify from Day 3 gold pools, the Idaho club is a pesky opponent to figure out and beat. Part of that is the setting of Bower, who consistently puts her hitters in good situations to score. She also has a knack when to dump it over herself and catch the defense off guard. Lexi Yoza, Setter, AZ Rev 17 Premier – A couple of the things Yoza does well when in system is setting against the flow and getting her right side a clean look as well as being able to run tempo sets and not allow the block to fully set up. Zoe Rachow, Setter, Coast 17-1 – Rachow is physically strong setter and can get everyone involved in the attack. She’s good at setting behind her and setting up the right-side attack.

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SLC: These Liberos Were On Fire

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s that took place in So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top liberos we saw throughout the course of our weekend in Utah. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Ryan Dzierwa, Libero, TVC 15 Black – TVC needs to play with a certain scrappiness in order to compete with some of the higher-ranked clubs and Dzierwa brings that type of play to the position. She plays with good energy and has solid ball control to help anchor the defense. Brookelyn Hatton, Libero, MAVS 816 15-1 – Another team that is learning how to play against some of the top teams but Hatton had moments at libero to be sure. She’s quick and covers ground well. Lexi Nguyen, Libero, ARVC 15N1 Adidas – An energetic presence for ARVC, Nguyen can be a bit of a sparkplug for the team. She’s talkative, active and can cover some ground because of her quickness. Sophie Bridges, Libero, Flyers 15 APX John – Bridges does a nice job passing. She’s also good covering and keeping rallies going when blockers send the ball back over. Tiana Mariner, Libero, Club V 15 Ren Adam – Mariner brings athleticism to the position. Club V plays with a lot of energy and Mariner fits right in with that style as she helps hold down the defense and does a good job picking up balls. Elizabeth Bower, Libero, ID Crush 15 Bower – It seems like when teams serve Bower it’s a mistake. She’s a consistent passer out of serve receive and when the ball comes her way Crush is going to be in system more times than not. 16 OPEN Alysa Walker, Libero, Alamo 16 Premier – Hustle is part of Walker’s game as she is a scrappy defender and solid passer. Makayla Martinez, Libero, DCVA 16 Hong – We caught DCVA during Day 1 and Martinez was playing well. She gets around the court in a hurry and can make up ground quickly. Isabella Brand, Libero, AP 16 Adidas – Brand was another libero we saw during Day 1. What stood out is AP was using her to pass half the court or more in a 2-person serve receive. Ella Vogel, Libero, Co Jrs 16 Sherri – Co Jrs typically churns out some pretty good liberos and Vogel fits that mold. She’s a defensive anchor with good ball skills and will almost always make the play that’s in front of her to make. Olivia Hasbrook, Libero, Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite – You can see Hasbrook being vocal on the court and trying to communicate to teammates. She fills her role well and helps keep the defense together. Malyssa Cawa, Libero, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar – While we didn’t see much of Beach the first two days, Cawa was having a strong Day 3 during gold pools. She was active, strong in serve receive and helping to keep Beach in system. 17 OPEN Alyssa Manitzas, Libero, Alamo 17 Premier – Alamo can be something to watch offensively in that it can overshadow some of the defense being played. But Manitzas was doing a good job picking up balls coming her way and helping set the defensive tone. Emily Riley, Libero, Asics Willowbrook 17 Gold – When we were checking out Willowbrook on Day 1, Riley was on her game with solid passing in serve receive and strong ball control picking up balls and extending rallies. Caity Clancy, Libero, Co Jrs 17 Kevin – Clancy had her moments impacting matches. She seemed to be consistent in serve receive when teams challenged her and did a good job picking up some shots hit down the line at her. Eleanor Laird, Libero, Excel 17 National Red – Laird appears to be a gamer with her hustle. She moves around the court quickly and can make up some ground because of it. Isabella Anderson, Libero, AZ Rev 17 Premier – Anderson was playing especially well on Day 3 in a needed victory over Coast. She was passing well out of serve receive and making digs and extending rallies. Sydney Bold, Libero, Coast 17-1 – There’s a smoothness to the way Bold plays libero. She’s always under control and rarely misses as pass or dig.

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SLC: 15 Open Notebook

March 22, 2022

The bid recap stories featured AZ Storm 15 Thunder, Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar and Austin Skyline 15 Royal. Here, I take a look at some other points of interests from 15 Open. LOOKING AT THE SEEDINGS As we said with 17 and 16 Open, any qualifier this early in the season poses challenges when it comes to seeding. It’s hard to do with limited results. The most shocking development in this regard from Salt Lake was Day 1 top seed Absolute Black 15-1 not breaking pool on Day 2 and being eliminated. Absolute, by virtue of finishing third at Triple Crown, was a solid choice to open as the top seed but didn’t look sharp Friday or Saturday and paid the price. Of the eight No. 1 teams in their respective Day 1 pools Skyline 15 Royal and AZ Sky 15 Gold joined Absolute in not reaching the final eight. Those three spots went to Aspire 15 Premier (seeded No. 11 to start), Excel 15 National Red (seeded No. 12) and ARVC 15 Adidas (seeded No. 13). Compared to some of the things we saw in 16 and 17 Open, there wasn’t much to note outside of what happened to Absolute. BOOK THOSE OPEN SPOTS With only three bids to award, surely more teams from the Salt Lake field will gain Open spots as qualifying season continues. Here are the teams I feel like are locks to make it: Absolute Black 15-1: The feeling here is that placing third at Triple Crown and then being seeded No. 1 overall at Salt Lake put a target on Absolute’s back that the team wasn’t quite ready for. Teams were coming hard for Absolute, which seemed to struggle with its passing and ball control and didn’t really look in sync the first two days when watching them. Absolute will be better in the long run as it should learn plenty from Salt Lake. Elena Fisher is who Absolute seems to turn to on the outside when things break down. She’s got some springs to her but it’s asking a lot for her to carry the offense. Setter Julia Waller does look to get her middles involved in Isabella Ehrlich and Monika Brinlee as often as possible but looked like their timing was slightly off. Regardless, it would be shocking if Absolute doesn’t put it together and get its Open bid at some point. Excel 15 National Red: A lot of Excel teams tend to be smaller, scrappier teams. This Excel squad scraps but appears to have some more size than usual. It’s a strong front row when outside Halle Jameson and right side Jordyn Moore or paired with either middle in Catherine Warren or Aubrey Bellus. Moore also sets in the back row, with Keely Harrington the other back row setter. One thing that stood out about the group is they seem to play well together and are in sync with each other. Excel beat out Madfrog in a key victory on Day 3 to earn its shot at qualifying in the third-place match but just couldn’t find a way to get past Austin Skyline for a second time. Madfrog 15 Green: Madfrog was a victory away from playing for a bid but fell to Excel in the last match of gold pool play and finished third in the pool. Madfrog has good height in the middle with Olivia Wayne and Kylee McCoy, as well as right sides Anna Barr and Naya Salfiti, who also sets in the back row. It gives them a big right side block plus nice options for setters Sophia Wei and London Upchurch, who also have outsides Morgan VanVoorhis and Karson Barclow to work with. Madeleine Smotherman helps out defensively at libero. Like other 15s teams this time of season, Madfrog struggled with consistency. It lost to Aspire 25-12, 25-21, but then showed well against eventual champ AZ Storm the next day, losing 26-24, 25-23. Once Madfrog gets dialed in a little more and isn’t as up and down it’ll get its Open bid. Alamo 15 Premier: I didn’t see Alamo as much as I would’ve liked but I did see some of the pieces it has. Megan Fitch is legit on the outside and go-to attacker for them. Aniya Hall gets up quick in the middle and can run the slide efficiently. Setter Kaia Thiele was part of a 6-2 on Day 1 but was running a 5-1 on the final day. Alamo was 6-0 until running into Austin Skyline to open gold pools Saturday evening. Alamo defeated Austin Skyline at Triple Crown but couldn’t repeat the feat. Alamo then swept Aspire and needed to beat AZ Storm to get into a three-way tie. Alamo fell to Storm in three, becoming the only team to take a set off of Storm all weekend. ON THE RADAR Here are a few other clubs to keep an eye on who could gain Open bids down the road: Aspire 15 Premier: Aspire had a strong start to the tournament by wining five in a row, including beating Madfrog 15 Green to end Day 1 and AZ Sky 15 Gold on Day 2. But Aspire lost its final Round 2 pool match to ARVC 15 Adidas and lost its final four matches, including all three gold pool contests against AZ Storm, Alamo and Austin Skyline. Avery Boothe is a tall presence on the right side for Aspire, which also relies a lot on outside Alyssa Aguayo. This team is going to have to find a way to make up some ground against the stronger teams and if so could potentially play its way into the Open field. Skyline 15 Royal: I didn’t see a lot of Skyline either but outside Alexandra Richter was a player of note with her length at outside. She seems to be a real weapon for them. Middle Kaelynn Sims gets off the ground very well and will line up and swing from the left

