Commitments & Signings Week of May 26-June 1
June 7, 2023
Congrats to all! Corrections? Questions? Additions? Email christi@vballrecruiter.com or DM on Social Media @vballphil 2023 2024 TRANSFERS
Congrats to all! Corrections? Questions? Additions? Email christi@vballrecruiter.com or DM on Social Media @vballphil 2023 2024 TRANSFERS
We’re proud to be a part of an ongoing partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is sponsoring our Player of the Week award. We’ll be releasing a featured vballrecruiter.com Player of the Week, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, on Tuesdays. Below is this week’s Player of the Week: Ryan Hunter. *** To this point, if Ryan Hunter’s volleyball career were a race it would be the 100-meter dash. She’s gone from ending her time in competitive dance and beginning volleyball just three years ago to becoming one of the top Class of 2025 prospects in a flash. The 6-2, 5-star dynamic right side has spent the season playing up and turning heads on nationally-ranked Triangle 17 Black, which is competing in 17 Open this summer at the USAV Junior National Championships in Chicago. Hunter’s addition has elevated Triangle into a national title contender. She made the switch to the club this season. That she’s competing at such a high level in such a short time is a credit to her, plus reason why big-time college programs around the country are hoping to make their impressions when the recruiting season officially opens in a couple of weeks. “It’s been really fun coming into a new club full of very advanced athletes,” Hunter said. “It was new and it was a little challenging to get used to. When I did get used to it, it was really fun. We connected quickly. We’re all competitive and we all work well together.” As Hunter began getting taller she was looking for something new besides dancing, which she’d been doing since she was 2. Her older sister, Keimaya, played volleyball at UNC and that inspired her to give the sport a try. She went to a camp at a local gym and that was it. Three short years later and the next stop up is Junior Nationals, where Triangle will enter 17 Open ranked No. 3 in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings. It’ll be Hunter’s first time competing in Open at JN’s. It’s even possible she could have a new college in her future by then, but for now we’ll have to wait and see how both to unfold. “We are preparing ourselves to be dealing with more competition and getting better every single practice,” Hunter said. “We are mentally preparing ourselves for the intense play but I think with this team we have a real chance of pulling off winning nationals.” As our featured Player of the Week sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, we recently spoke with Hunter about volleyball and more. Who is your role model or icon you look up to? Hunter: My sister was the one to first introduce me to volleyball. Her love for volleyball inspired me to love it. She’s been one of my biggest supporters and has been there to help me. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, she made sure I made it practice, all my tournaments and always took time to help me practice. I’ve seen how hard she works and how focused she is on accomplishing her own goals while helping me achieve mine. She’s my hero and I’m so blessed to have her. What is your favorite food? Hunter: My favorite foods would have to be lasagna, pizza and pasta. What is your favorite tournament of the season? Hunter: I’d have to say maybe either Triple Crown or Sunshine Classic. I think both those tournaments had great competition and those were the times we were really connecting and getting into a groove. It showed how well we can work together and it really made us push ourselves. What is your favorite team bonding event? Hunter: Usually, after the first day of a tournament the team goes out to eat. It’s a fun time. We are always laughing. Those times are really special. It helps us connect off the court. Do you have a favorite quote or mantra? Hunter: I’d say my favorite quote is ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ If you could have any super power what would it be and why? Hunter: If I could have any superpower I’d say to be able to fly. I don’t know, it would be really cool to be above everything in the sky and see it all from the perspective of above. Also, being able to fly I could get places faster. What do you like to do outside of volleyball? Hunter: I like to draw. Sometimes I go on walks when the weather is nice. I think I’m a creative person. I like to make things like crafts. What is one thing that may surprise people about you? Hunter: I’d say if you didn’t know me before you met me you would think I’m a quiet person. Once you get to know me you’d probably be surprise to see how crazy and goofy I am. If you could have dinner with anyone past or present, who would it be and why? Hunter: Kobe Bryant. I would want to ask him everything and anything regarding his methods for maintaining focus and how he came to have a Mamba mentality. What’s your favorite number and why? Hunter: My favorite number is 18. It’s a combination of my sister’s number and my brother’s number. His number in high school was 33 and my sister’s number in college was 15. 33 minus 15 is 18.
AAUs begin next week, with of course the USAV national championships following at the end of the month. Before teams start arriving in Chicago, we decided to take a look at the path for Open teams to get there to see if we could rank the toughest qualifiers. We kicked off with the 17s. Up next is 16 Open. The method we used was hardly perfect and is relative of course. At the same time, it does shed light on what may be the toughest qualifier of the season. The factors we used to determine the list we came up with are 1) Number of eventual Open qualifiers; 2) Percent of Eventual Open qualifiers from the overall field; 3) The number of ranked teams from vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50; 4) the average rank of the teams from the Top 50. We took the average of those four rankings and listed them from 1-12 for each qualifier. The full breakdown is below, with comments. 16 OPEN LONE STAR (*Average: 3) (rank – 1) Number of Teams: 41 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 9 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 12 (overall rank – t1)* Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 29 (overall rank – 5)* Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 18 (overall rank – 2)* Average Rank: 21 (overall rank – 4)* Comment: Lone Star is always challenging because of the high volume of previously-qualified teams competing. This year, there were nine and it’s reason why only one bid went out, creating the only two at-larges in play this season. It’s not surprising to see Lone Star come out on top, not with 18 teams from the Top 50 with an average rank of 21. That’s impressive. And though the percent of eventual qualifiers wasn’t tops, it was still fifth-best overall. *** WINDY CITY (Avg: 3.25) (2) Number of Teams: 32 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 4 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 10 (t5) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 31 (3) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 12 (t4) Average Rank: 18 (t1) Comment: Windy City is right there pushing Lone Star as the top qualifier. This year’s event stood out by tying for the top average rank of Top-50 teams. There were 12 in attendance averaging out at 18. That’s strong competition, especially when the field slightly outranked Lone Star in terms of eventual Open qualifiers. *** SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Avg: 3.5) (3) Number of Teams: 40 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 0 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 12 (t1) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 30 (4) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 16 (3) Average Rank: 24 (6) Comment: Sunshine cracks the Top 3, close to Windy City and not far from Lone Star. The three qualifiers differed in terms of previously-qualified clubs. Lone Star had nine, meaning bids weren’t guaranteed to go out. Windy City had four, so trickle-down was likely. Meanwhile, Sunshine had no qualified teams being up first. Given there were 12 eventual Open teams competing and 16 from our Top 50 with an average rank of 24, qualifying at the event was no joke! *** MEQ (Avg: 4) (4) Number of Teams: 48 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 3 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 12 (t1) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 25 (t7) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 20 (1) Average Rank: 26 (t7) Comment: MEQ’s large field can work for it and against it. The pros is it allows for lots of eventual Open qualifiers (12) and teams from the Top 50 (20). But the con is it can hurt when it comes to the percent of eventual Open qualifiers (25), which comes in tied for seventh. That, and the average Top 50 rank of 26 (also seventh), kept MEQ from coming in higher. Still, it checks in as the fourth-toughest qualifier. *** RED ROCK RAVE (Avg: 4.25) (5) Number of Teams: 40 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 0 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 11 (4) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 28 (6) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 12 (t4) Average Rank: 19 (3) Comment: Like Sunshine, Red Rock had no wiggle room because there was no possibility of trickle down. There has to be extra consideration given to that as the average doesn’t take that into account. Helping carry Red Rock to a top-five qualifier was its average Top 50 rank of 19. That was third-best overall. Red Rock was also strong with 11 eventual Open qualifiers and 12 teams from the Top 50. Given that, just like Sunshine, earning bids here took serious work. *** NORTHERN LIGHTS (Avg: 4.5) (t6) Number of Teams: 24 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 2 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 9 (t7) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 38 (1) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 9 (9) Average Rank: 18 (t1) Comment: There are a couple of factors that really stand out. One is that Northern Lights tied for the highest Top-50 average at 18. That means there were some really good teams there. Also, with nine eventual qualifiers, it made for 38 percent of the field eventually qualifying. That was tops out of all qualifiers. So though Northern Lights was a smaller field compared to other qualifiers, it packed a punch! *** NEQ (Avg: 4.5) (t6) Number of Teams: 27 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 6 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 10 (t5) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 37 (2) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 11 (t6) Average Rank: 22 (5) Comment: NEQ has a reputation for not being among the stronger qualifiers, but the numbers show otherwise this season. With 37 percent of the field eventually making Open, it put NEQ second overall. That could mean there were more lower-ranked teams in the field, but NEQ had an average Top-50 rank of 22. That was fifth-best
