VERA AI
SIGN UP

Premium Content

Red Rock Rave: Day 3 Show Stoppers

March 14, 2023

With qualifying on the line during the last day of competition of the Red Rock Rave at Las Vegas, players came out determined to help their teams finish positioned for a bid. While only a few clubs could leave town with their tickets punched, plenty of athletes caught our attention during the process. Below, we bring you our Day 3 Show Stoppers. DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Ayden Ames MB Drive Nation 17 Red: The 5-star Nebraska commit is a legit game-changer in the middle with her ability to impact both sides of the ball. She moves well and takes away space in a hurry blocking while also being able to torment defenses with her scoring. Lolo Lambert OH Drive Nation 17 Red: Lambert – a 4-star recruit – is a high-flying outside capable of delivering highlight worthy kills. She takes a lot of important swings for Drive Nation and was key in its success. Grace Carroll RS Drive Nation 17 Red: Carroll – a 4-star recruit committed to Baylor – shined at the net. With Drive Nation forced to run a 5-1 this weekend due to injury, Carroll was invaluable to the attack. The lefty’s big swing brought instant offense to the court and Drive Nation made sure to feed her the ball. Brianna Watson OH Drive Nation 17 Red: A 3-star outside committed to LSU, Watson was another piece of the team’s success. She came through with plenty of clutch swings as she helped keep the offense powering along when she was in front. Caleigh King L/DS Drive Nation 17 Red: King – a 3-star recruit committed to UNLV – did a sound job in the back row. She covered well and was helping extend rallies. Jaidyn Jager OH Coast 17-1: A 5-star outside from the Class of 2025, Jager is a six-rotation player Coast relies on a lot. She’s a smart hitter who can hurt defenses with a variety of shots. She’s also a strong backrow defender and passer. Mackenzie Parsons MB Coast 17-1: A 3-star recruit, Parsons brings some physicality to the net. She puts up a big block and is definitely an offensive threat defenses need to be prepared for. Kiki Remensperger S Wave 17 Juliana: Remensperger did a nice job directing Wave’s attack as it ended Day 3 with a bid. The 3-star recruit is quick with nice hands and a consistent delivery. She did well connecting with her middles too. Jenna Hanes MB Wave 17 Juliana: Hanes – a 4-star Michigan commit – was lights out in the middle once more. She changes the dynamic when she’s in, both with her blocking and attacking. In system, Wave goes to Hanes a bunch and still defenses struggle to slow her down at all. Maya Evens L/DS Wave 17 Juliana: Evens – a 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025 – faced big-time hitters on the final day and didn’t blink. She more than held her own defensively with accurate passing and doing a great job digging balls. *** Camden Bolane RS Wave 17 Juliana: Bolane, a Yale commit, brought versatility to the lineup throughout the weekend as she played outside, middle and right side at times. On Day 3, she was mostly tasked with anchoring the right side across the front and she did great in her role. She came up with timely blocks and kills. Blaykli Bobik OH Arizona Storm 17 Thunder: A 4-star recruit committed to BYU, Bobik was a big part of Storm’s run to the semis as they knocked on the door for a bid. She has a whippy arm and carries a large portion of the attack on the left. Skyler Gartin MB Arizona Storm 17 Thunder: Gartin – a 3-star recruit – is someone defenses need to keep track of. Storm will get her the ball when in system because she knows how to end the point. Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC 17 Roxy: Deckert – a 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025 – had her hands full facing both Wave and Hou Skyline in gold pool action. Both her passing and defending were on point as she owned the back row. Taylor Yu S SG Elite 17 Rosh: Yu – a 5-star recruit – is an effortless setter who is rarely off her mark. She puts her hitters in great situations consistently and is a big reason SG was in the hunt for a bid on Day 3. Sophia Wolfson MB SG Elite 17 Rosh: Wolfson was scoring well out of the middle for SG and giving Wu a reliable option she took advantage of. She gets up quickly and was putting balls down to the floor. Cleo Hardin RS Vision 17 Gold: A 3-star recruit committed to Yale, Hardin was bringing it on the attack. She’s an aggressive swinger who isn’t afraid of challenging blockers and seeing what happens, leading to big kills at times. Jaden Hendrickson RS Absolute 17 Black: Hendrickson is a solid pin hitter with a nice arm. She gives Absolute versatility and was swinging well from the right. Caelyn Emmerling OH TAV Houston 17 Adidas: A six-rotation outside, Emmerling is a featured part of the attack. She swings well and knows how to keep pressure on defenses. Kirra Musgrove S/RS Hou Skyline 17 Royal: Musgrove – a 5-star recruit from the Class of 2025 – was on it once again. She’s a smooth setter and locates well. Offensively, she’s long and has a very good arm to go at defenses with. *** Quinn Loper OH Wave 16 Kevin: Loper was a vital part of Wave’s run to the 16 Open gold medal. The 4-star outside has a fluid swing and hits with plenty of pace as she keeps coming at defenses. Ruby Hill S/RS Wave 16 Kevin: Hill – a 4-star recruit – brings her height to the front row as well as gives Wave another option on the right. Her versatility to remain in and set back row is also a

