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We took a look at the at-large selections for 16 and 17 Open here. Those picks were straight forward, largely because there were only two at-larges in each division and there were clear front runners. With five picks in 15 Open and seven in 14 Open, there was much more of a chance of there being some controversy of who was and wasn’t chosen. Let’s take a look. When it comes to 15 Open, it’s hard to argue with the choices with the exception of one possible outlier. AZ Sky 15G, Alamo 15 Premier, Top Select 15 Elite, Triangle 15 Black and WPVC 15 Armour Black ended up receiving the at-larges and all are worthy of the honor. Of the bunch, AZ Sky seemed like the most automatic selection. Even though AZ Sky played two qualifiers – coming in fifth at Red Rock and 21st at Lone Star – it compiled an impressive 12-5 record against the Open field. A record like that is hard to ignore and paired with finishing fifth at a difficult qualifier like Red Rock made AZ Sky a lock. We actually have AZ Sky ranked No. 5 in our current 15s Top 50. AZ Sky has victories this season over No. 3 Boiler Jrs 15 Gold, No. 4 Hou Skyline, No. 6 Madfrog 16 Green (twice) and No. 7 TAV 15 Black. It means AZ Sky has what it takes to contend in the division. The next team that had to be selected in my opinion without question was Alamo. With a 9-15 mark against the Open field as well as finishing fourth at Big South and ninth at both Lone Star and Red Rock, Alamo’s case was airtight. Had Alamo been able to defeat Wave 15 Brennan in the third-place contest at Big South it wouldn’t even be in this position. Like AZ Sky, Top Select played in just two qualifiers but finished well at both. The Florida club came in seventh at Sunshine and fifth at Big South. Top Select also managed to go 7-6 against the Open field. That combined put Top Select over the top and into the Open field. Besides AZ Sky and Alamo, there was only one other team in the running with more victories against the field then Top Select. Top Select’s best victory of the season came against No. 8 Legacy 15-1 Adidas. Right behind Top Select with victories against the field is WPVC, which went 6-8 in such outings. WPVC also had solid finishes, coming in ninth at Sunshine, 14th at Northern Lights and seventh at NEQ. Compared to others in the mix, the case for WPVC to be in the field is a sound one. Triangle is the final team to look at. Triangle went 3-7 against the Open field, but did finish well at two of its three qualifiers. While Triangle placed 27th at Lone Star, it did finish fifth at both Sunshine and Big South. There’s no doubt that worked in Triangle’s favor being so close twice. That leaves HJV 15 Elite as the tough-luck candidate. HJV’s argument for an Open bid rested on its 9-14 against the field. That’s a strong record and tied HJV with Alamo for the second-most victories against the field among the at-large contenders. However, what worked against HJV and likely ultimately cost HJV a spot is the team’s finishes in qualifiers. HJV came in 23rd at Red Rock, 15th at Windy City and ninth at Lone Star. I think it’s natural to question if HJV should be in ahead of Triangle but I don’t think it’s out of line that Triangle made it over HJV. Perhaps if there were a head-to-head result between the two to factor in but there’s not. *** Moving on to 14 Open, where with seven at-larges in play there were plenty of teams under consideration. In the end, they went to Legacy 14-1 Adidas, GP 14 Rox, NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami, VCNebraska 14 Elite, Mintonette Sports m.41, Tejas 14 Black and Forza1 14 One. Let’s look at the two I perceived to be the favorites in GP and Forza. Forza seemed like a safe bet based on its 7-15 mark against the field and finishing fifth at Northern Lights, seventh at Red Rock and ninth at Far Western. The seven victories is the most of any at-large candidate and Northern Lights and Red Rock were arguably the two toughest qualifiers for 14s. All that put Forza at the top of the list and certainly a worthy recipient. GP was right with Forza, having a 6-11 record against the Open field. GP finished 11th at Sunshine, 14th at Northern Lights and fifth at Big South. While GP had only one Top-10 showing at qualifiers, the six victories against the field is second to Forza so that made GP a strong candidate given there