The USAV Girls Junior National Championships are still weeks away. Yet, in between is the AAU national championships, which begin next week. That basically leaves us this week before moving onto to our national championship coverage from Orlando and then Chicago. It’s a perfect time to check in on what qualifying season was like in terms of the strength of each national qualifier. There were 12 total and beginning with the 17 Open division we take a look at them in hopes of determining an order of strength. The method we used was hardly perfect and is relative of course. The factors we used to determine the list we came up with are 1) Number of eventual Open qualifiers; 2) Percent of Eventual Open qualifiers from the overall field; 3) The number of ranked teams from vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50; 4) the average rank of the teams from the Top 50. We took the average of those four rankings and listed them from 1-12 for each qualifier. The full breakdown is below, with comments. 17 OPEN SHOW ME (*Average: 3.25) (1) Number of Teams: 30 (t7) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 5 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 11 (overall rank – t3)* Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 37 (overall – rank 1)* Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 14 (overall rank – t3)* Average Rank (of Top 50 teams): 24 (overall rank – t6)* Comment: Show Me has a compelling case to be considered the toughest qualifier of the season. First off, it had the highest eventual Open qualifier percentage at 37. So even though the field was a bit smaller, no doubt it was competitive. That’s also proven by the average rank of 24. That’s tied with Red Rock for sixth-best. Only two qualifiers had more teams from our Top 50 at the time than Show Me. Put it all together and it makes Show Me the best, which was also backed based on the four averages used. *** MEQ (Avg: 4) (t2) Number of Teams: 48 (1) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 3 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 14 (1) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 29 (t5) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 17 (1) Average Rank: 23 (5) Comment: There’s no question MEQ belongs in the discussion as the best qualifier. It’s hard to say MEQ was the best though because the field was so big. There were 14 eventual teams to make Open, but that is still less than a third of the field. Still, 14 is a big number, as that is well more than a third of the Open field we’ll see in Chicago. There was also some breathing room at MEQ because there were three qualified teams, meaning trickle down could reach sixth. That helped too. But the average rank of 23 is fifth-best, proving it was one of the more difficult qualifiers. *** LONE STAR (Avg: 4) (t2) Number of Teams: 42 (3) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 9 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 11 (t3) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 26 (t7) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 14 (t3) Average Rank: 21 (3) Comment: Lone Star has an argument as the toughest qualifier because there were nine teams present with bids already. That meant there could’ve been a shutout when it came to bids. Having 11 eventual qualifiers in the field is a solid number, though its percentage is lower than Windy City. But there’s also the fact that Lone Star was the only qualifier to produce any at-larges, supplying both in play this season. That’s tough to argue with. Also elevating Lone Star to the Top 3 is the fact its average rank from the Top 50 was third-best at 21. *** WINDY CITY (Avg: 4.75) (4) Number of Teams: 41 (4) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 7 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 12 (2) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 29 (t5) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 15 (2) Average Rank: 28 (10) Comment: Windy City was an impressive qualifier from the standpoint that only MEQ boasted more teams from our Top 50 at the time. Windy City was also a tougher qualifier based on having seven previously-qualified teams. On the other hand, Windy City was middle of the pack in both eventual Open qualifier percentage and average rank. Still, the averages place Windy City just outside the top three. *** NORTHERN LIGHTS (Average: 5.25) (5) Number of Teams: 22 (12) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 0 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 8 (8) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 36 (2) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 11 (7) Average Rank: 22 (4) Comment: Given Northern Lights was up first and there was no trickle-down in play, plus more than a third of the field eventually qualified for Open, made Northern Lights strong this season. Only Show Me had a higher percentage of eventual qualified teams. Plus, the rank of teams from our Top 50 averaging out at 22 was the fourth-highest from all the qualifiers. Given those two factors, you could make a case for Northern Lights being the toughest of the season. But no doubt it was among the most difficult. *** RED ROCK RAVE (5.75) (t6) Number of Teams: 39 (t5) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 1 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 10 (t5) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 26 (t7) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 12 (t5) Average Rank: 24 (t6) Comment: Red Rock was among the stronger qualifiers, but finishes a little lower than expected That’s because even though there were a good number of eventual qualifiers with 10, the field was bigger at 39. Red Rock also had a strong average rank with 24, which was sixth-best. But it was middle of the pack in all the numbers and thus comes in at the middle
vballrecruiter.com introduces our Class of 2027 Player Rankings. We’ve recently updated the Classes of 2024, 2025 and 2026. Below, you can find the players listed in our initial rankings. To view the full rankings, click here. Initial Class of 2027 Player Rankings Addison Otto S Northern Lights 14-1 Alice Wood S LAV 15 National Black Amelia Snider OH/MB No Name 15 Erin Ansley Shafer L/DS TAV 14 Black Asia Udo-Ema OH Pipeline 14-1 Audrey Davis RS Circle City 14 Purple Ava Burgess OH Club V 14 Ren Silver Averi Hanna MB Metro 14 Travel Bailey Lambert MB AZ Sky 14G Berkley France OH AZ Sky 14G *** Braelyn Patton MB Dallas Premier 14 Brooklyn Sippio MB GP 14 Rox Bryn Meyer OH Mintonette Sports m.41 Brynn Stephens S/RS TAV 14 Black Calli LeFevre OH Legacy 14-1 Adidas Camille Presley MB AP 14 Adidas Capri Romjue OH TAV 14 Black Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Carsyn Comer MB Munciana 14 Chipmunks Cassidy Armstrong S/RS AZ Sky 14G *** Cedra Talaga OH/L/DS Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar Charlotte Cavin S Madfrog 14 Green Clara Christ L/DS Northern Lights 14-1 Coco Lewis OH Virginia Jrs 14 Elite Cynthia Ockerman MB Legacy 14-1 Adidas Dakota Huynh L/DS Skyline 14 Royal Ella Olson OH Tstreet 14 Carson Ellie Enger S/OH WPVC 14 Armour Black Emerson Butler S/RS AP 14 Adidas Emily Poteraj MB Adidas KiVA 14 Red *** Emma Kingston MB Tstreet 14 Carson Fara Bronson S Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Francesca Hansel DS/L Tri-State Elite 14 Blue Francesca Lorenzo OH Lions 14-1 Gabriella Souza S Tstreet 14 Carson Gabrielle Ngo MB Wave 14 Tammy Gentry Barker OH TAV 14 Black Gia Ireland S/RS Norco 15 Black Hailey Mueller OH Triangle 14 Black Hanna McGinest OH Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar *** Isabel Incinelli MB WPVC 14 Armour Black Isabella Stojkovic RS Arizona Storm 14 Izabelle Buchholz MB Skyline 14 Royal Jaycee Mack MB Wave 15 Brennan Jazzlyn Hepburn MB AP 14 Adidas Jentelle McNairl OH Alliance 14 Ren Kaelyn Bjorklund S Northern Lights 14-1 Kaitlyn Herweg SCVC 15 Roxy Kamryn Mullican S/RS Excel 14 National Red Karsyn Rogers S Drive Nation 14 Red *** Kate Cuppett OH Skyline 14 Royal Kate Kalczynski OH Legacy 14-1 Adidas Katherine Jackson RS Tstreet 14 Carson Katherine Nowak OH Tstreet 14 Carson Kendall Hubbard S/RS Elevation 14 Molly Kendall Omoruyi MB Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Kyla Williams MB AVC Cle 14 Red Landri Trice OH Drive Nation 14 Red Lauren Forelli OH AZ Rev 14 Premier Lauren Garcia S Alamo 15 Premier *** Laven Blumoff L/DS Austin Skyline 14 Royal Lexi Martin OH Drive Nation 14 Red Lilah Anthony RS Adidas KiVA 14 Red Lilly Tierney MB NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami Lola Waleskowski OH NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami London Merchant OH Madfrog 14 Green Lucky Fasavalu OH Austin Skyline 14 Royal Lyla Sands MB HPSTL 14 Royal Macie Murray OH Metro 14 Travel Maisie Jones OH Tri-State Elite 14 Blue *** Malorie Boesiger S Nebraska One 16 Synergy Maria Schulte S/RS NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami Mariah Akinsola MB TAV 14 Black Marissa Jones S A5 14 Helen Marlee Steiner MB HPSTL 14 Royal Marlo Libbey S Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar Mia Diouf RS GP 14 Rox Molly Aubert S Drive Nation 14 Red Molly Drake OH Royal Legends 15-1 National Orange Monica Bercaru-Maxim L/DS Madfrog 14 Green *** Morgan Meiring OH Elevation 14 Molly Nafanua Alofipo OH Austin Skyline 14 Royal Naomi Livings OH TAV Black 14 Black Nia LaMons L/DS TAV 14 Black Nyla Livings MB TAV 14 Black Nylah Bibby OH Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Olivia Garey MB/RS Metro 14 Travel Olivia Greenwood RS Wave 14 Tammy Olivia Henry OH/MB AXEVC 15 Premier Peyton Heatherly S/RS Lions 14-1 *** Piper Chylinski S/RS SG Elite 15 Rosh Piper McFadden S Elevation 14 Peak Pulelehua Laikona L/DS Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Reagan Wallraff MB Arizona Storm 14 Ryan Spencer OH Skyline 14 Royal Sasha Plummer RS Metro 14 Travel Savanna Stacey OH Elevation 14 Molly Shaye Witherspoon OH Rockwood Thunder 14 Elite Simrin Adams OH/RS Mizuno Long Beach Rockstar Sophee Peterson S/RS TAV 14 Black *** Sophia Dostic S OT 14 Laura Sophia Puleo OH OT 14 Laura Susan Hudgins OH AP 14 Adidas Taimane Poe MB Mizuno Long Beach Rockstar Taylor Harrington MB Paramount 14-1 Tessa Larkin OH Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Vanessa Glenn OH Madfrog 14 Green Vega Tunnell OH AZ Sky 14G Zamari Christianson S Club V 14 Ren Silver