Read More »

Red Rock Rave: Gold Medal Rundown

March 14, 2023

This week’s edition of WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!? is brought to us courtesy of Wave 16 Kevin. At No. 26 in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50, Wave was the eighth highest-ranked team in 16 Open at the Red Rock Rave national qualifier in Las Vegas. Six teams ranked higher all finished above Wave at last month’s Triple Crown NIT. None of that would make Wave a favorite this past weekend to bid let alone earn the gold medal. But after going 7-3 and finishing on top of the 16 Open standings, the question had to be asked. What just happened? Las Vegas is becoming the place where this Wave group has breakthroughs. Last year as 15s, the team qualified for Open for the first time after finishing a surprise fourth. This year, Wave broke through and took it all. The field this go around featured top contenders like No. 1 Surfside 16 PV Legends, No. 3 Drive Nation 16 Red, No. 6 HJV 16 Elite and No. 7 Arizona Storm 16 Thunder, not to mention No. 10 TAV 16 Black and No. 13 Coast 16-1. It’s the reason why Wave retooled its roster though, in hopes of being able to take a step forward like it accomplished this past weekend. Outside Quinn Loper, setter/right side Ruby Hill and setter Emily Page were new additions who all played key roles in helping Wave win 16 Open. With returning players like outsides Nia Thompson and Mae Kordas and right side Keila Gabriel it’s given Wave more depth and roster flexibility. Wave needed to beat Rage 16 Garren in a crossover match on Day 1 to remain in contention. Wave lost to HJV and unranked A4 Volley 16 Cassie on Day 2 but managed to advance based on having the best set percentage in a three-way tie at 1-2 with A4 and AZ Rev 16 Premier. All that mattered though was Wave was positioned to take advantage of its luck and landed in a three-team pool with Surfside and Coast. For others, that might have doomed them. However, Wave was actually 2-1 on the year against Surfside before meeting in Monday’s gold pool and 0-1 against Coast, so there was familiarity. Wave pulled off two dramatic upsets, first edging Surfside 17-15 in the third before tackling Coast 15-10 in another Game 3. The feel-good story seemed to be in its last chapter though, with TAV on the horizon in the semifinals. Not only was TAV favored, but should Wave lose it would have to face the loser between Drive Nation and Arizona Storm in the third-place contest. Yet, Wave was not ready for the ride to end, first upsetting TAV in another wild conclusion, 16-14 in the third. That clinched the bid for Wave, so the pressure was off so to speak. But Wave wasn’t letting up and recorded another big upset in taking down Drive Nation in the final, 26-24, 26-24. That overshadowed what was an intense showdown for third place and the last remaining bid between TAV and Storm. Storm was able to survive, winning Game 3, 15-12. The qualifying action in 17 Open was a different type of thrilling. As highlighted on Day 2, with national No. 14 AZ Sky 17G and No. 15 Momentous 17 Dan out of contention and No. 13 Hou Skyline 17 Royal owning a bid, there was opportunity for others to capitalize. At the top of the list to do so was third-ranked Drive Nation 17 Red. The rest of the contenders included No. 16 Wave 17 Juliana, No. 18 Vision 17 Gold, No. 20 Coast 17-1, No. 22 SCVC 17 Roxy, No. 35 SG Elite 17 Rosh and No. 49 Arizona Storm 17 Thunder. Arizona Storm did its best to deliver another upset story, but it wasn’t meant to be. Storm advanced to the four-team gold bracket but lost to Coast in the semis. Drive Nation defeated Wave in the other semi before sweeping Coast in the final. Wave swept Storm for third place and the final bid. Wave had a tough gold pool with Hou Skyline and SCVC. Meanwhile, Storm beat both Vision and A4 Volley 17 Tyler in its gold pool. The bid chase in 18 Open ultimately boiled down to one three-team gold pool. Nine of the previously 11 qualified clubs advanced to the gold pools. As fate would have it, all nine were matched together in Pools 2-4. That left Pool 1 with three unqualified clubs in No. 2 Coast 18-1, No. 6 HJV 18 Elite and unranked TAV 18 Black. The first and second-place finishers in that pool were guaranteed bids through trickle down. Coast downed both HJV and TAV while TAV slipped past HJV to take second place and earn its bid. The final Open bid will go into the at-large pool.