were seven at-larges. Two more contenders I expected to receive bids that did were Legacy and VCNebraska. Legacy’s 4-11 record against the Open field was on par with others in the running. What gave Legacy an advantage was its finishes at qualifiers. Those included placing fifth at both Sunshine and Windy City and seventh at Northern Lights. That consistency is hard to ignore and made Legacy a great choice. VCNebraska played in two qualifiers but finished fourth at both Northern Lights and Show Me. VCNebraska also went 4-8 against the Open field, which was comparable to other candidates. VCNebraska was one win away from qualifying outright but lost a showdown to Hou Skyline 14 Royal in the third-place match at Northern Lights. Mintonette seemed positioned to receive one of the at-larges as well. Like Legacy and VCNebraska, Mintonette, at 4-9, also had four victories against the Open field. Only AZ Rev 15 Premier, at 5-11, had more victories against the field and didn’t receive an at-large. More on that in a moment. As for Mintonette, the Ohio club performed consistently as well at national qualifiers. Mintonette came in 13th at

While we’ve spent the past two weeks updating our National Rankings for the 14-18s age groups and releasing our Mid-Season All-Stars, USA Volleyball officially announced the Open at-large recipients for the Junior National Championships this summer in Chicago. Let’s take a look at the selections in 16 and 17 Open. There were two available at-large bids in 17 Open, which came free at the Lone Star Classic qualifier. Those two spots were filled by City 17 Gold (CA) and Miami Hype 17 Emilio (FL). The 17 Open at-large picture was really shaped on the final weekend of qualifying season at Far Western. Prior to that weekend, there were more than a handful of viable contenders. However, with Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar, Madfrog 17 Green and Pohaku 17-1 all earning Open bids in Reno, it removed three of the stronger candidates. That opened the door for others, especially with only two at-larges in play. In looking at the picks with City and Miami Hype, there doesn’t seem to be much controversy. Of the remaining teams, City had the strongest argument. The So Cal club had an 8-15 record against the Open field. That means City played a competitive schedule and picked up a decent amount of wins along the way. City also fared well at the three qualifiers it attended, finishing fifth at both Pacific Northwest and Salt Lake Showdown and ninth at Far Western. City did so playing much of the season without outside Danica Rach (Boston College). Stepping up and filling in nicely has been Kimi Watanbe-Mayhew along side Jenna Garner, who’s carried a bigger load as a result. Another bright spot has been the emergence of S/RS Kate Duffey, who recently committed to UCLA. City can run a 5-1 with her or a 6-2 with Charlotte Reff. The team has also been steady in the middle with Havyn Rolle, Maggie Lima and Katie Scuticchio. New to the roster this season is 4-star right side Kennedy Osunsanmi. She’s added a real front row presence. While City was close to being a lock, Miami Hype wasn’t such a sure thing. One thing working in Miami Hype’s favor was its record against the Open field, which stood at 7-10. That was more victories than any remaining at-large contenders. Miami Hype also finished ninth at Windy City and 14th at both Sunshine and MEQ. The intrigue with Miami Hype comes from three Top-10 upsets it has been able to pull off this year. They feature victories over top-ranked Dyansty 17 Black, No. 7 1st Alliance 17 Gold and No. 9 OT 17 Aaron. It’s clear Miami Hype – with right side Sarah Snell and libero Isabella Marrero among those leading the charge – is capable of creating real havoc. With City and Miami Hype receiving the at-large picks, it leaves Elevation 17 Ulland, VCNebraska 17 Elite and MKE Sting 17 Gold as the tough-luck teams this season. All three also had a case for receiving a bid. To me, it’s difficult to distinguish between the three teams and perhaps that’s why Miami Hype was the choice ahead of the trio. Working in Elevation’s favor was going 5-10 against the Open field, as well as finishing seventh at MEQ and 14th at Windy City. Elevation also owns a head-to-head victory over Miami Hype. At the same time, the way the at-large bids went out across the Open divisions it seemed like teams that