The vballrecruiter.com team spent the weekend enjoying the action at the JVA West Coast Cup in Long Beach. You can check out our Day 1, 2 and 3 Show Stoppers, plus our Gold Medal Rundown. The last of our coverage features the vballrecruiter.com All-Tournament Teams from 14 Club and 15-17 Open presenting our top players from the weekend. 17 OPEN OUTSIDES Arielle Bruk Academy 17 HP Lukasz Kiera Maynard Saddleback 17 Sofly Tate Drageset Actyve 17 Black MiKenna Henjum San Clemente 17 Riley Carly Grumet San Clemente 17 Riley Adia McCown Balboa Bay 17 Blue MIDDLES Rian Barr Saddleback 17 Sofly Sara Johnson Saddleback 17 Sofly Bella Chen Academy 17 HP Lukasz RIGHT SIDES Marlee Arrington Tstreet IE 17 Taylor Emma Rowell Actyve 17 Black (S/RS) SETTERS Isabelle Marco Academy 17 HP Lukasz Brooklyn Kostoff San Clemente 17 Riley Riley Barr Saddleback 17 Sofly L/DSs Camille Solovjev San Clemente 17 Riley Jaedyn Houston Balboa Bay 17 Blue Gemma Larbalestier Actyve 17 Black *** 16 OPEN OUTSIDES Lauren Farris Tstreet 16 Naseri Alexandra Jacome Club Cactus 16 Mizuno Kendall Timme Arete 16 Navy Telos Madelyn Feramisco VVA 16-1 Ryan Gilhooly Sunshine 16 Pacific MIDDLES Leimaile Lasike Tstreet LV 16 Trevor Kate Camp Tstreet LV 16 Trevor Delaney Blied Seal Beach 16 Black Amika Swanson Seal Beach 16 Black Juliana Sanchez VVA 16-1 RIGHT SIDES Ai-Lani Hunter VVA 16-1 Nikki Tawil Sunshine 16 Pacific (S/RS) Ayla Johanski SoCal 16 Eric (S/RS) SETTERS Jaleah Bauss Arete 16 Navy Telos Jolianna Salazar Tstreet LV 16 Trevor L/DSs Addison Dedekian VVA 16-1 Ava Akoubian Seal Beach 16 Black *** 15 OPEN OUTSIDES Charlotte Nowak Tstreet 15 Curtis Grace Jamison Actyve 15 Black Aviya Russo Academy 15 HP Daniele Sammie Aaron VVA 15-1 MIDDLES Emma Champagne Tstreet 15 Curtis Addison Coady Tstreet 15 Curtis Lauryn Lewis Sunshine 15 Westside Frankie Jones Sunshine 15 Westside RIGHT SIDES Melina McKinney Academy 15 HP Daniele Sophia Cotter Sunshine 15 Westside Sara Moynihan Tstreet 15 Curtis (S/RS) SETTERS Ava McBride Actyve 15 Black (S/RS) Emerson Boyd Arete 15 Navy Telos (S/RS) Adriana Dorn Rage 15 Greg (S/RS) L/DSs Karys Campos Actyve 15 Black Emily Dufresne Arete 15 Navy Telos Skylar Noble Tstreet 15 Curtis *** 14 CLUB OUTSIDES Laila Turner Marin 13 Black Kayla Wolford BRVBA 14 Royal Ella Iseminger BRVBA 14 Royal Elsa Matherly 303 14 Alpha Adeline Robinson Silver State 14 Brad MIDDLES Whitney Longspaugh BRVBA 14 Royal Emerson Novac Juggernaut 14 National RIGHT SIDES Abigail Lardner Marin 13 Black Sierra Treewater Marin 13 Black SETTERS Lynniah Rodriguez 303 14 Alpha (S/RS) Sienna Moretti Silver State 14 Brad L/DSs Kaylee Bray Juggernaut 14 National Enujin Enkhbold 303 14 Alpha
Last week we released our updated player rankings for the Classes of 2024 and 2025. Up next is the Class of 2026. We start with the players whose star rankings have changed, moving from either 4 to 5 stars or from 3 to 4 stars. That is followed by a list of new additions to the rankings. To view the full rankings, click here. Athletes Rising To 5 Stars Athletes Rising To 4 Stars NEW ADDITIONS Addison Polivka OH 1United 15 Dylan Ai-Vy Ho S Excel 15 National Red Anna O’Keefe S Northern Lights 15-1 Brooklyn Jenkins OH AZ Sky 15G Claire Nelson MB Austin Skyline 15 Royal Destiny Wiggins L/DS Wildfire 15 Ellie Stiernagle S SPVB 15 Elite Gentry Oblad OH Vegas Aces 16 UA Giovanna Artiles OH Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal Grace Lee OH High Tide 15 Elite *** Grace Martin OH Pohaku 15-1 Jayden Robinson OH Hou Skyline 15 Royal Jordyn Joppru MB AZ Sky 15G Kaitlyn Nguyen L/DS Dakine Warriors 17 Surf Kate Schroetlin L/DS Norco 15 Black Kaylee Maikranz L/DS High Tide 15 Elite Leah Robinson OH MAVS 816 15-1 Lola Sageer OH VolleyFX 16 Mantra Lyla Stewart RS Mintonette Sports m.51 Makenna Crosson OH/RS NorCal 17-1 Black *** Melaina Haines OH LAV 15 National Black Mia Crowley OH TAV Houston 15 Adidas Nikolija Bulotovic S 1st Alliance 15 Gold Olivia Branum S OP2 15-1 Paighton Erb MB Premier Nebraska 15 Gold Skylar Brady OH OP2 15-1 Sydni Vice OH MJVA 16 Elite Taylor Stanley RS Dynasty 15 Black Trinity Thompson L/DS Vegas Aces 16 UA
We’re proud to officially begin an ongoing partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is sponsoring our new Player of the Week program. Moving forward we’ll be releasing a featured vballrecruiter.com Player of the Week, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods. Below is our initial Player of the Week: Reagan Ennist. *** Like countless before her, it didn’t take Reagan Ennist long to fall in love with volleyball. The 6-2, 4-star outside hitter from the Class of 2025 currently plays for TeamLVC 17-1 – which is participating in 17 Aspire for the upcoming AAUs Girls National Championships later this summer – but didn’t grow up playing the sport. She tried everything from softball to basketball to swimming while also sticking to competitive gymnastics for eight years. Then volleyball came along. After watching her older sister, Ryan, play Ennist decided it was time to get out of gymnastics and into a new sport. “I watched her games and they were fast-paced plus I wanted to be around a team sport,” Ennist said. We’ve talked to players before who stopped doing gymnastics because they simply outgrew the sport due to their height. However, Ennist said that wasn’t the case with her. She was actually shorter than most of her friends in sixth grade and didn’t start her growth spurt until seventh grade. By the time Ennist was playing her first year at Shenendehowa in New York as an eighth-grader she knew she wanted to continue playing in college. Having grown to 6-2 and touching over 10 feet, Ennist should have no trouble in making that happen. She’s considered one of the top recruits in the country, though she might fly under the radar, and will be sought after in the coming weeks when the recruiting period officially begins. Ennist recently quit track and field, where she competed in high, long and triple jump, to focus on volleyball. Even though she captured the Section II high jump title as a freshman volleyball is where her heart is. “I think my absolute favorite thing is being able to play with different girls from around the country,” Ennist said. “I’ve been playing with different people and different styles. I love the traveling and the different coaching.” As our featured Player of the Week sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, we recently spoke with Ennist about volleyball and more. Who is your role model or icon you look up to? Ennist: Definitely the two who stick out to me the most is Jordan Larson. I met her last year at the Drive Nation camp in Texas. It’s seeing not just how much of a great player she is, but what a leader she is on the court. That’s something I strive to be in all my years I play. Second, she is actually from around where I grew up, is Emma Werkmeister. She plays at UCONN. I look up to her because New York is not a huge volleyball state. I competed against her a lot last year. She’s an amazing player and shows great leadership in being humble. It’s great seeing someone so close playing in college and having a great experience. What is your favorite food? Ennist: I do love seafood and lobster. I love tacos and Mexican food, but seafood, especially lobster, is my favorite. What is your favorite tournament of the season? Ennist: I’ve been to the Capital Hill Classic two years in a row and it’s one of my favorites. The level of play is crazy and I love the length of the tournament that it’s three days. It’s probably one of the bigger tournaments we’ve been to. I’m also super excited for AAUs because I’ve never been. What is your favorite team bonding event? Ennist: Over my (high) school season we have a couple away tournaments that are four or five hours away and we stay in hotels. The night before the first day of the tournament the coach picks out mini groups to create a song and dance. We have 20 minutes to come up with one and then we perform it in front of everyone. It’s so fun to connect like that outside volleyball. Do you have a quote or mantra? Ennist: This is hard because I’ve been doing #MyQuoteMondays for a couple of months. I started doing that and one that stood out is, I don’t remember exactly, but it talks about the only person holding you back is yourself. Sometimes you get called names and people talk about you as competitors. That’s what happens, but that quote always sticks out and I remember to block out the negative and focus on myself and my team and achieving what we want. It makes it super important to me. If you could have any super power what would it be and why? Ennist: Probably being able to time travel. I don’t know why, that just seems so cool going back in time. I don’t think I would want to go forward, just backward. What do you like to do outside of volleyball? Ennist: Besides modeling, I love hanging out with friends outside of volleyball when I get the chance. I workout with my best friend on off days and go to a trainer, so working out and modeling are what I do outside of volleyball. What is one thing that may surprise people about you? Ennist: I’m not as serious as a lot of people who make the assumption about me think I am. They think I’m completely serious and intimidating. I’m nothing like that. I’m very funny and love to joke around with people and be goofy. When I don’t have games, I’m always goofing around. What is your favorite number and why? Ennist: My favorite number is six and I honestly can’t tell you why. That number has stuck with me since I was young. Six is in my birthday and it’s been a lucky number, so maybe that’s why but it’s not a volleyball number of mine.