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SLC: 16 Open Notebook

March 22, 2022

The first three bids of the season went to Co Jrs 16 Sherri, Club V 16 Ren Wayne and Coast 16-1. I took some time noting how their weekends played out already. So now it’s time to switch gears and take a look at some other happenings that stood out to me in 16 Open in Salt Lake City. SEEDINGS ARE HARD EARLY As I noted with 17 Open, it’s tough to seed a qualifier early on. Results are limited so it can be a bit of a guessing game, it’s just the way it is. The top three seeds respectively in AZ Storm 16 Thunder, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar and Coast 16-1 were close. Coast took the last bid over Storm and Beach finished in a three-way tie in gold pools but caught the short end of the tiebreaker stick and didn’t get to play for a bid. That wasn’t the case with the next group of original seeds in No. 4 Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite, No. 5 Madfrog 16 Green, No. 6 Gainesville Jrs 16 Black and No. 7 DCVA 16 Hong. Rockwood was bounced from contention on Day 1. The other three were knocked out on Day 2 and didn’t reach gold pools. Co Jrs, seeded No. 8, won the event of course. Club V, which finished second to Co Jrs, opened as the No. 15 seed overall. Rev 16-1 Fury was the lowest seed to make gold pools after opening as the No. 17 overall seed. OPEN SPOTS RESERVED I think these five teams are going to earn an Open bid for sure as qualifier season continues on: AZ Storm 16 Thunder: Storm was a victory away from qualifying, going down to Coast in the third-place match. Admittingly, this is a tough team to write about in the sense it really is more about the sum of its parts. Piper Rama and Blaykli Bobik were taking up spots at outsides, with setter Ireland Avalos also having middles Camila Carnejo-Farmer and Skyler Gartin as options. Storm lost its opening match on Day 1 to Rev 16-1 Fury but then won seven in row, including beating Madfrog, Coast and AZ Rev 16 Premier on Day 2. Storm could’ve clinched a bid outright but fell to Co Jrs to end gold pool play before facing Coast again. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar: Losing out on set percentage after a three-way tie at 2-1 in gold pools kept Beach from a chance at qualifying. Beach was done in by Club V on Day 1 and then again to open gold pool action Saturday evening. Beach responded by beating both Coast and OT in three sets to force the three-way tie with Coast and Club V. There’s not much height to this group but Beach can scrap and has a high IQ player in setter/right side Charlie Fuerbringer. She was running a 5-1 on the last day and is very smooth at what she does. The team’s only real height comes from Babi Gubbins on the left. The attack can be pin heavy at times, with Fuerbringer also targeting Kate Martin at outside and Gabriella Destler, who was playing right side. Bryn Shankle and Jade Dudley-Epps fill out the middle spots. The defense does help carry Beach with liberos Malyssa Cawa and Summer Suppik plus DS Taylor Mercado doing good jobs. OT 16 J Will: There’s an element of what-if to OT’s weekend in Salt Lake. While OT made it to gold pools, it finished 0-3 against Coast, Club V and Long Beach. However, the losses to Coast (15-11 in the third) and Beach (15-13 in the third) could have gone the other way and it would have been a different story. Chelsea Sutton is a game-changer in the middle with her size and ability to disrupt opponents with her blocking and as well as her attacking. Rauly Eason also has some physicality to her as well in the middle. Connor Rahn carries a good swing and a portion of the offense at outside. OT just needs to learn to play with more consistency because its performance was too up and down at times. When OT figures that out it’ll get its Open bid. Rev 16-1 Fury: Rev Fury had a tough go at it in gold pools, falling to AZ Storm, Co Jrs and Flyers 16 Dylan. It did beat Storm on Day 1 and OT on Day 2, so the squad is capable of playing at a high enough level to qualify. For one, it has a rising talent in 6-3 outside Lauren Harden. With her, Rev is going to competitive against just about anyone. There’s also height at other places with Lilah Odegard (6-4) in the middle and Madison Evett (6-2) on the right. Those are a few targets for setter Kamryn Utley. Harden, Evett and Utley, as well as middle Lucy Kay and outside Sydney Lohman, came to Rev this season after playing for Team Indiana a year ago and tying for third in 15 Open at AAUs. There’s no doubt this squad is hungry to make it to Open at JN’s in 2022. Madfrog 16 Green: One of the surprises of the weekend was seeing Madfrog knocked from contention on Day 2. Madfrog was without its best player though in outside Avery Jackson. When she returns watch out because this team has firepower. Lainee Pyles was moved from the middle to play one of the outside positions, along with Brianna Watson. Lillian Croshaw is a physical middle with a big block while Kate Mansfield fills out the other middle spot. Akunna Cos-Okpalla is a high-jumping right side so there’s plenty to work with. When Jackson returns Madfrog will have options. The staff could move Pyles to the right as she looked solid swinging from the pin, or it could use Croshaw on the right and put Pyles back in the middle. Whatever the case, this team is far from hitting its potential and will

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SLC: 17 Open Notebook

March 22, 2022

I wrote about the 17 Open bid winners – Club V 17 Ren Reed, Alamo 17 Premier and AZ Rev 17 Premier – already and now I’m going to turn my attention to some other points of interest that caught my attention over the three days being in Salt Lake City. SEEDINGS REFLECT THAT’S IT EARLYEarly in the season, with really just Triple Crown to go off of, it’s difficult to seed a qualifier like SLC. For instance, top-seeded Coast 17-1 didn’t qualify. Neither did second-seeded Sunshine 17 LA. Fourth-seeded Texas Fury 17 Legacy, fifth-seeded Austin Skyline 17 Royal and seventh-seeded AsicsWillowbrook 17 Gold didn’t reach gold pools. Co Jrs 17 Kevin, seeded 23rd, finished fourth. Two qualifiers in Club V (seeded No. 6) and AZ Rev (seeded No. 11) were paired together in a Day 1 pool. IN DUE TIMESome notes on five teams I’m very confident will qualify for Open down the road:Coast 17-1: The top seed was virtually untouchable through the first two rounds of pool. Then Coast opened up gold pool play by squeaking past ID Crush 17 Bower in three, 25-18, 21-25, 17-15. On Sunday though, Coast plays without stud outside and BYU commit Claire Little and that changes the lineup quite a bit. On Day 3, Coast fell to AZ Rev in straight sets before downing Club V in three to force a three-way tie but took third behind those two and was eliminated from bid contention. Coast is still formidable without Little but Little gives them a finisher from the front and back row. Milan Bayless is a fun outside to watch with the energy and athleticism she plays with, while Coast turns to Catherine Schnell to fill in Little’s absence. Schnell has good passing and ball control skills yet just isn’t quite on Little’s level in terms of scoring. Coast can also use Jillian Neal to plug in for Little and Neal adds some physicality to the front row but isn’t quite as dynamic as Little. Setter Zoe Rachow still has a strong target in the middle in Brooklyn Briscoe and on the right side with Noemie Glover. And with libero Sydney Bold and DS Brooklyn Yelland helping hold down the back court, Coast is tough no matter what because they add such strong ball skills to the lineup. Co Jrs 17 Kevin: This squad lost in the third-place match, finishing fourth and missing a bid by one spot. The team didn’t fare as well as it had hoped at Triple Crown and spent the time since developing a more balanced attack and not having to rely so heavily on its outsides in Sydney Dunning and Dani Cranford. It worked, with middles Lillia Neill, Nicole Martin and Haley Glunz all seeing time and getting involved. Co Jrs also has some talented attackers on the right in Gabi Placide and Annika Sokol, who also sets in the back row, and will run both on the X to mix up the offense. One front row lineup that proved to be effective was Dunning on the left, Neill in the middle and Placide on the right. Co Jrs lost to Coast to end the second round of pool play then opened gold pool with a tough loss three-set loss to Alamo. But Co Jrs pulled out a key victory over Sunshine before falling to Madfrog and ending in a three-way tie. Co Jrs grabbed second and faced AZ Rev for the last bid but AZ Rev played too well and Co Jrs will have to earn its bid another time. Sunshine 17 LA: Seeded second, Sunshine was not fully healthy but was in contention on the final day for a bid but couldn’t come out of gold pool. Sunshine was missing some key pieces in outside Grace Thrower, right side Avery Jones and one of its liberos in Saylor Little. Thrower and Jones can help spread out the offense so Sunshine isn’t relying so much on outside Torrey Stafford and right Olivia Babcock. Stafford and Babcock can take over matches but it’s asking a lot of the pair to carry as heavy a load as they did all weekend long. Carly Greskovics is the other libero and did a solid job, but usually pairs with Little in that role and Sunshine missed some of that depth. Drew Wright did a great job filling in for Thrower. She’s a strong passer and can score at times, but doesn’t have the same length as Thrower in the front row. Dior Charles plays a valuable role in the middle, especially with her blocking, but her and Catherine Maffei weren’t involved in the offense for stretches at a time because Sunshine’s passing can be hot and cold. Still, as long as Stafford and Babcock are on the court, Sunshine is always a threat. ID Crush 17 Bower: Teams are going to have to bring it to beat ID Crush, that much is known after SLC. Alamo played its best match of the tournament in sweeping ID Crush handily but outside that ID Crush was a tough out when it lost. It came within two points of upsetting Coast to open gold pools and pushed AZ Rev to three to end gold pool. The 17s division has some big teams and ID Crush fits right in in that sense. Outsides Alexandra Acevedo and Delaney Bub are consistent scorers, with Acevedo playing six rotations and a threat from the back row as well. Setter Alexandra Bower and libero Sierra Grizzle also play important roles and contribute to the team’s success. The feeling here is Crush gained confidence from the way it competing over the weekend and is only going to get better from it, so watch for this team to make some noise at some later qualifiers. Madfrog 17 Green: After losing to Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar to open play Friday, Madfrog needed to beat SIVBC 17 Storm just to advance out of Round 1 pools. Then after losing