played in three qualifiers as opposed to two were rewarded and that could be working against Elevation. VCNebraska’s case rested on going 4-13 against the Open field and finishing eighth at Northern Lights, fifth at Show Me and ninth at Lone Star. VCNebraska was a victory away at Show Me, needing to beat Skyline 17 Royal to qualify outright. It seemed like VCNebraska had a strong case because of that, but at the same time VCNebraska went 1-1 against MKE Sting, another at-large contender. Sting was right there with VCNebraska, going 4-12 against the Open field. What was interesting about Sting was it finished ninth at four qualifiers – Northern Lights, Sunshine, Windy City and Lone Star. While Sting has a head-to-head loss to Elevation, it does own a head-to-head victory over Miami Hype. I also liked that Sting beat Lone Star champ Dynasty in Dallas, while also beating the only team to qualify at Lone Star in HJV 17 Elite. I took that as a sign that Sting was playing well at the right time. Still, I think it’s hard to argue with the City and Miami Hype receiving the at-larges. City had the strongest case overall, so that was a no-brainer pick to me. I do like the Miami Hype pick because as we’ve seen Miami Hype has been able to pull off big upsets this year and that could certainly add spice to the 17 Open field come Chicago. *** Like 17 Open, there were two spots available in 16 Open. The big difference though was there were only two viable candidates. At least that’s how I viewed it. Things would have been interesting had there been three or four at-larges but that wasn’t the case. As it stood, the only real contenders both hailed from Michigan in Legacy 16-1 Adidas and Mich Elite 16 Mizuno. Both stood so far out in front of the rest of the pack, it’s not even worth discussing the rest of the pack. Legacy was the clear-cut favorite no matter what. Its mark against the Open field is 12-13, which is a very respectable record. Without doubt Legacy played a challenging schedule and performed well. Legacy came in fifth at Sunshine and MEQ, ninth at Windy City and 17th at Lone Star. Another thing I liked about Legacy is among its victories is beating No. 2 Drive Nation 16 Red, No. 9 Circle City 16 Purple and No. 10 OT 16 JP. While it remains to be seen how Legacy will do at JN’s, the club has definitely been

vballrecruiter.com’s Mid-Season All-Stars concludes with the release of the 14s division. If you missed the other age groups, you can catch up on the 15s, 16s and 17s by clicking the links. The picks are subjective and based on our observations up until this point in the season. To us, these players are not only standout players and have performed at a high level, their respective teams have also enjoyed a certain level of success with it. It can be challenging at times to choose between such skilled and talented players and unfortunately many more were left off than selected. At the conclusion of the season we’ll be releasing our Club All-Americans along with Honorable Mentions. However, for the Mid-Season All-Star selections there are no honorable mentions, just our picks for All-Stars. Congrats to those named! 14s OUTSIDES Gentry Barker TAV 14 Black Brooke Codey Adidas KiVA 14 Red Ella Olson Tstreet 14 Carson Naomi Livings TAV 14 Black Leilani Lawrence OT 14 Laura MIDDLES Kendall Omoruyi Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Nyla Livings TAV 14 Black Mariah Akinsola TAV 14 Black  Brooklyn Sippio GP 14 Rox Megan Hodges Tstreet 14 Carson RIGHT SIDES Janiah Burrage Forza1 14 One Mia Diouf GP 14 Rox Olivia Greenwood Wave 14 Tammy Brynn Stephens TAV 14 Black S/RS Sophee Peterson TAV 14 Black S/RS SETTERS Marissa Jones A5 14 Helen Zamari Christensen Club V 14 Ren Silver Sophia Dostic OT 14 Laura Kendall Hubbard Elevation 14 Molly S/RS Peyton Heatherly Lions 14-1 LIBEROS/DSs Pulelehua Laikona Arizona Storm 14 Thunder Cedra Talaga Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar Ansley Shafer TAV 14 Black Monica Bercaru-Maxim Madfrog 14 Green Dakota Huynh Skyline 14 Royal