The last day of the JVA West Coast Cup in Long Beach went down as expected. That is, with teams going all out in hopes of claiming their division’s gold medal. It produced plenty of spectacular individual efforts and outings. We present the ones who impressed us the most with our daily Show Stoppers. DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Gemma Larbalestier L/DS Actyve 17 Black: An energetic and outgoing libero, Larbalestier anchored the defense with strong passing out of serve receive and making plenty of digs to keep rallies alive. Emma Rowell S/RS Actyve 17 Black: A setter/right side from the Class of 2025, Rowell was instrumental in Actyve’s gold medal march. She’s a physical attacker who can pound balls down. She’s an above-average setter as well, with nice hands and the ability to locate consistently. Tate Drageset OH Actyve 17 Black: Drageset – another member of the Class of 2025 – proved nearly impossible to stop. Kills went over blocks, around them and through them as Drageset menaced defenses repeatedly. Kiera Maynard OH Saddleback 17 Sofly: Saddleback finished with the silver medal in part because of the play of Maynard. The six-rotation outside held her own and gave her team regular scoring when set. Riley Barr S Saddleback 17 Sofly: Barr did well running the offense and moving the ball around. She was connecting with all her hitters and putting the ball in nice spots. Rian Barr MB Saddleback 17 Sofly: Barr was making plays at the net on both sides. She put up a strong block and also was able to turn around and put balls away. Adia McCown OH Balboa Bay 17 Blue: McCown sums up Balboa Bay in a lot of ways. She’s a bit undersized but has a lot of fight and comes with it on the attack. She’s a free-swinger who lets it fly and was giving Balboa Bay an arm it could count on. Jaedyn Houston L/DS Balboa Bay 17 Blue: Houston was sharp in serve receive and putting her passes on target. She’s a scrappy defender with lots of hustle. MiKenna Henjum OH/S San Clemente 17 Riley: Henjum can set adequately at times, but she really stands out with her hitting. She carries a key role in the offense. She’s a springy, quick attacker with a solid arm. Brooklyn Kostoff S San Clemente 17 Riley: Kostoff was dishing well in running the offense. She showed a nice touch and consistent release. *** Isabelle Marco S Academy 17 HP Lukasz: Marco was among the setters taking care of business in 17 Open. She sets a clean ball and connects well with her hitters. Leimaile Lasike MB Tstreet LV 16 Trevor: Lasike is part of a strong 1-2 punch in the middle. She moves well and takes up a lot of space with her long reach. It allows to be impactful on both offense and defense as Tstreet likes to get her the ball. Kate Camp MB Tstreet LV 16 Trevor: Camp is the other half who Tstreet likes to get involved as much as possible. Camp has a knack for scoring. Whether putting balls down with a big swing or tipping into the open space, she’s tough to stop. Ai-Lani Hunter RS VVA 16-1: Hunter flashed her upside and potential more than a few times. She’s a big jumper with a strong arm who can generate pace and lots of offense. Brooklyn Washington MB VVA 16-1: Washington is another standout middle in 16 Open. She’s tall with a long wingspan and can go straight over smaller blockers with ease. She’s one to follow as she continues to move up. Madelyn Feramisco OH VVA 16-1: Feramisco is a bit undersized but a fearless outside who jumps well and doesn’t back down. She brings it on the attack with an aggressive swing and was providing her share of offense. Kendall Timme OH Arete 16 Navy Telos: Timme is a long outside with nice extension. She’s one of the main offensive threats and can drill it at times. Jaleah Bauss S Arete 16 Navy Telos: Bauss is a bit undersized but is quick and gets to the ball well. She has a smooth release and was locating well with her various hitters. Isabella Wood RS Arete 16 Navy Telos: Wood has a booming arm. She was a back row opposite who was crushing balls and delivering points. Charlotte Nowak OH Tstreet 15 Curtis: Nowak and teammates walked away with the gold medal. She’s a lanky outside who takes lots of swings in helping anchoring the offense. *** Emma Champagne MB Tstreet 15 Curtis: Champagne makes up one half of Tstreet’s middle threat. She can impact both sides with her strong blocking and attacking. Addison Coady MB Tstreet 15 Curtis: Coady is another who makes it happen on both sides. She’s lanky and can take away space in a hurry while also being able to whip down kills. Ava McBride S/RS Actyve 15 Black: McBride does a lot on the court with her setting and attacking. She’s tall with a high contact point and it makes her dangerous on the attack. She’s also an on-point setter who can move the ball around. Karys Campos L/DS Actyve 15 Black: Campos, a 2027 libero playing up, is a gamer. She’s quick, covers and passes well and is another to keep tabs on. Aviya Russo OH Academy 15 HP Daniele: Russo was one of the top outsides in the division. She’s another long outside who can extend and go over blocks. Melina McKinney RS Academy 15 HP Daniele: McKinney is a baller with her ability to pass out of serve receive as well as her heady attacking from tips to tools to hammering balls for points. Laila Turner OH Marin 13 Black: Turner and company rose to the top in capturing the 14 Club gold medal. She did well locating her shots and not forcing the issue. Abigail Lardner RS Marin 13 Black: Lardner showed off her arm at times.
The third and final day of the JVA West Coast Cup in Long Beach saw Actyve 17 Black continue its dominance through 17 Open. In going 8-0 and not dropping a set, Actyve left no doubt about which club was tops in the division. Led by recent 18 American MVP and sophomore outside hitter Tate Drageset, Actyve finished off its perfect run by sweeping Saddleback 17 Sofly in the final, 25-14, 25-22. Actyve also received outstanding performances from sophomore setter/right side Emma Rowell and junior libero Gemma Larbalestier. Opponents scored 20 or more points in just three sets against Actyve, which is set to compete in 17 USA this summer in Chicago. As a club, Actyve was close to another gold medal in 15 Open. However, Tstreet 15 Curtis spoiled that feat by taking down Actyve 15 Black in three sets, 23-25, 25-23, 15-7, in the championship clash. It was a rematch to the ending of Day 2 pool play, when Actyve narrowly clipped Tstreet, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13. That was Tstreet’s only loss of the weekend. With middles Emma Champagne and Addison Coady making impacts and outside Charlotte Nowak and setter/right side Sara Moynihan playing key parts too, Tstreet uprooted Academy 15 HP Daniele in the semifinals. Academy HP was the only Open-qualified team in the field. Tstreet qualified for 15 National in Chicago while Actyve is participating in 15 USA. After catching a Day 1 break, another Tstreet club came out ahead in 16 Open. Tstreet LV 16 Trevor went 1-2 on the first day and finished in third place in its pool. However, the top two third-place finishers remained in the upper half and Tstreet LV earned one of those distinctions. Tstreet LV opened up Day 2 with a loss to VVA 16-1, the same team which beat Tstreet LV on Day 1. Yet, it was Tstreet LV getting the last say. Middles Leimaile Lasike and Kate Camp were vital as Tstreet topped VVA, 25-22, 25-20, in the gold medal match. VVA fell to Seal Beach 16 Black on Saturday but got revenge on Monday by outlasting Seal Beach, 19-25, 25-23, 16-14, in the semifinals. In 14 Club, it was Marin 13 Black taking home the top honors after sweeping Blue Royals VBA 14 Royal, 25-8, 27-25, in the final. Marin had just one setback all weekend, that coming with a Day 2 loss to Silver State 14 Brad.