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SLC 15O: Storm Reigns, Beach, Austin Skyline Bid Too

March 22, 2022

The first 15 Open bids of qualifying season were awarded in Salt Lake City. AZ Storm 15 Thunder proved untouchable in topping the field. Runner up Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar earned a bid, as did third-place finisher Austin Skyline 15 Royal. Below, we recap their paths to qualifying. AZ Storm 15 Thunder (First, 10-0) With 12 members back from last year’s 14 Open national championship team, AZ Storm’s quest for a title at Triple Crown in February was stalled with a three-set loss to Dynasty 15 Black to end Day 2 play. Storm settled for ninth after its only loss there. Playing in Salt Lake City in its first national tournament since Triple Crown, there was no denying Storm this go around.In going 10-0 and taking first in 15 Open, Storm dropped just one set when it defeated Alamo 15 Premier in three to close out gold pool action. After that, Storm handed Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar its only defeat of the weekend, winning 25-19, 25-16, in the final.“Triple Crown was this aha moment that everyone is gunning for us and we have to play every point,” Storm coach Jami Rolfes said. “Nothing is going to be handed to us. I was really proud of them this weekend because over the past two-and-a-half weeks we’ve had three girls get concussed. I had no idea what was going to happen but I was fired up because we played with a lot of grit and found a way.”While Storm was rarely challenged outside the three-setter with Alamo and a tight sweep over Madfrog 15 Green (26-24, 25-23) on Day 2, part of its development is not relying so heavily on stud outside hitter Teraya Sigler.“We have Tee and she’s an all-around stud,” Rolfes said. “Just having her on the court, she plays well front row and back row, is one of our best passers and defenders and she obviously hits the ball hard. Her just being her is awesome, but both our middles stepped up. We are learning to get Kendal Cogill involved and our other middle Makena Rumple is just kind of earning her spot and she stepped up big time with 26 blocks on the weekend. She does a really good job closing the block.“Our L2 Devyn Wiest is just a baller. She just wants to come out and play and goes after it. I could talk about all of my kids. I thought Olivia Lenz did a good job stepping in at libero. I don’t think she’s played that role with this group before. Izzy Mahaffey is normally our libero but since she was just coming back and it was working I didn’t want to change anything.”Setter Avery Lim is playing up an age group and is continuing to come along. Rolfes said she’s “filling big shoes” this season and even though she’s undersized at the net she was able to slow some balls down. Moving forward Storm will look to get right side Raegan Richardson even more involved in the offense as well.“Just continuing to have a balanced offense so Tee doesn’t have to carry everybody,” Rolfes said. “I think we need to continue working on our blocking, especially on the right side because teams attack us there. Our serve and pass game was pretty solid.” *** Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar (Second, 9-1) Given Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar’s 11th-place showing at Triple Crown and being seeded No. 7 overall at the Salt Lake City Showdown, it wasn’t surprising to see the So Cal club earn its bid as much as it was the way it went down. Beach was undefeated heading into its 15 Open championship match clash against AZ Storm 15 Thunder, a squad that narrowly clipped Beach last month in Kansas City. Even though it was all Storm in the rematch – sweeping in straight sets, 25-19, 25-16 – Beach walked away with an Open bid nevertheless.“I’m really proud of this group,” Long Beach coach Carlos Briceno said. “They work really hard in practice and they listen. They’ve really bought in at the beginning of the season. There’s a lot of upside to this team. Every offensive player is capable of getting five kills a set. We are strong across the front at all times and we have strong players who can attack out of the back row.”Beach is not a particularly big team, with the exception of Kalyssa Blackshear in the middle. She’s capable of hitting over double blocks or as Briceno pointed out hitting “crazy angles” around single blocks. Emma Rowell is the other middle and like other Beach players is a bit undersized but she’s quick and knows how to score.Outsides Kiana Greer and Simone Roslon are similar with both their strong passing skills and effective hitting. Greer was playing on a 2s team the past two seasons before breaking through this year. Meanwhile, Rolson is one of three eighth-graders who start. Layli Ostovar and Preslie Saunders are the other two and line up on the right along with Sunni Skipps at times. Isabella Jones and Ayva Ostovar share setting duties, while Sydney Raszewski and Kayla Ostovar don the libero jerseys.“When we pass we can beat anybody,” Briceno said. “It’s the same for other teams but we have so much firepower that when we have our three front row players available it’s hard to stop us.”Beach got over a bit of a local hurdle on Day 1 against a pair of SCVA mates, clipping Tstreet 15 Curtis in three and sweeping Coast 15-1. Beach struggled against Tstreet last year as 14s and was 1-2 in regional tournaments against Coast so far this season but found its groove after beating them Friday. Beach swept its next six contests before running into Storm. It included beating top-seeded Absolute Black 15-1 on Day 2 and a strong Madfrog 15 Green’s team on Day 3.“We still have a lot of upside,” Briceno said. “We aren’t close to our best. They are really

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SLC 16O: Co Jrs Owns; Club V, Coast Also Qualify

March 22, 2022

The first three teams to pick up 16 Open bids occurred at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Co Jrs 16 Sherri finished on top of the field with a perfect record after beating Club V 16 Ren Wayne in the final. Coast 16-1 earned the final bid by beating AZ Storm 16 Thunder in the third-place match. Below, we recap the three bid winners’ weekend in Salt Lake. Co Jrs 16 Sherri (First, 10-0) Day 1: d. AP 16 Adidas (25-11, 25-13); d. SF Elite 16 Saga (25-14, 25-8); d. Livewire 16 Adidas (25-19, 26-24) Day 2: d. Xcel VB Adidas (25-16, 25-10); d. Gainesville Jrs 16 Black (25-19, 25-23); d. Club V 16 Ren Wayne (25-23, 25-22); d. Flyers 16 Dylan (25-20, 25-23) Day 3: Rev 16-1 Fury (24-26, 25-18, 15-12); d. AZ Storm 16 Thunder (25-10, 25-16); d. Club V 16 Ren Wayne (25-18, 25-18) It was nearly a flawless three days of volleyball for Co Jrs 16 Sherri as it captured not only a bid but the 16 Open crown in Salt Lake City, going 10-0 in matches and dropping just one set along the way. Co Jrs capped its impressive run by downing Club V 16 Ren Wayne in straight sets, 25-18, 25-18, in the final, the fifth time the Colorado club didn’t allow more than 20 points to an opponent in either set on the weekend.“I think we had hoped we could do it but I’m not sure we expected to or that I expected to anyway,” Co Jrs coach Sherri Hawkins said of the team’s undefeated run to the bid. “It was definitely a strong field. If you compared our results to other teams in the field from Triple Crown, we had the fifth-best record from there.”An integral part of Co Jrs – which tied for 21st at Triple Crown – is 6-1 S/RS Izzy Starck. Co Jrs defeated Club V on Day 2 before beating Club V again in the final and there really wasn’t any stopping her either time, Club V coach Wayne Wood said.“That Co Jrs setter/opposite No. 9 (Starck) played amazing volleyball,” he said. “I feel like we were able to minimize some of their other hitters but we had no answer for her. We watched game film to see how we could improve and I’m not sure I’ve seen another opposite as dynamic as her.”While Co Jrs can turn to Starck in tough moments, she’s hardly responsible for carrying the bulk of the scoring. Avah Armour – a 6-6 junior OH/RS committed to Central Florida – more than had her moments as Co Jrs moved her around between outside and right side. Outside Paityn Chapman, at 6-3, is another tall and effective option that’s plenty involved.They are part of a lineup that is not lacking in height. Middle/RS Addie Kanouff is 6-5, as is middle Marae Reilly. Even the team’s shortest middle in Grace Woodring at 5-10 plays taller, as she touches 9-8. Back row setter Regan Kadel is 5-10, so there is length pretty much everywhere. Toss in libero Ella Vogel and DS Eve McLaury – the only newcomer to the roster – and there aren’t any holes and it’s what makes Co Jrs dangerous when the team is on and clicking.“I think we had a well-balanced attack,” Hawkins said. “I think we were able to pretty much attack anywhere on the court and that helped. The blockers couldn’t key in on one hitter because we had multiple people attacking with a high kill percentage.” *** Club V 16 Ren Wayne (Second, 7-3) Day 1: d. NCVC 16 Blue (25-4, 25-14); d. Alamo 16 Premier (20-25, 25-17, 15-11); d. Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar (27-29, 25-12, 15-11) Day 2: d. Gainesville 16 Black (25-17, 25-23); d. Xcel 16 Adidas (25-14, 25-22); l. Co Jrs 16 Sherri (25-23, 25-22); d. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar (25-21, 25-21) Day 3: d. OT 16 J Will (25-16, 25-16); l. Coast 16-1 (25-19, 25-11); l. Co Jrs 16 Sherri (25-18, 25-18) If we’re to use Triple Crown as a guide, Club V 16 Ren Wayne wasn’t on the radar as a potential qualifier in Salt Lake City. After finishing tied for 41st in Kansas City, Club V opened its first qualifier of the season seeded No. 15 overall. But after Day 1, there was ample proof Club V could contend if it kept its level of play up after knocking off Alamo 16 Premier and Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar en route to winning its pool.A chance at qualifying became a reality by the time Club V upended Long Beach for the second time a day later as the two sides opened gold pool action against one another. At that point, Club V had only lost to Co Jrs 16 Sherri and entered Day 3 in as good a spot as any to clinch a bid. It came to fruition Sunday when Club V beat OT 16 J Will before falling to Coast 16-1, ending in a three-way tie with Coast and Long Beach while owning the tiebreaker and advancing to the final where it fell to Co Jrs once more. “It was a great team weekend,” Club V coach Wayne Wood said. “I’ve coached a couple of teams that have qualified for Open but this is the first one to do it at the first qualifier of the year. The core of this team won USA at Nationals last year so they fell short of getting the Open bid. We added a couple of players and it really took every one of them this weekend.”Club V suffered a setback before Triple Crown when it lost libero Trinidy Tien for the season to an ACL injury. That left a big void in the lineup that needed filling and the team turned to Greta Brown, one of their outsides, to fill it.“She played huge,” Wood said. “Hats off to her. She had to shoulder a lot of responsibility. This was only her