Read More »

Red Rock Rave: Day 2 Show Stoppers

March 12, 2023

The path to the Open bids is clear with just the final day remaining of the Red Rock Rave qualifier in Las Vegas. While the top-ranked teams are still in contention in 16 Open, the same can’t be said about 17 Open after the Day 2 results shook up the final-day pairings. We knew something had to give in Pool 1 in 17 Open, as national No. 3 Drive Nation 17 Red, No. 13 Hou Skyline 17 Royal and No. 14 AZ Sky 17G shared the same four-team pool. It came down to Hou Skyline sweeping AZ Sky for second place behind Drive Nation. AZ Sky is the highest-ranked team in 17 Open out of contention but not by much. Momentous 17 Dan – ranked No. 15 nationally – was upset by both unranked A4 Volley 17 Tyler and No. 35 SG Elite 17 Rosh and finished third in its pool. Momentous had a chance to advance after losing to A4 but fell to SG in three games. Had Momentous defeated SG it would’ve earned the second-place tiebreaker over A4 but instead joins AZ Sky in the exit line. The winners of Monday’s four three-team pools advance to the four-team gold bracket where the Open bids will be ultimately determined. Hou Skyline, the only team with a bid so far, is in Pool 4 with No. 16 Wave 17 Juliana and No. 22 SCVC 17 Roxy. If Hou Skyline wins its pool, the other three pool winners will pick up bids before playing a gold-bracket match. But if Hou Skyline fails to advance, then teams must win in the semifinals and/or third-place match to qualify. Drive Nation is matched with Absolute 17 Black and Seal Beach 17 Black in Pool 1. It’s Arizona Storm 17 Thunder, Vision 17 Gold and A4 in Pool 2. Pool 3 is likely to come down to SG Elite and Coast 17-1, but TAV Houston 17 Adidas is certainly capable of the upsets. It was calmer in 16 Open, at least in regards to the national rankings. On Day 1, No. 35 Absolute 16 Black was the highest-ranked team to be eliminated. On Sunday, it was No. 28 Madfrog 16 Green being shown the door after losing to No. 21 AVA TX 16 Adidas. In addition, No. 49 AZ Sky 16G was also eliminated Sunday. It leaves all the top-ranked teams in the hunt for Monday. Pool 1 is an all-So Cal fight between No. 1 Surfside 16 PV Legends, No. 13 Coast 16-1 and No. 26 Wave 16 Kevin. Coast was upset by Temecula Viper 16-1 Costa in pool play and needed to beat Muscle 16-1 in crossover action to advance. Wave, meanwhile, finished in a three-way tie at 1-2 with A4 Volley 16 Cassie and AZ Rev 16 Premier but managed to take second based on tiebreakers. Seventh-ranked Arizona Storm 16 Thunder is favored in Pool 2 with No. 27 ID Crush 16 Bower and unranked Vision 16 Gold. Vision took Drive Nation 16 Red to three games in pool play before falling Sunday and will look to play spoiler on Day 3. As for Drive Nation, the third-ranked team in the country is in Pool 3 with Temecula and AVA TX. The final pool is No. 6 HJV 16 Elite, No. 10 TAV 16 Black and unranked Club One 16 Platinum. HJV is 1-0 against TAV this season, so TAV will look to even the score and win the pool. There is no trickle down in 16 Open, so teams must win the pool and advance to the gold bracket to stay alive. *** DAY 2 SHOW STOPPERS Sophia Meyer L/DS Coast 17-1: Coast is still in the mix but worked for it after beating both Tx Peformance 16-1 and Club V 17 Ren Matthew in three games before losing to SCVC in crossover. Meyer was solid throughout, holding down the back row and consistently making plays. Makayla Gates OH Momentous 17 Dan: Gates is a six-rotation outside who gets off the ground well and has a fluid swing. The 6-0 outside was doing well tooling blocks. Cymarah Gordon RS Momentous 17 Dan: A 4-star right side, Gordon puts up a massive block! She gets her hands over the net and forms a wall. She can also turn it around and send down booming kills. Victoria Leyva L/DS TX Performance 17-1: Leyva helped TX Performance upset Club V in pool play but was eventually eliminated with a loss to Absolute 17 Black in crossover. She is an energetic libero who is fast and makes up ground quickly. Amar’e Stout RS TX Performance 17-1: Stout’s big arm is a key part of the attack. Defenders need to be ready because Stout will get the ball and isn’t afraid to go for it. Maya Evens L/DS Wave 17 Juliana: Evens was part of a perfect 3-0 day as Wave didn’t drop a set. The 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025 scoops up everything near her in the back row and is a lights-out passer in serve receive. Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC 17 Roxy: Another 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025, Deckert is a cool character in the back row. She’s always under control and doesn’t rattle while making plays look effortless. Kendall Beshear OH SCVC 17 Roxy: A 3-star recruit, Beshear explodes on the attack and hits a heavy ball. Beshear carried a big load as SCVC went 3-0 on the day and remains in the running for a bid. Zada Sanger OH Absolute 17 Black: It was a tough go for Absolute in pool play with losses to SCVC and Vision but Sanger and company beat Tx Performance in crossover to stay alive. Sanger was taking aggressive swings and not backing down. Dylan Whisenant L/DS Absolute 17 Black: Whisenant was getting after it defensively with lots of hustle and keeping rallies going. *** Grace Carroll RS Drive Nation 17 Red: Drive Nation didn’t lose a set in going 3-0 and