Congrats to all! Corrections? Questions? Additions? Email christi@vballrecruiter.com or DM on Social Media @vballphil 2023 2024 TRANSFERS
We’re proud to be a part of an ongoing partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is sponsoring our Player of the Week award. We’ll be releasing a featured vballrecruiter.com Player of the Week, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, on Tuesdays. Below is this week’s Player of the Week: Ryan Hunter. *** To this point, if Ryan Hunter’s volleyball career were a race it would be the 100-meter dash. She’s gone from ending her time in competitive dance and beginning volleyball just three years ago to becoming one of the top Class of 2025 prospects in a flash. The 6-2, 5-star dynamic right side has spent the season playing up and turning heads on nationally-ranked Triangle 17 Black, which is competing in 17 Open this summer at the USAV Junior National Championships in Chicago. Hunter’s addition has elevated Triangle into a national title contender. She made the switch to the club this season. That she’s competing at such a high level in such a short time is a credit to her, plus reason why big-time college programs around the country are hoping to make their impressions when the recruiting season officially opens in a couple of weeks. “It’s been really fun coming into a new club full of very advanced athletes,” Hunter said. “It was new and it was a little challenging to get used to. When I did get used to it, it was really fun. We connected quickly. We’re all competitive and we all work well together.” As Hunter began getting taller she was looking for something new besides dancing, which she’d been doing since she was 2. Her older sister, Keimaya, played volleyball at UNC and that inspired her to give the sport a try. She went to a camp at a local gym and that was it. Three short years later and the next stop up is Junior Nationals, where Triangle will enter 17 Open ranked No. 3 in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings. It’ll be Hunter’s first time competing in Open at JN’s. It’s even possible she could have a new college in her future by then, but for now we’ll have to wait and see how both to unfold. “We are preparing ourselves to be dealing with more competition and getting better every single practice,” Hunter said. “We are mentally preparing ourselves for the intense play but I think with this team we have a real chance of pulling off winning nationals.” As our featured Player of the Week sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, we recently spoke with Hunter about volleyball and more. Who is your role model or icon you look up to? Hunter: My sister was the one to first introduce me to volleyball. Her love for volleyball inspired me to love it. She’s been one of my biggest supporters and has been there to help me. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, she made sure I made it practice, all my tournaments and always took time to help me practice. I’ve seen how hard she works and how focused she is on accomplishing her own goals while helping me achieve mine. She’s my hero and I’m so blessed to have her. What is your favorite food? Hunter: My favorite foods would have to be lasagna, pizza and pasta. What is your favorite tournament of the season? Hunter: I’d have to say maybe either Triple Crown or Sunshine Classic. I think both those tournaments had great competition and those were the times we were really connecting and getting into a groove. It showed how well we can work together and it really made us push ourselves. What is your favorite team bonding event? Hunter: Usually, after the first day of a tournament the team goes out to eat. It’s a fun time. We are always laughing. Those times are really special. It helps us connect off the court. Do you have a favorite quote or mantra? Hunter: I’d say my favorite quote is ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ If you could have any super power what would it be and why? Hunter: If I could have any superpower I’d say to be able to fly. I don’t know, it would be really cool to be above everything in the sky and see it all from the perspective of above. Also, being able to fly I could get places faster. What do you like to do outside of volleyball? Hunter: I like to draw. Sometimes I go on walks when the weather is nice. I think I’m a creative person. I like to make things like crafts. What is one thing that may surprise people about you? Hunter: I’d say if you didn’t know me before you met me you would think I’m a quiet person. Once you get to know me you’d probably be surprise to see how crazy and goofy I am. If you could have dinner with anyone past or present, who would it be and why? Hunter: Kobe Bryant. I would want to ask him everything and anything regarding his methods for maintaining focus and how he came to have a Mamba mentality. What’s your favorite number and why? Hunter: My favorite number is 18. It’s a combination of my sister’s number and my brother’s number. His number in high school was 33 and my sister’s number in college was 15. 33 minus 15 is 18.
AAUs begin next week, with of course the USAV national championships following at the end of the month. Before teams start arriving in Chicago, we decided to take a look at the path for Open teams to get there to see if we could rank the toughest qualifiers. We kicked off with the 17s. Up next is 16 Open. The method we used was hardly perfect and is relative of course. At the same time, it does shed light on what may be the toughest qualifier of the season. The factors we used to determine the list we came up with are 1) Number of eventual Open qualifiers; 2) Percent of Eventual Open qualifiers from the overall field; 3) The number of ranked teams from vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50; 4) the average rank of the teams from the Top 50. We took the average of those four rankings and listed them from 1-12 for each qualifier. The full breakdown is below, with comments. 16 OPEN LONE STAR (*Average: 3) (rank – 1) Number of Teams: 41 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 9 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 12 (overall rank – t1)* Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 29 (overall rank – 5)* Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 18 (overall rank – 2)* Average Rank: 21 (overall rank – 4)* Comment: Lone Star is always challenging because of the high volume of previously-qualified teams competing. This year, there were nine and it’s reason why only one bid went out, creating the only two at-larges in play this season. It’s not surprising to see Lone Star come out on top, not with 18 teams from the Top 50 with an average rank of 21. That’s impressive. And though the percent of eventual qualifiers wasn’t tops, it was still fifth-best overall. *** WINDY CITY (Avg: 3.25) (2) Number of Teams: 32 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 4 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 10 (t5) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 31 (3) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 12 (t4) Average Rank: 18 (t1) Comment: Windy City is right there pushing Lone Star as the top qualifier. This year’s event stood out by tying for the top average rank of Top-50 teams. There were 12 in attendance averaging out at 18. That’s strong competition, especially when the field slightly outranked Lone Star in terms of eventual Open qualifiers. *** SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Avg: 3.5) (3) Number of Teams: 40 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 0 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 12 (t1) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 30 (4) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 16 (3) Average Rank: 24 (6) Comment: Sunshine cracks the Top 3, close to Windy City and not far from Lone Star. The three qualifiers differed in terms of previously-qualified clubs. Lone Star had nine, meaning bids weren’t guaranteed to go out. Windy City had four, so trickle-down was likely. Meanwhile, Sunshine had no qualified teams being up first. Given there were 12 eventual Open teams competing and 16 from our Top 50 with an average rank of 24, qualifying at the event was no joke! *** MEQ (Avg: 4) (4) Number of Teams: 48 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 3 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 12 (t1) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 25 (t7) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 20 (1) Average Rank: 26 (t7) Comment: MEQ’s large field can work for it and against it. The pros is it allows for lots of eventual Open qualifiers (12) and teams from the Top 50 (20). But the con is it can hurt when it comes to the percent of eventual Open qualifiers (25), which comes in tied for seventh. That, and the average Top 50 rank of 26 (also seventh), kept MEQ from coming in higher. Still, it checks in as the fourth-toughest qualifier. *** RED ROCK RAVE (Avg: 4.25) (5) Number of Teams: 40 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 0 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 11 (4) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 28 (6) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 12 (t4) Average Rank: 19 (3) Comment: Like Sunshine, Red Rock had no wiggle room because there was no possibility of trickle down. There has to be extra consideration given to that as the average doesn’t take that into account. Helping carry Red Rock to a top-five qualifier was its average Top 50 rank of 19. That was third-best overall. Red Rock was also strong with 11 eventual Open qualifiers and 12 teams from the Top 50. Given that, just like Sunshine, earning bids here took serious work. *** NORTHERN LIGHTS (Avg: 4.5) (t6) Number of Teams: 24 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 2 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 9 (t7) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 38 (1) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 9 (9) Average Rank: 18 (t1) Comment: There are a couple of factors that really stand out. One is that Northern Lights tied for the highest Top-50 average at 18. That means there were some really good teams there. Also, with nine eventual qualifiers, it made for 38 percent of the field eventually qualifying. That was tops out of all qualifiers. So though Northern Lights was a smaller field compared to other qualifiers, it packed a punch! *** NEQ (Avg: 4.5) (t6) Number of Teams: 27 Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 6 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 10 (t5) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 37 (2) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 11 (t6) Average Rank: 22 (5) Comment: NEQ has a reputation for not being among the stronger qualifiers, but the numbers show otherwise this season. With 37 percent of the field eventually making Open, it put NEQ second overall. That could mean there were more lower-ranked teams in the field, but NEQ had an average Top-50 rank of 22. That was fifth-best