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SLC: Outsides Bringing Heat (Part 2)

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s qualifier in So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top outsides we saw throughout the course of the weekend. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Alexandra Richter, Outside, Skyline 15 Royal – A tall, lanky outside, Richter is the go-to option for Skyline. That’s because she’s an effective scorer. Set her high and let her go up and get it, as she’s capable of hitting over blocks. Bellamie Beus, Outside, ID Crush 15 Bower – Beus can bring some power and pop to the Crush attack. When the sets there and she’s able to go after, she’s capable of really connecting. Alyssa Aguayo, Outside, Aspire 15 Premier – A six-rotation option for Aspire, Aguayo gets her share of swings in helping carrying the offensive load. She definitely had some moments taking some nice solid swings. Lily Davis, Outside, Austin Skyline 15 Royal – Davis is a key part of the attack as the go-to on the left. She’s a consistent scorer who can take aggressive swings and will get the ball in the back row as well. Simone Roslon and Kiana Greer, Outsides, Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar – These two outsides for Beach play a similar style. Neither are the biggest, hardest hitters at their position but they are critical to what Beach does. That’s because both are strong passers out of serve receive and smart, heady hitters who don’t try to overdo it. 16 OPEN Denasia Maxey, Outside, Excel 16 National Red – Wherever Maxey is on the court defenses need to be aware. She’s a high-flyer who can put a ball down from anywhere. Maya Witherspoon, Outside, Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite – It was a tough Day 1 for Rockwood, which lost a pair of tight three-set results and didn’t break pool. However, Witherspoon flashed her talent and arm swing and has ton of potential. Brooklyn Tealer, Outside, Gainesville Jrs 16 Black – If you like attackers who get up in the air and let it loose, you’ll love Tealer. She flies, has a big arm and gets set all over making her a definite weapon for Gainesville. Abby McClain, Outside, SIVBC 16 Black – McClain is an instrumental part of the offense for Sudden Impact. She’s tall and a physical hitter who’s more than capable of putting down balls and carrying the load offensively. Brianna Watson, Outside, Madfrog 16 Green – Long and lanky, Watson soars on the attack. She’s still learning and developing obviously but one thing is for sure. You can’t set her high enough and that can make her difficult to defend. Lainee Pyles, Outside, Madfrog 16 Green – Listed as a middle on the roster, Pyles was pushed to the outside because of an injury on the roster. It might be difficult putting her back in the middle as she could stay at outside or even switch to right side. She’s long and posed a legitimate threat on the outside with her ability to score. 17 OPEN Nayeli Gonzalez, Outside, Alamo 17 Premier – The Iowa State commit played a large and important role in helping Alamo qualify over the weekend. Gonzalez seems to play bigger than her listed height of 6-0. She’s a physical attacker who hits with power and defenses don’t have much luck slowing her down. Alexandra Acevedo, Outside, ID Crush 17 Bower – Acevedo plays a big role as a six-rotation outside in Crush’s plan. She’s lengthy and really good offensive player who can score in multiple ways. Torrey Stafford and Drew Wright, Outsides, Sunshine 17 LA – When Stafford is on, watch out. The Pitt commit can soar and hit over blocks with ease, making her a major offensive force for Sunshine. Meanwhile, Sunshine was dealing with some injuries and Wright really stepped up and played solid role, especially with her strong passing skills out of serve receive. Sydney Dunning and Daniela Cranford, Outsides, Co Jrs 17 Kevin – Both outsides proved to be reliable options for Co Jrs throughout the weekend. Dunning, who is committed to Cal State Bakersfield, will get her share of sets and can scoring consistently. Cranford knows how to score off the block well and seems to excel at swinging down the line.

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SLC: Right Sides Out In Force

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s qualifier coming So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top right sides we saw throughout the course of the weekend. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Addison Gaido, Right Side, Austin Skyline 15 Royal – A good option for Austin Skyline on the right side because Gaido brings height to the front row and can really go at smaller blocks with some strong rips at the ball. Evelyn Potter, Right Side, Flyers 15 APX-John – Flyers isn’t a particularly big team but Potter helps make up for it with her attacking. She’s able to play with physicality and is capable of hitting hard balls when it lines up for her. Raegan Richardson, Right Side, AZ Storm 15 Thunder – Richardson helps balance out the Storm attack when she checks in the front row because Storm will look to get her the ball when in system. She had moments where she had some big swings and loud winners. 16 OPEN Avah Armour, Right Side, Co Jrs 16 Sherri – A junior already committed to Central Florida, at 6-5 Armour is a handful for defenses to figure out and slow down. Co Jrs will line her up at outside or right side and at times can be part of serve receive. Wherever she’s at though Co Jrs is going to get her the ball and let her over and around blocks with her long frame. Jessica Jones, Right Side/Middle, Flyers 16 APX Dylan – There’s a lot to like about Jones and her long presence on the court. She’s a versatile player for Flyers, playing at middle or right side depending on what Flyers wants to do. It really doesn’t matter because she’s effective at any spot with her fluid swing and ability to hit from the left, middle or right and always keeping pressure on the defense. Howdy Hawkins, Right Side, Livewire 16 Adidas – Hawkins can raise some eyebrows when she swings. She carries a lively arm and can crack some balls with she gets a hold of them, including when she’s getting set in the back row. Madison Bland, Right Side, SIVBC 16 Black – Sudden Impact can move Bland around, setting her on the right and on the X in hopes of getting her involved in the offense. The lefty is definitely an option when she’s front row who can provide consistent scoring. Gia McGrew, Right Side, Gainesville Jrs 16 Black – One thing McGrew brings to the lineup is her physicality. Gainesville will get her the ball on the right side and she can take some powerful swings. She’s also able to return the favor with her blocking. 17 OPEN Sarah Wadsworth, Right Side, Arizona Storm 17 Thunder – This 5-11 right side can get up and is an explosive attacker for Storm. Eryn Jones, Right Side, AZ REV 17 Premier – With the firepower at outside, teams can’t forget about Jones on the right. When in system, she helps balance out the attack in a big way. She can get up and hit with power and some of her kills really fire up the team. She also is used in serve receive at times, adding another element to her game. Gabriella Placide, Right Side, Co Jrs 17 Kevin – The more Placide is involved in the offense, the better Co Jrs is playing. At 6-2, she has a big jump to boot and those two things cause lots of problems for the defense when she’s on the attack. Olivia Babcock, Right Side, Sunshine 17 LA – Another Pitt commit who stood out, Babcock has the ability to take over matches at times. She can absolutely blast balls when she’s on and if the block isn’t tall enough there’s not much the defense can do to slow her down. Kierstyn Barton, Right Side, Aspire 17 Premier – Opponents don’t want to let Barton get going. She’s a big swinger and a physical attacker who can unload on her shots, pumping up her teammates when she sends down a ball with authority.