In between qualifying season and the start of national championship season, we are checking in to see which players have been at the top of our list with our Mid-Season All-Stars. We’ve already put out our lists for the 17s and 16s divisions and that brings us to the 15s. The picks are subjective and based on our observations up until this point in the season. To us, these players are not only standout players and have performed at a high level, their respective teams have also enjoyed a certain level of success with it. It can be challenging at times to choose between such skilled and talented players and unfortunately many more were left off than selected. At the conclusion of the season we’ll be releasing our Club All-Americans along with Honorable Mentions. However, for the Mid-Season All-Star selections there are no honorable mentions, just our picks for All-Stars. Congrats to those named! 15s Mid-Season All-Stars OUTSIDES Henley Anderson AP 15 Adidas Gabi Divita Legacy 15-1 Adidas Layla Hoying Mintonette Sports m.51 Audrey Flanagan SCVC 15 Roxy Cali Foster Boiler Jrs 15 Gold MIDDLES Keoni Williams Skyline 15 Royal Audrey Dyas NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami Kayla Nwabueze Legacy 15-1 Adidas Kinsley Young TAV 15 Black Ella Andrews Legacy 15-1 Adidas RIGHT SIDES Willow Weninger Pohaku 15-1 Taylor Clarke Skyline 15 Royal Danielle Whitmire TAV 15 Black S/RS Caroline Ward Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Brooke Harwood Arizona Storm 15 Thunder SETTERS Sydney Lund Austin Skyline 15 Royal Mallory Matheny Mintonette Sports m.51 Genevieve Harris Academy 15 Diamond Milly McGee SCVC 15 Roxy Lexi Shondell Boiler Jrs 15 Gold LIBEROS/DSs Ella Grimes Elevation 15 Tony Cala Haffner Team Pineapple 15 Black Ellie Hepler Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Meredith Martin Legacy 15-1 Adidas Emma Cugino Mintonette Sports m.51

We are in between qualifying season and the national championships. It’s a great time to check in and seen which players have been balling out the most. In hopes of that, we started off the week by releasing the 17s division Mid-Season All-Stars. We continue on with the 16s division. The picks are subjective and based on our observations up until this point in the season. To us, these players are not only standout players and have performed at a high level, their respective teams have also enjoyed a certain level of success with it. It can be challenging at times to choose between such skilled and talented players and unfortunately many more were left off than selected. At the conclusion of the season we’ll be releasing our Club All-Americans along with Honorable Mentions. However, for the Mid-Season All-Star selections there are no honorable mentions, just our picks for All-Stars. Congrats to those named! 16s OUTSIDES Abby Vander Wal 1st Alliance 16 Gold Teraya Sigler Arizona Storm 16 Thunder Suli Davis Drive Nation 16 Red Kaci Demari Surfside 16 PV Legends Asia Harvey A5 16 Gabe MIDDLES Addison Makun Adidas KiVA 16 Red Kenna Cogill Arizona Storm 16 Thunder Zoe Gillen-Malveaux Drive Nation 16 Red Jordan Taylor HJV 16 Elite Natalie Wardlow Nebraska One 16 Synergy RIGHT SIDES Logan Parks MAVS KC 16-1 S/RS Addison Gaido Austin Skyline 16 Royal Annabelle Groomes AVC Cle 16 Red S/RS Camryn Jeffery A5 16 Gabe Addison Horner 1st Alliance 16 Gold S/RS SETTERS Kassidy O’Brien Hou Skyline 16 Royal Charlotte Glass Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Tenesyn Frye ID Crush 16 Bower Campbell Flynn Legacy 16-1 Adidas Sarah Pfiffner TAV 16 Black LIBEROS/DSs Elizabeth Bower ID Crush 16 Bower Avery Freeman Circle City 16 Purple Zoey Matias Tribe 16 Elite Cardinal Kristen Simon Adidas KiVA 16 Red Keri Leimbach Nebraska One 16 Synergy

The vballrecruiter.com Elite ID Clinic’s latest stop was an East Coast trip to Virginia to visit the home of The St. James Volleyball Club. The DJ had the music cranked up and the players brought the energy and excitement throughout the event. At the conclusion, 11 invitations were extended for The Red Hat Games in December in Dallas. The invite list includes:   In addition to the players receiving invitations, there were others who stood out as well with their play during the clinic. Below, we highlight both the invites and standouts. Gabrielle Washington OH/RS CEVA 16-1 Cardinal (2025): Washington made her presence felt at the net. She was making lots of plays on both sides of the ball. Ryan Hicks S Metro 16 Travel (2025): Hicks moves and sets up well. She also locates consistently. Cheyenne Stipetich L/DS Pitt Elite 16 Black (2026): Stipetich is a high-octane player with a great motor. She moves and covers well and was making lots of hustle plays. Eden Tardy OH MVSA 15 Charge (2026): Tardy is