The USAV Girls Junior National Championships are still weeks away. Yet, in between is the AAU national championships, which begin next week. That basically leaves us this week before moving onto to our national championship coverage from Orlando and then Chicago. It’s a perfect time to check in on what qualifying season was like in terms of the strength of each national qualifier. There were 12 total and beginning with the 17 Open division we take a look at them in hopes of determining an order of strength. The method we used was hardly perfect and is relative of course. The factors we used to determine the list we came up with are 1) Number of eventual Open qualifiers; 2) Percent of Eventual Open qualifiers from the overall field; 3) The number of ranked teams from vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50; 4) the average rank of the teams from the Top 50. We took the average of those four rankings and listed them from 1-12 for each qualifier. The full breakdown is below, with comments. 17 OPEN SHOW ME (*Average: 3.25) (1) Number of Teams: 30 (t7) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 5 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 11 (overall rank – t3)* Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 37 (overall – rank 1)* Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 14 (overall rank – t3)* Average Rank (of Top 50 teams): 24 (overall rank – t6)* Comment: Show Me has a compelling case to be considered the toughest qualifier of the season. First off, it had the highest eventual Open qualifier percentage at 37. So even though the field was a bit smaller, no doubt it was competitive. That’s also proven by the average rank of 24. That’s tied with Red Rock for sixth-best. Only two qualifiers had more teams from our Top 50 at the time than Show Me. Put it all together and it makes Show Me the best, which was also backed based on the four averages used. *** MEQ (Avg: 4) (t2) Number of Teams: 48 (1) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 3 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 14 (1) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 29 (t5) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 17 (1) Average Rank: 23 (5) Comment: There’s no question MEQ belongs in the discussion as the best qualifier. It’s hard to say MEQ was the best though because the field was so big. There were 14 eventual teams to make Open, but that is still less than a third of the field. Still, 14 is a big number, as that is well more than a third of the Open field we’ll see in Chicago. There was also some breathing room at MEQ because there were three qualified teams, meaning trickle down could reach sixth. That helped too. But the average rank of 23 is fifth-best, proving it was one of the more difficult qualifiers. *** LONE STAR (Avg: 4) (t2) Number of Teams: 42 (3) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 9 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 11 (t3) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 26 (t7) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 14 (t3) Average Rank: 21 (3) Comment: Lone Star has an argument as the toughest qualifier because there were nine teams present with bids already. That meant there could’ve been a shutout when it came to bids. Having 11 eventual qualifiers in the field is a solid number, though its percentage is lower than Windy City. But there’s also the fact that Lone Star was the only qualifier to produce any at-larges, supplying both in play this season. That’s tough to argue with. Also elevating Lone Star to the Top 3 is the fact its average rank from the Top 50 was third-best at 21. *** WINDY CITY (Avg: 4.75) (4) Number of Teams: 41 (4) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 7 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 12 (2) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 29 (t5) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 15 (2) Average Rank: 28 (10) Comment: Windy City was an impressive qualifier from the standpoint that only MEQ boasted more teams from our Top 50 at the time. Windy City was also a tougher qualifier based on having seven previously-qualified teams. On the other hand, Windy City was middle of the pack in both eventual Open qualifier percentage and average rank. Still, the averages place Windy City just outside the top three. *** NORTHERN LIGHTS (Average: 5.25) (5) Number of Teams: 22 (12) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 0 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 8 (8) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 36 (2) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 11 (7) Average Rank: 22 (4) Comment: Given Northern Lights was up first and there was no trickle-down in play, plus more than a third of the field eventually qualified for Open, made Northern Lights strong this season. Only Show Me had a higher percentage of eventual qualified teams. Plus, the rank of teams from our Top 50 averaging out at 22 was the fourth-highest from all the qualifiers. Given those two factors, you could make a case for Northern Lights being the toughest of the season. But no doubt it was among the most difficult. *** RED ROCK RAVE (5.75) (t6) Number of Teams: 39 (t5) Bids Available: 3 Number of Previously-Qualified Teams: 1 Number of Eventual Open Qualifiers: 10 (t5) Percent Eventually Qualified from Field: 26 (t7) Number of Ranked Teams from vballrecruiter.com Top 50: 12 (t5) Average Rank: 24 (t6) Comment: Red Rock was among the stronger qualifiers, but finishes a little lower than expected That’s because even though there were a good number of eventual qualifiers with 10, the field was bigger at 39. Red Rock also had a strong average rank with 24, which was sixth-best. But it was middle of the pack in all the numbers and thus comes in at the middle
vballrecruiter.com introduces our Class of 2027 Player Rankings. We’ve recently updated the Classes of 2024, 2025 and 2026. Below, you can find the players listed in our initial rankings. To view the full rankings, click here. Initial Class of 2027 Player Rankings Addison Otto S Northern Lights 14-1 Alice Wood S LAV 15 National Black Amelia Snider OH/MB No Name 15 Erin Ansley Shafer L/DS TAV 14 Black Asia Udo-Ema OH Pipeline 14-1 Audrey Davis RS Circle City 14 Purple Ava Burgess OH Club V 14 Ren Silver Averi Hanna MB Metro 14 Travel Bailey Lambert MB AZ Sky 14G Berkley France OH AZ Sky 14G *** Braelyn Patton MB Dallas Premier 14 Brooklyn Sippio MB GP 14 Rox Bryn Meyer OH Mintonette Sports m.41 Brynn Stephens S/RS TAV 14 Black Calli LeFevre OH Legacy 14-1 Adidas Camille Presley MB AP 14 Adidas Capri Romjue OH TAV 14 Black Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Carsyn Comer MB Munciana 14 Chipmunks Cassidy Armstrong S/RS AZ Sky 14G *** Cedra Talaga OH/L/DS Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar Charlotte Cavin S Madfrog 14 Green Clara Christ L/DS Northern Lights 14-1 Coco Lewis OH Virginia Jrs 14 Elite Cynthia Ockerman MB Legacy 14-1 Adidas Dakota Huynh L/DS Skyline 14 Royal Ella Olson OH Tstreet 14 Carson Ellie Enger S/OH WPVC 14 Armour Black Emerson Butler S/RS AP 14 Adidas Emily Poteraj MB Adidas KiVA 14 Red *** Emma Kingston MB Tstreet 14 Carson Fara Bronson S Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Francesca Hansel DS/L Tri-State Elite 14 Blue Francesca Lorenzo OH Lions 14-1 Gabriella Souza S Tstreet 14 Carson Gabrielle Ngo MB Wave 14 Tammy Gentry Barker OH TAV 14 Black Gia Ireland S/RS Norco 15 Black Hailey Mueller OH Triangle 14 Black Hanna McGinest OH Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar *** Isabel Incinelli MB WPVC 14 Armour Black Isabella Stojkovic RS Arizona Storm 14 Izabelle Buchholz MB Skyline 14 Royal Jaycee Mack MB Wave 15 Brennan Jazzlyn Hepburn MB AP 14 Adidas Jentelle McNairl OH Alliance 14 Ren Kaelyn Bjorklund S Northern Lights 14-1 Kaitlyn Herweg SCVC 15 Roxy Kamryn Mullican S/RS Excel 14 National Red Karsyn Rogers S Drive Nation 14 Red *** Kate Cuppett OH Skyline 14 Royal Kate Kalczynski OH Legacy 14-1 Adidas Katherine Jackson RS Tstreet 14 Carson Katherine Nowak OH Tstreet 14 Carson Kendall Hubbard S/RS Elevation 14 Molly Kendall Omoruyi MB Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Kyla Williams MB AVC Cle 14 Red Landri Trice OH Drive Nation 14 Red Lauren Forelli OH AZ Rev 14 Premier Lauren Garcia S Alamo 15 Premier *** Laven Blumoff L/DS Austin Skyline 14 Royal Lexi Martin OH Drive Nation 14 Red Lilah Anthony RS Adidas KiVA 14 Red Lilly Tierney MB NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami Lola Waleskowski OH NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami London Merchant OH Madfrog 14 Green Lucky Fasavalu OH Austin Skyline 14 Royal Lyla Sands MB HPSTL 14 Royal Macie Murray OH Metro 14 Travel Maisie Jones OH Tri-State Elite 14 Blue *** Malorie Boesiger S Nebraska One 16 Synergy Maria Schulte S/RS NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami Mariah Akinsola MB TAV 14 Black Marissa Jones S A5 14 Helen Marlee Steiner MB HPSTL 14 Royal Marlo Libbey S Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar Mia Diouf RS GP 14 Rox Molly Aubert S Drive Nation 14 Red Molly Drake OH Royal Legends 15-1 National Orange Monica Bercaru-Maxim L/DS Madfrog 14 Green *** Morgan Meiring OH Elevation 14 Molly Nafanua Alofipo OH Austin Skyline 14 Royal Naomi Livings OH TAV Black 14 Black Nia LaMons L/DS TAV 14 Black Nyla Livings MB TAV 14 Black Nylah Bibby OH Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Olivia Garey MB/RS Metro 14 Travel Olivia Greenwood RS Wave 14 Tammy Olivia Henry OH/MB AXEVC 15 Premier Peyton Heatherly S/RS Lions 14-1 *** Piper Chylinski S/RS SG Elite 15 Rosh Piper McFadden S Elevation 14 Peak Pulelehua Laikona L/DS Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Reagan Wallraff MB Arizona Storm 14 Ryan Spencer OH Skyline 14 Royal Sasha Plummer RS Metro 14 Travel Savanna Stacey OH Elevation 14 Molly Shaye Witherspoon OH Rockwood Thunder 14 Elite Simrin Adams OH/RS Mizuno Long Beach Rockstar Sophee Peterson S/RS TAV 14 Black *** Sophia Dostic S OT 14 Laura Sophia Puleo OH OT 14 Laura Susan Hudgins OH AP 14 Adidas Taimane Poe MB Mizuno Long Beach Rockstar Taylor Harrington MB Paramount 14-1 Tessa Larkin OH Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Vanessa Glenn OH Madfrog 14 Green Vega Tunnell OH AZ Sky 14G Zamari Christianson S Club V 14 Ren Silver