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SLC: These Middles Were Hangers And Bangers

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s qualifier coming in So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top middles we saw throughout the course of the weekend in Utah. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Isabella Ehrlich, Middle, Absolute 15 Black – It’s easy to see the potential Ehrlich holds. While the connection was shaky at times, Absolute certainly looks for Ehlrich when she’s in and she can put down when she connects. She also plays with a fiery energy, especially when she delivers a stuff at the net. Amelia Robinson, Middle, Austin Skyline 15 Royal – Teams need to be aware of Robinsons when she’s up front as Austin Skyline will get her involved. They do like running the 3 set with her and for good reason as she’s effective scoring off of it. Aniya Hall, Middle, Alamo 15 Premier – Hall can factor into the Alamo offense when the pass is there. She gets off the ground well and moves well which makes her a good option running the slide. Kaelynn Sims, Middle, Skyline 15 Royal – Sims is another middle with good jumping ability. She also can line up and hit from the left which add a wrinkle in the attack. Makena Rumple, Middle, Arizona Storm 15 Storm – Rumple adds some physicality in the middle for Storm. She’s also a capable blocker who can help slow down the opposing attack. Olivia Wayne, Middle, Madfrog 15 Green – Madfrog can put up a big front row and Wayne is part of that equation. When in system Madfrog will look to get her going. She can also line up and attack from the left side. 16 OPEN Lillian Croshaw, Middle, Madfrog 16 Green – Talk about a physical presence in the middle. That’s exactly what Croshaw adds to the lineup. Madfrog will get her involved offensively when in system and she can score on good sets, but her blocking can be a game-changer at times. Ashley Duckworth, Middle, Vegas Aces 16 UA – Duckworth is a tireless worker and is a rare middle who plays all the way around. Vegas runs all kinds of sets to get her going and involved and she carries a strong swing and really can carry the offense at times. Zoey Burgess, Middle, Club V 16 Ren Wayne – Plenty of top college coaches were watching Burgess do her thing. She’s a legit weapon on offense who can pound balls down and she moves really well in her 6-2 frame. Thea Carter, Middle, Alamo 16 Premier – Another lanky middle in the division. Carter swings well and can really connect and score when the set is there. Carly Butler, Middle, UPVBC 16 Open – Ultimate was in the mix on Day 2 but lost out on tiebreakers to finish third. The more Butler can be involved in the offense the better. She jumps and swings well. Chelsea Sutton, Middle, OT 16 Will – At 6-3, Sutton definitely can hit down on the ball when she gets a whack at it. She changes the game when she’s in with both her attacking and blocking and she also serves fairly well. Addisyn Pohl and Bria Carlisle, Middles, AZ Rev 16 Premier – AZ Rev has a good middle combo with Pohl (6-4) and Carlisle (6-2). Carlisle will get out on the slide and can be an effective option for Rev there. Pohl is a physical presence who can put up a big block in the middle. Mackenzie Parsons, Middle, Coast 16-1 – When Coast’s ball control breaks down it loses the ability to get Parsons involved and the offense can bog down. She’s an efficient scorer when things are clicking and she’s getting set and can carry the offense when she’s up front. 17 OPEN Farah Farooq, Middle, Asics Willowbrook 17 Gold – One thing we noticed about Farooq in the middle was her explosiveness. She can get up and hit straight down with booming success. Hannah Whittingstall, Middle, Alamo 17 Premier – A 6-1 threat in the middle, Whittingstall delivers for Alamo on both ends. She runs a capable slide to help out on the offensive side. She’s also came through with some big blocks at times to contribute defensively. Mia Lee and Taylor Harvey, Middles, Club V 17 Ren Reed – The middle duo for Club V bring some serious athleticism to the position in their own ways. Harvey, who is part of the 2025 class, is 6-2 and can touch 10-5. She’s lanky, gets up quick and can definitely put it down. Lee is listed at 6-0 but can touch 10-7 so she really soars and as a result can deliver some impressive kills at times. GG Greenlee, Middle, AZ Rev 17 Premier – A Northern Arizona recruit and standing 6-3, Greenlee gives Rev a good offensive option in the middle when in passing well. She’s an effective scorer who takes hard cuts and is a threat on the slide. Brooklyn Briscoe, Middle, Coast 17-1 – At 6-4, Briscoe adds a physical presence to Coast’s lineup. She’ll attack out of the middle or hit from the right side when she’s lined up there and is capable of putting down some powerful swings.

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SLC: Impressive Setter Standouts

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s qualifier in So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top setters we saw throughout the course of the weekend. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Avery Lim, Setter, AZ Storm 15 Thunder – Lim, who is playing up an age group, has some nice options to dish to. Yet, one of the things that stood out is her effort on defense. She did a nice job of getting some balls up and covering a tip. Julia Waller, Setter, Absolute 15 Black – It’s hard to argue against the fact Waller helps the Absolute offense tick. She’s adept at moving the ball around, has nice hands and delivery and just overall looks smooth playing the position. Jordyn Moore, Setter/Right Side, Excel 15 National Red – Moore is a versatile player who Excels relies on. She hits across the front row and does a good job setting across the back as she has a soft touch to her delivery. Tenesyn Frye, Setter, Idaho Crush 15 Bower – Frye is part of an ID Crush team that isn’t lacking for size. She helps make up a big right side block when she’s up front. She also does a good job of varying her sets and putting the ball in a hittable window. Kaia Thiele, Setter, Alamo 15 Premier – Depending on what Alamo wants to do, Thiele can run a 5-1 or be part of a 6-2 where she actually sets across the front row. She’s consistent with her location and effective connecting with the middles. Naya Salfiti, Setter/Right Side, Madfrog 15 Green – As a two-way player, Salfiti is valuable because of her versatility. She hits across the front and sets in the back. In the front, she’s an option to be sure and can help carry the offense at times. She’s also tall and a lefty, so the future looks bright. 16 OPEN Charlie Fuerbringer, Setter/Right Side, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar – When it comes to volleyball IQ, Fuerbringer is top notch. She sees the game well and is smooth in whatever she’s doing. When she hits on the right side, she’s a smart attacker and helps carry the offense. Beach used her in a 5-1 on Day 3 and she excels as a setter with her sharp sets and ability to move the ball around. Gabriella Reeves, Setter, Alamo 16 Premier – We classify Reeves as a gamer. She works hard at her position and puts in a strong defensive effort. Taryn Dewese, Setter, TVC 16 Black – At 6-0, Dewese is a tall setter and adds some needed height to the lineup for Toledo. She does a good job running the offense and can run tempo sets at times to catch the defense off guard. Kate Schneeberg, Setter, UPVBC 16 Open – Ultimate doesn’t have a lot of size so Schneeberg’s height at the setting position really helps out when she’s across the front row. With her running the offense the team was on the cusp of reaching the gold pools. Alyssa Forelli, Setter, AZ Rev 16 Premier – Forelli is pretty consistent with her location and has good hands. Izzy Starck, Setter/Right Side, Co Jrs 16 Sherri – Starck is as an impressive player as there was in the 16s over the weekend, as there’s nothing she can’t do on the court. Co Jrs will use her to pass, set and hit and she’s well above average in all of them. Her location on her sets is rarely off and the way she jumps and attacks with physicality makes her a go-to option in the front row. Kierstin Remensperger, Setter, Coast 16-1 – The better Coast passes the better Remensperger can direct the offense. When in system, she’s good at moving the ball around and connects well with the middles to help balance out the offense. 17 OPEN Annika Sokol, Setter/Right Side, Co Jrs 17 Kevin – There’s no questioning Sokol and how integral she is to Co Jrs’ success. She’s a solid setter who was mixing it up to her hitters. She’s also someone Co Jrs relies on to score when she’s in the front row, as Co Jrs will set her on the right or run her on the X as she’s a smart hitter. Alexandra Bower, Setter, ID Crush 17 Bower – Although Crush wasn’t able to qualify from Day 3 gold pools, the Idaho club is a pesky opponent to figure out and beat. Part of that is the setting of Bower, who consistently puts her hitters in good situations to score. She also has a knack when to dump it over herself and catch the defense off guard. Lexi Yoza, Setter, AZ Rev 17 Premier – A couple of the things Yoza does well when in system is setting against the flow and getting her right side a clean look as well as being able to run tempo sets and not allow the block to fully set up. Zoe Rachow, Setter, Coast 17-1 – Rachow is physically strong setter and can get everyone involved in the attack. She’s good at setting behind her and setting up the right-side attack.