a dynamic hitter with plenty of upside. She’s one to keep tabs on as she continues to develop as she’s athletic and already doing good things. Meisha Sykes MB St. James 15 Navy (2026): Skyes in an athletic middle who moves well. She’s still raw and learning and has a huge upside as she has the ability to be an impactful front row player. Averi Hanna MB Metro 14 Travel (2027): Hanna was one of the more impressive middles with her ability to get up and after it. She’s already showing signs of being a strong blocker and has a huge upside because of it. Olivia Garey MB/RS Metro 14 Travel (2027): Garey was owning the middle and showed what she could be in the future. She’s a strong attacker with a knack for scoring who swings well. Taylor Harrington MB Paramount 14-1 (2027): Harrington was another standout middle who could be starring at the next level one day. She’s athletic and could be scary good with the proper development. Coco Lewis OH Virginia Jrs 14 Elite (2027): Lewis is a high-IQ outside who was solid all around. She has a bright future and was one of the top outsides. Molly Drake OH Royal Legends 15-1 National Orange (2027): Drake was another outside who stood out with her attacking and scoring. She’s another young player to track and keep tabs on as she continues to develop. Kathy Clarrisse Op Den Bosch A5 12 Carissa (2029): Though among the youngest players participating, Op Den Bosch was fearless and holding her own in the back row. She showed tremendous potential. Danielle Caligiuri S Renaissance 17 Black (2024): Caligiuri did well connecting with her hitters. She showed a nice touch and had good energy. Julia Murdy L/DS Renaissance 17 Black (2024): Murdy was another player who brought great energy and hustle. She was passing and defending well too. Simone Assasie MB/OH Metro 15 North (2026): Assasie is a bit undersized but she jumps well. She also moves well at the net. Aniah Bass OH St. James 15 Navy (2026): Bass is another raw talent with nice athleticism. She was going for it with her attacking and wasn’t holding back. Anna Dierks S Paramount 14-1 (2027): Dierks flashed potential at times with her dishing. She’s a young setter who is going to continue to develop and grow with more reps and action. Evelyn Donovan OH Metro 14 Travel (2027): Donovan was strong in the back row with her defending and passing. Kayla Luther OH Paramount 14-1 (2027): Luther is a bit undersized but a solid outside who was coming with it on the attack. Ryann Bothof L/DS 757 14 National (2027): Bothof was a scrappy defender who was making her share of plays in the back row. Zora Dimbo OH Metro 14 Travel (2027): Dimbo is a bit undersized but showed definite upside. She’s an aggressive attacker who kept bringing it.

Welcome to vballrecruiter.com’s Mid-Season All-Stars! We start with the 17s division. We’ve selected five Mid-Season All-Stars per position. The picks are subjective and based on our observations up until this point in the season. To us, these players are not only standout players and have performed at a high level, their respective teams have also enjoyed a certain level of success with it. It can be challenging at times to choose between such skilled and talented players and unfortunately many more were left off than selected. At the conclusion of the season we’ll be releasing our Club All-Americans along with Honorable Mentions. However, for the Mid-Season All-Star selections there are no honorable mentions, just our picks for All-Stars. Congrats to those named! 17s MID-SEASON ALL-STARS OUTSIDES Skyler Pierce Dynasty 17 Black Cari Spears TAV 17 Black Kirrah Horne Triangle 17 Black Hannah Benjamin A5 17 Jing Emerson Sellman Metro 17 Travel MIDDLES Favor Anyanwu TAV 17 Black Julia Hunt NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Ayden Ames Drive Nation 17 Red Jaela Auguste Hou Skyline 17 Royal Zoey Burgess Club V 17 Ren Reed RIGHT SIDES Abigail Mullen Dynasty 17 Black Jadyn Livings TAV 17 Black Ryan Hunter Triangle 17 Black Grace Carroll Drive Nation 17 Red Izzy Starck Co Jrs 17 Kevin (S/RS) SETTERS Reese Messer Dynasty 17 Black Kirra Musgrove Hou Skyline 17 Royal (S/RS) Taylor Parks OT 17 Aaron Taylor Yu SG Elite 17 Rosh Charlie Fuerbringer Mizuno Long Beach 17 Rockstar (S/RS) LIBEROS/DSs Alice Volpe HJV 17 Elite Ava Falduto 1st Alliance 17 Gold Gillian Pitts TAV 17 Black McKenna Brand Skyline 17 Royal Ryan McAleer Dynasty 17 Black