The vballrecruiter.com team spent the weekend enjoying the action at the JVA West Coast Cup in Long Beach. You can check out our Day 1, 2 and 3 Show Stoppers, plus our Gold Medal Rundown. The last of our coverage features the vballrecruiter.com All-Tournament Teams from 14 Club and 15-17 Open presenting our top players from the weekend. 17 OPEN OUTSIDES Arielle Bruk Academy 17 HP Lukasz Kiera Maynard Saddleback 17 Sofly Tate Drageset Actyve 17 Black MiKenna Henjum San Clemente 17 Riley Carly Grumet San Clemente 17 Riley Adia McCown Balboa Bay 17 Blue MIDDLES Rian Barr Saddleback 17 Sofly Sara Johnson Saddleback 17 Sofly Bella Chen Academy 17 HP Lukasz RIGHT SIDES Marlee Arrington Tstreet IE 17 Taylor Emma Rowell Actyve 17 Black (S/RS) SETTERS Isabelle Marco Academy 17 HP Lukasz Brooklyn Kostoff San Clemente 17 Riley Riley Barr Saddleback 17 Sofly L/DSs Camille Solovjev San Clemente 17 Riley Jaedyn Houston Balboa Bay 17 Blue Gemma Larbalestier Actyve 17 Black *** 16 OPEN OUTSIDES Lauren Farris Tstreet 16 Naseri Alexandra Jacome Club Cactus 16 Mizuno Kendall Timme Arete 16 Navy Telos Madelyn Feramisco VVA 16-1 Ryan Gilhooly Sunshine 16 Pacific MIDDLES Leimaile Lasike Tstreet LV 16 Trevor Kate Camp Tstreet LV 16 Trevor Delaney Blied Seal Beach 16 Black Amika Swanson Seal Beach 16 Black Juliana Sanchez VVA 16-1 RIGHT SIDES Ai-Lani Hunter VVA 16-1 Nikki Tawil Sunshine 16 Pacific (S/RS) Ayla Johanski SoCal 16 Eric (S/RS) SETTERS Jaleah Bauss Arete 16 Navy Telos Jolianna Salazar Tstreet LV 16 Trevor L/DSs Addison Dedekian VVA 16-1 Ava Akoubian Seal Beach 16 Black *** 15 OPEN OUTSIDES Charlotte Nowak Tstreet 15 Curtis Grace Jamison Actyve 15 Black Aviya Russo Academy 15 HP Daniele Sammie Aaron VVA 15-1 MIDDLES Emma Champagne Tstreet 15 Curtis Addison Coady Tstreet 15 Curtis Lauryn Lewis Sunshine 15 Westside Frankie Jones Sunshine 15 Westside RIGHT SIDES Melina McKinney Academy 15 HP Daniele Sophia Cotter Sunshine 15 Westside Sara Moynihan Tstreet 15 Curtis (S/RS) SETTERS Ava McBride Actyve 15 Black (S/RS) Emerson Boyd Arete 15 Navy Telos (S/RS) Adriana Dorn Rage 15 Greg (S/RS) L/DSs Karys Campos Actyve 15 Black Emily Dufresne Arete 15 Navy Telos Skylar Noble Tstreet 15 Curtis *** 14 CLUB OUTSIDES Laila Turner Marin 13 Black Kayla Wolford BRVBA 14 Royal Ella Iseminger BRVBA 14 Royal Elsa Matherly 303 14 Alpha Adeline Robinson Silver State 14 Brad MIDDLES Whitney Longspaugh BRVBA 14 Royal Emerson Novac Juggernaut 14 National RIGHT SIDES Abigail Lardner Marin 13 Black Sierra Treewater Marin 13 Black SETTERS Lynniah Rodriguez 303 14 Alpha (S/RS) Sienna Moretti Silver State 14 Brad L/DSs Kaylee Bray Juggernaut 14 National Enujin Enkhbold 303 14 Alpha
Last week we released our updated player rankings for the Classes of 2024 and 2025. Up next is the Class of 2026. We start with the players whose star rankings have changed, moving from either 4 to 5 stars or from 3 to 4 stars. That is followed by a list of new additions to the rankings. To view the full rankings, click here. Athletes Rising To 5 Stars Athletes Rising To 4 Stars NEW ADDITIONS Addison Polivka OH 1United 15 Dylan Ai-Vy Ho S Excel 15 National Red Anna O’Keefe S Northern Lights 15-1 Brooklyn Jenkins OH AZ Sky 15G Claire Nelson MB Austin Skyline 15 Royal Destiny Wiggins L/DS Wildfire 15 Ellie Stiernagle S SPVB 15 Elite Gentry Oblad OH Vegas Aces 16 UA Giovanna Artiles OH Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal Grace Lee OH High Tide 15 Elite *** Grace Martin OH Pohaku 15-1 Jayden Robinson OH Hou Skyline 15 Royal Jordyn Joppru MB AZ Sky 15G Kaitlyn Nguyen L/DS Dakine Warriors 17 Surf Kate Schroetlin L/DS Norco 15 Black Kaylee Maikranz L/DS High Tide 15 Elite Leah Robinson OH MAVS 816 15-1 Lola Sageer OH VolleyFX 16 Mantra Lyla Stewart RS Mintonette Sports m.51 Makenna Crosson OH/RS NorCal 17-1 Black *** Melaina Haines OH LAV 15 National Black Mia Crowley OH TAV Houston 15 Adidas Nikolija Bulotovic S 1st Alliance 15 Gold Olivia Branum S OP2 15-1 Paighton Erb MB Premier Nebraska 15 Gold Skylar Brady OH OP2 15-1 Sydni Vice OH MJVA 16 Elite Taylor Stanley RS Dynasty 15 Black Trinity Thompson L/DS Vegas Aces 16 UA
We’re proud to officially begin an ongoing partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is sponsoring our new Player of the Week program. Moving forward we’ll be releasing a featured vballrecruiter.com Player of the Week, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods. Below is our initial Player of the Week: Reagan Ennist. *** Like countless before her, it didn’t take Reagan Ennist long to fall in love with volleyball. The 6-2, 4-star outside hitter from the Class of 2025 currently plays for TeamLVC 17-1 – which is participating in 17 Aspire for the upcoming AAUs Girls National Championships later this summer – but didn’t grow up playing the sport. She tried everything from softball to basketball to swimming while also sticking to competitive gymnastics for eight years. Then volleyball came along. After watching her older sister, Ryan, play Ennist decided it was time to get out of gymnastics and into a new sport. “I watched her games and they were fast-paced plus I wanted to be around a team sport,” Ennist said. We’ve talked to players before who stopped doing gymnastics because they simply outgrew the sport due to their height. However, Ennist said that wasn’t the case with her. She was actually shorter than most of her friends in sixth grade and didn’t start her growth spurt until seventh grade. By the time Ennist was playing her first year at Shenendehowa in New York as an eighth-grader she knew she wanted to continue playing in college. Having grown to 6-2 and touching over 10 feet, Ennist should have no trouble in making that happen. She’s considered one of the top recruits in the country, though she might fly under the radar, and will be sought after in the coming weeks when the recruiting period officially begins. Ennist recently quit track and field, where she competed in high, long and triple jump, to focus on volleyball. Even though she captured the Section II high jump title as a freshman volleyball is where her heart is. “I think my absolute favorite thing is being able to play with different girls from around the country,” Ennist said. “I’ve been playing with different people and different styles. I love the traveling and the different coaching.” As our featured Player of the Week sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, we recently spoke with Ennist about volleyball and more. Who is your role model or icon you look up to? Ennist: Definitely the two who stick out to me the most is Jordan Larson. I met her last year at the Drive Nation camp in Texas. It’s seeing not just how much of a great player she is, but what a leader she is on the court. That’s something I strive to be in all my years I play. Second, she is actually from around where I grew up, is Emma Werkmeister. She plays at UCONN. I look up to her because New York is not a huge volleyball state. I competed against her a lot last year. She’s an amazing player and shows great leadership in being humble. It’s great seeing someone so close playing in college and having a great experience. What is your favorite food? Ennist: I do love seafood and lobster. I love tacos and Mexican food, but seafood, especially lobster, is my favorite. What is your favorite tournament of the season? Ennist: I’ve been to the Capital Hill Classic two years in a row and it’s one of my favorites. The level of play is crazy and I love the length of the tournament that it’s three days. It’s probably one of the bigger tournaments we’ve been to. I’m also super excited for AAUs because I’ve never been. What is your favorite team bonding event? Ennist: Over my (high) school season we have a couple away tournaments that are four or five hours away and we stay in hotels. The night before the first day of the tournament the coach picks out mini groups to create a song and dance. We have 20 minutes to come up with one and then we perform it in front of everyone. It’s so fun to connect like that outside volleyball. Do you have a quote or mantra? Ennist: This is hard because I’ve been doing #MyQuoteMondays for a couple of months. I started doing that and one that stood out is, I don’t remember exactly, but it talks about the only person holding you back is yourself. Sometimes you get called names and people talk about you as competitors. That’s what happens, but that quote always sticks out and I remember to block out the negative and focus on myself and my team and achieving what we want. It makes it super important to me. If you could have any super power what would it be and why? Ennist: Probably being able to time travel. I don’t know why, that just seems so cool going back in time. I don’t think I would want to go forward, just backward. What do you like to do outside of volleyball? Ennist: Besides modeling, I love hanging out with friends outside of volleyball when I get the chance. I workout with my best friend on off days and go to a trainer, so working out and modeling are what I do outside of volleyball. What is one thing that may surprise people about you? Ennist: I’m not as serious as a lot of people who make the assumption about me think I am. They think I’m completely serious and intimidating. I’m nothing like that. I’m very funny and love to joke around with people and be goofy. When I don’t have games, I’m always goofing around. What is your favorite number and why? Ennist: My favorite number is six and I honestly can’t tell you why. That number has stuck with me since I was young. Six is in my birthday and it’s been a lucky number, so maybe that’s why but it’s not a volleyball number of mine.