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SLC: These Liberos Were On Fire

March 23, 2022

We spent three days covering 15-17 Open at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Yes, there was 18 Open too but we focused on the younger age groups because of the 18s that took place in So Cal this past weekend. Below, we highlight some of the top liberos we saw throughout the course of our weekend in Utah. The athletes featured are from what we witnessed with our own eyes and who we thought was performing well at the time we saw them playing. 15 OPEN Ryan Dzierwa, Libero, TVC 15 Black – TVC needs to play with a certain scrappiness in order to compete with some of the higher-ranked clubs and Dzierwa brings that type of play to the position. She plays with good energy and has solid ball control to help anchor the defense. Brookelyn Hatton, Libero, MAVS 816 15-1 – Another team that is learning how to play against some of the top teams but Hatton had moments at libero to be sure. She’s quick and covers ground well. Lexi Nguyen, Libero, ARVC 15N1 Adidas – An energetic presence for ARVC, Nguyen can be a bit of a sparkplug for the team. She’s talkative, active and can cover some ground because of her quickness. Sophie Bridges, Libero, Flyers 15 APX John – Bridges does a nice job passing. She’s also good covering and keeping rallies going when blockers send the ball back over. Tiana Mariner, Libero, Club V 15 Ren Adam – Mariner brings athleticism to the position. Club V plays with a lot of energy and Mariner fits right in with that style as she helps hold down the defense and does a good job picking up balls. Elizabeth Bower, Libero, ID Crush 15 Bower – It seems like when teams serve Bower it’s a mistake. She’s a consistent passer out of serve receive and when the ball comes her way Crush is going to be in system more times than not. 16 OPEN Alysa Walker, Libero, Alamo 16 Premier – Hustle is part of Walker’s game as she is a scrappy defender and solid passer. Makayla Martinez, Libero, DCVA 16 Hong – We caught DCVA during Day 1 and Martinez was playing well. She gets around the court in a hurry and can make up ground quickly. Isabella Brand, Libero, AP 16 Adidas – Brand was another libero we saw during Day 1. What stood out is AP was using her to pass half the court or more in a 2-person serve receive. Ella Vogel, Libero, Co Jrs 16 Sherri – Co Jrs typically churns out some pretty good liberos and Vogel fits that mold. She’s a defensive anchor with good ball skills and will almost always make the play that’s in front of her to make. Olivia Hasbrook, Libero, Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite – You can see Hasbrook being vocal on the court and trying to communicate to teammates. She fills her role well and helps keep the defense together. Malyssa Cawa, Libero, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar – While we didn’t see much of Beach the first two days, Cawa was having a strong Day 3 during gold pools. She was active, strong in serve receive and helping to keep Beach in system. 17 OPEN Alyssa Manitzas, Libero, Alamo 17 Premier – Alamo can be something to watch offensively in that it can overshadow some of the defense being played. But Manitzas was doing a good job picking up balls coming her way and helping set the defensive tone. Emily Riley, Libero, Asics Willowbrook 17 Gold – When we were checking out Willowbrook on Day 1, Riley was on her game with solid passing in serve receive and strong ball control picking up balls and extending rallies. Caity Clancy, Libero, Co Jrs 17 Kevin – Clancy had her moments impacting matches. She seemed to be consistent in serve receive when teams challenged her and did a good job picking up some shots hit down the line at her. Eleanor Laird, Libero, Excel 17 National Red – Laird appears to be a gamer with her hustle. She moves around the court quickly and can make up some ground because of it. Isabella Anderson, Libero, AZ Rev 17 Premier – Anderson was playing especially well on Day 3 in a needed victory over Coast. She was passing well out of serve receive and making digs and extending rallies. Sydney Bold, Libero, Coast 17-1 – There’s a smoothness to the way Bold plays libero. She’s always under control and rarely misses as pass or dig.

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SLC: 15 Open Notebook

March 22, 2022

The bid recap stories featured AZ Storm 15 Thunder, Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar and Austin Skyline 15 Royal. Here, I take a look at some other points of interests from 15 Open. LOOKING AT THE SEEDINGS As we said with 17 and 16 Open, any qualifier this early in the season poses challenges when it comes to seeding. It’s hard to do with limited results. The most shocking development in this regard from Salt Lake was Day 1 top seed Absolute Black 15-1 not breaking pool on Day 2 and being eliminated. Absolute, by virtue of finishing third at Triple Crown, was a solid choice to open as the top seed but didn’t look sharp Friday or Saturday and paid the price. Of the eight No. 1 teams in their respective Day 1 pools Skyline 15 Royal and AZ Sky 15 Gold joined Absolute in not reaching the final eight. Those three spots went to Aspire 15 Premier (seeded No. 11 to start), Excel 15 National Red (seeded No. 12) and ARVC 15 Adidas (seeded No. 13). Compared to some of the things we saw in 16 and 17 Open, there wasn’t much to note outside of what happened to Absolute. BOOK THOSE OPEN SPOTS With only three bids to award, surely more teams from the Salt Lake field will gain Open spots as qualifying season continues. Here are the teams I feel like are locks to make it: Absolute Black 15-1: The feeling here is that placing third at Triple Crown and then being seeded No. 1 overall at Salt Lake put a target on Absolute’s back that the team wasn’t quite ready for. Teams were coming hard for Absolute, which seemed to struggle with its passing and ball control and didn’t really look in sync the first two days when watching them. Absolute will be better in the long run as it should learn plenty from Salt Lake. Elena Fisher is who Absolute seems to turn to on the outside when things break down. She’s got some springs to her but it’s asking a lot for her to carry the offense. Setter Julia Waller does look to get her middles involved in Isabella Ehrlich and Monika Brinlee as often as possible but looked like their timing was slightly off. Regardless, it would be shocking if Absolute doesn’t put it together and get its Open bid at some point. Excel 15 National Red: A lot of Excel teams tend to be smaller, scrappier teams. This Excel squad scraps but appears to have some more size than usual. It’s a strong front row when outside Halle Jameson and right side Jordyn Moore or paired with either middle in Catherine Warren or Aubrey Bellus. Moore also sets in the back row, with Keely Harrington the other back row setter. One thing that stood out about the group is they seem to play well together and are in sync with each other. Excel beat out Madfrog in a key victory on Day 3 to earn its shot at qualifying in the third-place match but just couldn’t find a way to get past Austin Skyline for a second time. Madfrog 15 Green: Madfrog was a victory away from playing for a bid but fell to Excel in the last match of gold pool play and finished third in the pool. Madfrog has good height in the middle with Olivia Wayne and Kylee McCoy, as well as right sides Anna Barr and Naya Salfiti, who also sets in the back row. It gives them a big right side block plus nice options for setters Sophia Wei and London Upchurch, who also have outsides Morgan VanVoorhis and Karson Barclow to work with. Madeleine Smotherman helps out defensively at libero. Like other 15s teams this time of season, Madfrog struggled with consistency. It lost to Aspire 25-12, 25-21, but then showed well against eventual champ AZ Storm the next day, losing 26-24, 25-23. Once Madfrog gets dialed in a little more and isn’t as up and down it’ll get its Open bid. Alamo 15 Premier: I didn’t see Alamo as much as I would’ve liked but I did see some of the pieces it has. Megan Fitch is legit on the outside and go-to attacker for them. Aniya Hall gets up quick in the middle and can run the slide efficiently. Setter Kaia Thiele was part of a 6-2 on Day 1 but was running a 5-1 on the final day. Alamo was 6-0 until running into Austin Skyline to open gold pools Saturday evening. Alamo defeated Austin Skyline at Triple Crown but couldn’t repeat the feat. Alamo then swept Aspire and needed to beat AZ Storm to get into a three-way tie. Alamo fell to Storm in three, becoming the only team to take a set off of Storm all weekend. ON THE RADAR Here are a few other clubs to keep an eye on who could gain Open bids down the road: Aspire 15 Premier: Aspire had a strong start to the tournament by wining five in a row, including beating Madfrog 15 Green to end Day 1 and AZ Sky 15 Gold on Day 2. But Aspire lost its final Round 2 pool match to ARVC 15 Adidas and lost its final four matches, including all three gold pool contests against AZ Storm, Alamo and Austin Skyline. Avery Boothe is a tall presence on the right side for Aspire, which also relies a lot on outside Alyssa Aguayo. This team is going to have to find a way to make up some ground against the stronger teams and if so could potentially play its way into the Open field. Skyline 15 Royal: I didn’t see a lot of Skyline either but outside Alexandra Richter was a player of note with her length at outside. She seems to be a real weapon for them. Middle Kaelynn Sims gets off the ground very well and will line up and swing from the left