The last day of the JVA West Coast Cup in Long Beach went down as expected. That is, with teams going all out in hopes of claiming their division’s gold medal. It produced plenty of spectacular individual efforts and outings. We present the ones who impressed us the most with our daily Show Stoppers. DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Gemma Larbalestier L/DS Actyve 17 Black: An energetic and outgoing libero, Larbalestier anchored the defense with strong passing out of serve receive and making plenty of digs to keep rallies alive. Emma Rowell S/RS Actyve 17 Black: A setter/right side from the Class of 2025, Rowell was instrumental in Actyve’s gold medal march. She’s a physical attacker who can pound balls down. She’s an above-average setter as well, with nice hands and the ability to locate consistently. Tate Drageset OH Actyve 17 Black: Drageset – another member of the Class of 2025 – proved nearly impossible to stop. Kills went over blocks, around them and through them as Drageset menaced defenses repeatedly. Kiera Maynard OH Saddleback 17 Sofly: Saddleback finished with the silver medal in part because of the play of Maynard. The six-rotation outside held her own and gave her team regular scoring when set. Riley Barr S Saddleback 17 Sofly: Barr did well running the offense and moving the ball around. She was connecting with all her hitters and putting the ball in nice spots. Rian Barr MB Saddleback 17 Sofly: Barr was making plays at the net on both sides. She put up a strong block and also was able to turn around and put balls away. Adia McCown OH Balboa Bay 17 Blue: McCown sums up Balboa Bay in a lot of ways. She’s a bit undersized but has a lot of fight and comes with it on the attack. She’s a free-swinger who lets it fly and was giving Balboa Bay an arm it could count on. Jaedyn Houston L/DS Balboa Bay 17 Blue: Houston was sharp in serve receive and putting her passes on target. She’s a scrappy defender with lots of hustle. MiKenna Henjum OH/S San Clemente 17 Riley: Henjum can set adequately at times, but she really stands out with her hitting. She carries a key role in the offense. She’s a springy, quick attacker with a solid arm. Brooklyn Kostoff S San Clemente 17 Riley: Kostoff was dishing well in running the offense. She showed a nice touch and consistent release. *** Isabelle Marco S Academy 17 HP Lukasz: Marco was among the setters taking care of business in 17 Open. She sets a clean ball and connects well with her hitters. Leimaile Lasike MB Tstreet LV 16 Trevor: Lasike is part of a strong 1-2 punch in the middle. She moves well and takes up a lot of space with her long reach. It allows to be impactful on both offense and defense as Tstreet likes to get her the ball. Kate Camp MB Tstreet LV 16 Trevor: Camp is the other half who Tstreet likes to get involved as much as possible. Camp has a knack for scoring. Whether putting balls down with a big swing or tipping into the open space, she’s tough to stop. Ai-Lani Hunter RS VVA 16-1: Hunter flashed her upside and potential more than a few times. She’s a big jumper with a strong arm who can generate pace and lots of offense. Brooklyn Washington MB VVA 16-1: Washington is another standout middle in 16 Open. She’s tall with a long wingspan and can go straight over smaller blockers with ease. She’s one to follow as she continues to move up. Madelyn Feramisco OH VVA 16-1: Feramisco is a bit undersized but a fearless outside who jumps well and doesn’t back down. She brings it on the attack with an aggressive swing and was providing her share of offense. Kendall Timme OH Arete 16 Navy Telos: Timme is a long outside with nice extension. She’s one of the main offensive threats and can drill it at times. Jaleah Bauss S Arete 16 Navy Telos: Bauss is a bit undersized but is quick and gets to the ball well. She has a smooth release and was locating well with her various hitters. Isabella Wood RS Arete 16 Navy Telos: Wood has a booming arm. She was a back row opposite who was crushing balls and delivering points. Charlotte Nowak OH Tstreet 15 Curtis: Nowak and teammates walked away with the gold medal. She’s a lanky outside who takes lots of swings in helping anchoring the offense. *** Emma Champagne MB Tstreet 15 Curtis: Champagne makes up one half of Tstreet’s middle threat. She can impact both sides with her strong blocking and attacking. Addison Coady MB Tstreet 15 Curtis: Coady is another who makes it happen on both sides. She’s lanky and can take away space in a hurry while also being able to whip down kills. Ava McBride S/RS Actyve 15 Black: McBride does a lot on the court with her setting and attacking. She’s tall with a high contact point and it makes her dangerous on the attack. She’s also an on-point setter who can move the ball around. Karys Campos L/DS Actyve 15 Black: Campos, a 2027 libero playing up, is a gamer. She’s quick, covers and passes well and is another to keep tabs on. Aviya Russo OH Academy 15 HP Daniele: Russo was one of the top outsides in the division. She’s another long outside who can extend and go over blocks. Melina McKinney RS Academy 15 HP Daniele: McKinney is a baller with her ability to pass out of serve receive as well as her heady attacking from tips to tools to hammering balls for points. Laila Turner OH Marin 13 Black: Turner and company rose to the top in capturing the 14 Club gold medal. She did well locating her shots and not forcing the issue. Abigail Lardner RS Marin 13 Black: Lardner showed off her arm at times.
The third and final day of the JVA West Coast Cup in Long Beach saw Actyve 17 Black continue its dominance through 17 Open. In going 8-0 and not dropping a set, Actyve left no doubt about which club was tops in the division. Led by recent 18 American MVP and sophomore outside hitter Tate Drageset, Actyve finished off its perfect run by sweeping Saddleback 17 Sofly in the final, 25-14, 25-22. Actyve also received outstanding performances from sophomore setter/right side Emma Rowell and junior libero Gemma Larbalestier. Opponents scored 20 or more points in just three sets against Actyve, which is set to compete in 17 USA this summer in Chicago. As a club, Actyve was close to another gold medal in 15 Open. However, Tstreet 15 Curtis spoiled that feat by taking down Actyve 15 Black in three sets, 23-25, 25-23, 15-7, in the championship clash. It was a rematch to the ending of Day 2 pool play, when Actyve narrowly clipped Tstreet, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13. That was Tstreet’s only loss of the weekend. With middles Emma Champagne and Addison Coady making impacts and outside Charlotte Nowak and setter/right side Sara Moynihan playing key parts too, Tstreet uprooted Academy 15 HP Daniele in the semifinals. Academy HP was the only Open-qualified team in the field. Tstreet qualified for 15 National in Chicago while Actyve is participating in 15 USA. After catching a Day 1 break, another Tstreet club came out ahead in 16 Open. Tstreet LV 16 Trevor went 1-2 on the first day and finished in third place in its pool. However, the top two third-place finishers remained in the upper half and Tstreet LV earned one of those distinctions. Tstreet LV opened up Day 2 with a loss to VVA 16-1, the same team which beat Tstreet LV on Day 1. Yet, it was Tstreet LV getting the last say. Middles Leimaile Lasike and Kate Camp were vital as Tstreet topped VVA, 25-22, 25-20, in the gold medal match. VVA fell to Seal Beach 16 Black on Saturday but got revenge on Monday by outlasting Seal Beach, 19-25, 25-23, 16-14, in the semifinals. In 14 Club, it was Marin 13 Black taking home the top honors after sweeping Blue Royals VBA 14 Royal, 25-8, 27-25, in the final. Marin had just one setback all weekend, that coming with a Day 2 loss to Silver State 14 Brad.