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SLC: 16 Open Notebook

March 22, 2022

The first three bids of the season went to Co Jrs 16 Sherri, Club V 16 Ren Wayne and Coast 16-1. I took some time noting how their weekends played out already. So now it’s time to switch gears and take a look at some other happenings that stood out to me in 16 Open in Salt Lake City. SEEDINGS ARE HARD EARLY As I noted with 17 Open, it’s tough to seed a qualifier early on. Results are limited so it can be a bit of a guessing game, it’s just the way it is. The top three seeds respectively in AZ Storm 16 Thunder, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar and Coast 16-1 were close. Coast took the last bid over Storm and Beach finished in a three-way tie in gold pools but caught the short end of the tiebreaker stick and didn’t get to play for a bid. That wasn’t the case with the next group of original seeds in No. 4 Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite, No. 5 Madfrog 16 Green, No. 6 Gainesville Jrs 16 Black and No. 7 DCVA 16 Hong. Rockwood was bounced from contention on Day 1. The other three were knocked out on Day 2 and didn’t reach gold pools. Co Jrs, seeded No. 8, won the event of course. Club V, which finished second to Co Jrs, opened as the No. 15 seed overall. Rev 16-1 Fury was the lowest seed to make gold pools after opening as the No. 17 overall seed. OPEN SPOTS RESERVED I think these five teams are going to earn an Open bid for sure as qualifier season continues on: AZ Storm 16 Thunder: Storm was a victory away from qualifying, going down to Coast in the third-place match. Admittingly, this is a tough team to write about in the sense it really is more about the sum of its parts. Piper Rama and Blaykli Bobik were taking up spots at outsides, with setter Ireland Avalos also having middles Camila Carnejo-Farmer and Skyler Gartin as options. Storm lost its opening match on Day 1 to Rev 16-1 Fury but then won seven in row, including beating Madfrog, Coast and AZ Rev 16 Premier on Day 2. Storm could’ve clinched a bid outright but fell to Co Jrs to end gold pool play before facing Coast again. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar: Losing out on set percentage after a three-way tie at 2-1 in gold pools kept Beach from a chance at qualifying. Beach was done in by Club V on Day 1 and then again to open gold pool action Saturday evening. Beach responded by beating both Coast and OT in three sets to force the three-way tie with Coast and Club V. There’s not much height to this group but Beach can scrap and has a high IQ player in setter/right side Charlie Fuerbringer. She was running a 5-1 on the last day and is very smooth at what she does. The team’s only real height comes from Babi Gubbins on the left. The attack can be pin heavy at times, with Fuerbringer also targeting Kate Martin at outside and Gabriella Destler, who was playing right side. Bryn Shankle and Jade Dudley-Epps fill out the middle spots. The defense does help carry Beach with liberos Malyssa Cawa and Summer Suppik plus DS Taylor Mercado doing good jobs. OT 16 J Will: There’s an element of what-if to OT’s weekend in Salt Lake. While OT made it to gold pools, it finished 0-3 against Coast, Club V and Long Beach. However, the losses to Coast (15-11 in the third) and Beach (15-13 in the third) could have gone the other way and it would have been a different story. Chelsea Sutton is a game-changer in the middle with her size and ability to disrupt opponents with her blocking and as well as her attacking. Rauly Eason also has some physicality to her as well in the middle. Connor Rahn carries a good swing and a portion of the offense at outside. OT just needs to learn to play with more consistency because its performance was too up and down at times. When OT figures that out it’ll get its Open bid. Rev 16-1 Fury: Rev Fury had a tough go at it in gold pools, falling to AZ Storm, Co Jrs and Flyers 16 Dylan. It did beat Storm on Day 1 and OT on Day 2, so the squad is capable of playing at a high enough level to qualify. For one, it has a rising talent in 6-3 outside Lauren Harden. With her, Rev is going to competitive against just about anyone. There’s also height at other places with Lilah Odegard (6-4) in the middle and Madison Evett (6-2) on the right. Those are a few targets for setter Kamryn Utley. Harden, Evett and Utley, as well as middle Lucy Kay and outside Sydney Lohman, came to Rev this season after playing for Team Indiana a year ago and tying for third in 15 Open at AAUs. There’s no doubt this squad is hungry to make it to Open at JN’s in 2022. Madfrog 16 Green: One of the surprises of the weekend was seeing Madfrog knocked from contention on Day 2. Madfrog was without its best player though in outside Avery Jackson. When she returns watch out because this team has firepower. Lainee Pyles was moved from the middle to play one of the outside positions, along with Brianna Watson. Lillian Croshaw is a physical middle with a big block while Kate Mansfield fills out the other middle spot. Akunna Cos-Okpalla is a high-jumping right side so there’s plenty to work with. When Jackson returns Madfrog will have options. The staff could move Pyles to the right as she looked solid swinging from the pin, or it could use Croshaw on the right and put Pyles back in the middle. Whatever the case, this team is far from hitting its potential and will

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SLC: 17 Open Notebook

March 22, 2022

I wrote about the 17 Open bid winners – Club V 17 Ren Reed, Alamo 17 Premier and AZ Rev 17 Premier – already and now I’m going to turn my attention to some other points of interest that caught my attention over the three days being in Salt Lake City. SEEDINGS REFLECT THAT’S IT EARLYEarly in the season, with really just Triple Crown to go off of, it’s difficult to seed a qualifier like SLC. For instance, top-seeded Coast 17-1 didn’t qualify. Neither did second-seeded Sunshine 17 LA. Fourth-seeded Texas Fury 17 Legacy, fifth-seeded Austin Skyline 17 Royal and seventh-seeded AsicsWillowbrook 17 Gold didn’t reach gold pools. Co Jrs 17 Kevin, seeded 23rd, finished fourth. Two qualifiers in Club V (seeded No. 6) and AZ Rev (seeded No. 11) were paired together in a Day 1 pool. IN DUE TIMESome notes on five teams I’m very confident will qualify for Open down the road:Coast 17-1: The top seed was virtually untouchable through the first two rounds of pool. Then Coast opened up gold pool play by squeaking past ID Crush 17 Bower in three, 25-18, 21-25, 17-15. On Sunday though, Coast plays without stud outside and BYU commit Claire Little and that changes the lineup quite a bit. On Day 3, Coast fell to AZ Rev in straight sets before downing Club V in three to force a three-way tie but took third behind those two and was eliminated from bid contention. Coast is still formidable without Little but Little gives them a finisher from the front and back row. Milan Bayless is a fun outside to watch with the energy and athleticism she plays with, while Coast turns to Catherine Schnell to fill in Little’s absence. Schnell has good passing and ball control skills yet just isn’t quite on Little’s level in terms of scoring. Coast can also use Jillian Neal to plug in for Little and Neal adds some physicality to the front row but isn’t quite as dynamic as Little. Setter Zoe Rachow still has a strong target in the middle in Brooklyn Briscoe and on the right side with Noemie Glover. And with libero Sydney Bold and DS Brooklyn Yelland helping hold down the back court, Coast is tough no matter what because they add such strong ball skills to the lineup. Co Jrs 17 Kevin: This squad lost in the third-place match, finishing fourth and missing a bid by one spot. The team didn’t fare as well as it had hoped at Triple Crown and spent the time since developing a more balanced attack and not having to rely so heavily on its outsides in Sydney Dunning and Dani Cranford. It worked, with middles Lillia Neill, Nicole Martin and Haley Glunz all seeing time and getting involved. Co Jrs also has some talented attackers on the right in Gabi Placide and Annika Sokol, who also sets in the back row, and will run both on the X to mix up the offense. One front row lineup that proved to be effective was Dunning on the left, Neill in the middle and Placide on the right. Co Jrs lost to Coast to end the second round of pool play then opened gold pool with a tough loss three-set loss to Alamo. But Co Jrs pulled out a key victory over Sunshine before falling to Madfrog and ending in a three-way tie. Co Jrs grabbed second and faced AZ Rev for the last bid but AZ Rev played too well and Co Jrs will have to earn its bid another time. Sunshine 17 LA: Seeded second, Sunshine was not fully healthy but was in contention on the final day for a bid but couldn’t come out of gold pool. Sunshine was missing some key pieces in outside Grace Thrower, right side Avery Jones and one of its liberos in Saylor Little. Thrower and Jones can help spread out the offense so Sunshine isn’t relying so much on outside Torrey Stafford and right Olivia Babcock. Stafford and Babcock can take over matches but it’s asking a lot of the pair to carry as heavy a load as they did all weekend long. Carly Greskovics is the other libero and did a solid job, but usually pairs with Little in that role and Sunshine missed some of that depth. Drew Wright did a great job filling in for Thrower. She’s a strong passer and can score at times, but doesn’t have the same length as Thrower in the front row. Dior Charles plays a valuable role in the middle, especially with her blocking, but her and Catherine Maffei weren’t involved in the offense for stretches at a time because Sunshine’s passing can be hot and cold. Still, as long as Stafford and Babcock are on the court, Sunshine is always a threat. ID Crush 17 Bower: Teams are going to have to bring it to beat ID Crush, that much is known after SLC. Alamo played its best match of the tournament in sweeping ID Crush handily but outside that ID Crush was a tough out when it lost. It came within two points of upsetting Coast to open gold pools and pushed AZ Rev to three to end gold pool. The 17s division has some big teams and ID Crush fits right in in that sense. Outsides Alexandra Acevedo and Delaney Bub are consistent scorers, with Acevedo playing six rotations and a threat from the back row as well. Setter Alexandra Bower and libero Sierra Grizzle also play important roles and contribute to the team’s success. The feeling here is Crush gained confidence from the way it competing over the weekend and is only going to get better from it, so watch for this team to make some noise at some later qualifiers. Madfrog 17 Green: After losing to Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar to open play Friday, Madfrog needed to beat SIVBC 17 Storm just to advance out of Round 1 pools. Then after losing

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SLC 15O: Storm Reigns, Beach, Austin Skyline Bid Too

March 22, 2022

The first 15 Open bids of qualifying season were awarded in Salt Lake City. AZ Storm 15 Thunder proved untouchable in topping the field. Runner up Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar earned a bid, as did third-place finisher Austin Skyline 15 Royal. Below, we recap their paths to qualifying. AZ Storm 15 Thunder (First, 10-0) With 12 members back from last year’s 14 Open national championship team, AZ Storm’s quest for a title at Triple Crown in February was stalled with a three-set loss to Dynasty 15 Black to end Day 2 play. Storm settled for ninth after its only loss there. Playing in Salt Lake City in its first national tournament since Triple Crown, there was no denying Storm this go around.In going 10-0 and taking first in 15 Open, Storm dropped just one set when it defeated Alamo 15 Premier in three to close out gold pool action. After that, Storm handed Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar its only defeat of the weekend, winning 25-19, 25-16, in the final.“Triple Crown was this aha moment that everyone is gunning for us and we have to play every point,” Storm coach Jami Rolfes said. “Nothing is going to be handed to us. I was really proud of them this weekend because over the past two-and-a-half weeks we’ve had three girls get concussed. I had no idea what was going to happen but I was fired up because we played with a lot of grit and found a way.”While Storm was rarely challenged outside the three-setter with Alamo and a tight sweep over Madfrog 15 Green (26-24, 25-23) on Day 2, part of its development is not relying so heavily on stud outside hitter Teraya Sigler.“We have Tee and she’s an all-around stud,” Rolfes said. “Just having her on the court, she plays well front row and back row, is one of our best passers and defenders and she obviously hits the ball hard. Her just being her is awesome, but both our middles stepped up. We are learning to get Kendal Cogill involved and our other middle Makena Rumple is just kind of earning her spot and she stepped up big time with 26 blocks on the weekend. She does a really good job closing the block.“Our L2 Devyn Wiest is just a baller. She just wants to come out and play and goes after it. I could talk about all of my kids. I thought Olivia Lenz did a good job stepping in at libero. I don’t think she’s played that role with this group before. Izzy Mahaffey is normally our libero but since she was just coming back and it was working I didn’t want to change anything.”Setter Avery Lim is playing up an age group and is continuing to come along. Rolfes said she’s “filling big shoes” this season and even though she’s undersized at the net she was able to slow some balls down. Moving forward Storm will look to get right side Raegan Richardson even more involved in the offense as well.“Just continuing to have a balanced offense so Tee doesn’t have to carry everybody,” Rolfes said. “I think we need to continue working on our blocking, especially on the right side because teams attack us there. Our serve and pass game was pretty solid.” *** Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar (Second, 9-1) Given Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar’s 11th-place showing at Triple Crown and being seeded No. 7 overall at the Salt Lake City Showdown, it wasn’t surprising to see the So Cal club earn its bid as much as it was the way it went down. Beach was undefeated heading into its 15 Open championship match clash against AZ Storm 15 Thunder, a squad that narrowly clipped Beach last month in Kansas City. Even though it was all Storm in the rematch – sweeping in straight sets, 25-19, 25-16 – Beach walked away with an Open bid nevertheless.“I’m really proud of this group,” Long Beach coach Carlos Briceno said. “They work really hard in practice and they listen. They’ve really bought in at the beginning of the season. There’s a lot of upside to this team. Every offensive player is capable of getting five kills a set. We are strong across the front at all times and we have strong players who can attack out of the back row.”Beach is not a particularly big team, with the exception of Kalyssa Blackshear in the middle. She’s capable of hitting over double blocks or as Briceno pointed out hitting “crazy angles” around single blocks. Emma Rowell is the other middle and like other Beach players is a bit undersized but she’s quick and knows how to score.Outsides Kiana Greer and Simone Roslon are similar with both their strong passing skills and effective hitting. Greer was playing on a 2s team the past two seasons before breaking through this year. Meanwhile, Rolson is one of three eighth-graders who start. Layli Ostovar and Preslie Saunders are the other two and line up on the right along with Sunni Skipps at times. Isabella Jones and Ayva Ostovar share setting duties, while Sydney Raszewski and Kayla Ostovar don the libero jerseys.“When we pass we can beat anybody,” Briceno said. “It’s the same for other teams but we have so much firepower that when we have our three front row players available it’s hard to stop us.”Beach got over a bit of a local hurdle on Day 1 against a pair of SCVA mates, clipping Tstreet 15 Curtis in three and sweeping Coast 15-1. Beach struggled against Tstreet last year as 14s and was 1-2 in regional tournaments against Coast so far this season but found its groove after beating them Friday. Beach swept its next six contests before running into Storm. It included beating top-seeded Absolute Black 15-1 on Day 2 and a strong Madfrog 15 Green’s team on Day 3.“We still have a lot of upside,” Briceno said. “We aren’t close to our best. They are really

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SLC 16O: Co Jrs Owns; Club V, Coast Also Qualify

March 22, 2022

The first three teams to pick up 16 Open bids occurred at the Salt Lake City Showdown. Co Jrs 16 Sherri finished on top of the field with a perfect record after beating Club V 16 Ren Wayne in the final. Coast 16-1 earned the final bid by beating AZ Storm 16 Thunder in the third-place match. Below, we recap the three bid winners’ weekend in Salt Lake. Co Jrs 16 Sherri (First, 10-0) Day 1: d. AP 16 Adidas (25-11, 25-13); d. SF Elite 16 Saga (25-14, 25-8); d. Livewire 16 Adidas (25-19, 26-24) Day 2: d. Xcel VB Adidas (25-16, 25-10); d. Gainesville Jrs 16 Black (25-19, 25-23); d. Club V 16 Ren Wayne (25-23, 25-22); d. Flyers 16 Dylan (25-20, 25-23) Day 3: Rev 16-1 Fury (24-26, 25-18, 15-12); d. AZ Storm 16 Thunder (25-10, 25-16); d. Club V 16 Ren Wayne (25-18, 25-18) It was nearly a flawless three days of volleyball for Co Jrs 16 Sherri as it captured not only a bid but the 16 Open crown in Salt Lake City, going 10-0 in matches and dropping just one set along the way. Co Jrs capped its impressive run by downing Club V 16 Ren Wayne in straight sets, 25-18, 25-18, in the final, the fifth time the Colorado club didn’t allow more than 20 points to an opponent in either set on the weekend.“I think we had hoped we could do it but I’m not sure we expected to or that I expected to anyway,” Co Jrs coach Sherri Hawkins said of the team’s undefeated run to the bid. “It was definitely a strong field. If you compared our results to other teams in the field from Triple Crown, we had the fifth-best record from there.”An integral part of Co Jrs – which tied for 21st at Triple Crown – is 6-1 S/RS Izzy Starck. Co Jrs defeated Club V on Day 2 before beating Club V again in the final and there really wasn’t any stopping her either time, Club V coach Wayne Wood said.“That Co Jrs setter/opposite No. 9 (Starck) played amazing volleyball,” he said. “I feel like we were able to minimize some of their other hitters but we had no answer for her. We watched game film to see how we could improve and I’m not sure I’ve seen another opposite as dynamic as her.”While Co Jrs can turn to Starck in tough moments, she’s hardly responsible for carrying the bulk of the scoring. Avah Armour – a 6-6 junior OH/RS committed to Central Florida – more than had her moments as Co Jrs moved her around between outside and right side. Outside Paityn Chapman, at 6-3, is another tall and effective option that’s plenty involved.They are part of a lineup that is not lacking in height. Middle/RS Addie Kanouff is 6-5, as is middle Marae Reilly. Even the team’s shortest middle in Grace Woodring at 5-10 plays taller, as she touches 9-8. Back row setter Regan Kadel is 5-10, so there is length pretty much everywhere. Toss in libero Ella Vogel and DS Eve McLaury – the only newcomer to the roster – and there aren’t any holes and it’s what makes Co Jrs dangerous when the team is on and clicking.“I think we had a well-balanced attack,” Hawkins said. “I think we were able to pretty much attack anywhere on the court and that helped. The blockers couldn’t key in on one hitter because we had multiple people attacking with a high kill percentage.” *** Club V 16 Ren Wayne (Second, 7-3) Day 1: d. NCVC 16 Blue (25-4, 25-14); d. Alamo 16 Premier (20-25, 25-17, 15-11); d. Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar (27-29, 25-12, 15-11) Day 2: d. Gainesville 16 Black (25-17, 25-23); d. Xcel 16 Adidas (25-14, 25-22); l. Co Jrs 16 Sherri (25-23, 25-22); d. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar (25-21, 25-21) Day 3: d. OT 16 J Will (25-16, 25-16); l. Coast 16-1 (25-19, 25-11); l. Co Jrs 16 Sherri (25-18, 25-18) If we’re to use Triple Crown as a guide, Club V 16 Ren Wayne wasn’t on the radar as a potential qualifier in Salt Lake City. After finishing tied for 41st in Kansas City, Club V opened its first qualifier of the season seeded No. 15 overall. But after Day 1, there was ample proof Club V could contend if it kept its level of play up after knocking off Alamo 16 Premier and Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar en route to winning its pool.A chance at qualifying became a reality by the time Club V upended Long Beach for the second time a day later as the two sides opened gold pool action against one another. At that point, Club V had only lost to Co Jrs 16 Sherri and entered Day 3 in as good a spot as any to clinch a bid. It came to fruition Sunday when Club V beat OT 16 J Will before falling to Coast 16-1, ending in a three-way tie with Coast and Long Beach while owning the tiebreaker and advancing to the final where it fell to Co Jrs once more. “It was a great team weekend,” Club V coach Wayne Wood said. “I’ve coached a couple of teams that have qualified for Open but this is the first one to do it at the first qualifier of the year. The core of this team won USA at Nationals last year so they fell short of getting the Open bid. We added a couple of players and it really took every one of them this weekend.”Club V suffered a setback before Triple Crown when it lost libero Trinidy Tien for the season to an ACL injury. That left a big void in the lineup that needed filling and the team turned to Greta Brown, one of their outsides, to fill it.“She played huge,” Wood said. “Hats off to her. She had to shoulder a lot of responsibility. This was only her

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