Read More »

Red Rock Rave: Day 1 Show Stoppers

March 11, 2023

For many of the top-seeded clubs the opening day of the second weekend of the Red Rock Rave Qualifier in Las Vegas offered an easing-in period. But for some, the first day was truly a matter of survival as they found themselves locked in elimination matches. The highest-profile case came in 16 Open when AVA TX 16 Adidas and Absolute 16 Black were matched in a crossover in which the winner advanced to the Round 2 Division 1 pools while the loser would fall to the Round 2 Division 2 pools for Sunday. AVA entered ranked No. 21 in vballrecruiter.com’s 16s Top 50 National Rankings while Absolute sits at No. 35. This was a case where neither team expected to be knocked from contention on Day 1. Yet, Absolute was on the wrong side of the score as AVA TX prevailed in three, 25-17, 25-27, 15-8. Wave 16 Kevin – ranked No. 26 nationally – and unranked clubs in Forza1 North 16 One and Club One 16 Platinum joined AVA in capturing must-win crossover matches to move on as well. Two unranked teams in 16 Open which helped create some of the upheaval Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center were Forza1 16 One and AZ Rev 16 Premier. Forza began its day with an upset of Absolute while AZ Rev closed its three-team pool by upsetting AVA TX and finishing first. Forza lost its crossover to AZ Sky 16G while ID Crush 16 Bower defeated AZ Rev in another crossover. Both AZ Rev and Forza remain in the mix for Day 2. The only other real news out of 16 Open is Vision 16 Gold and Temecula Viper 16 both advancing as the No. 3 team in their respective pools. They each beat the No. 2 team in their pools, with Vision taking down Aspire 16 Adidas and Temecula upending Rage Westside 16 Jen. Of the top six-ranked teams in 16 Open from our Top 50, only No. 13 Coast 16-1 lost Saturday. Coast had already clinched first place in its pool when it fell to unranked Muscle VB 16-1. Meanwhile, No. 1 Surfside 16 PV Legends, No. 3 Drive Nation 16 Red, No. 6 HJV 16 Elite, No. 7 Arizona Storm and TAV 16 Black went a combined 15-0 with only Surfside dropping a set. All 12 teams in appearing in vballrecruiter.com’s 17s Top 50 National Rankings advanced in 17 Open. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. While the highest-ranked team in No. 3 Drive Nation 17 Red went 3-0, the next two highest in No. 13 Hou Skyline 17 Royal and No. 14 AZ Sky 17G lost. Hou Skyline earned its Open bid at NEQ last weekend but was uprooted by No. 49 Arizona Storm 17 Thunder in its three-team pool. AZ Sky was beaten by unranked TAV Houston 17 Adidas. It left both Hou Skyline and AZ Sky – which tied for third at Triple Crown – needing to win crossovers to remain in the mix. Both did. Wave 17 Juliana – ranked No. 16 nationally – No. 18 Vision 17 Gold and No. 20 Coast 17-1 didn’t lose a set on the day. Momentous 17 Dan – ranked No. 15 – finished 3-0 and but went three twice while No. 22 SCVC 17 Roxy ended 3-0 and dropped one set. DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS Addison Massey OH TX Performance 16-1: Massey helped her team to an upset of No. 49 AZ Sky 16G. She’s a six-rotation outside and a big part of the attack. She swings front and back row and did well in helping carrying her share of the offense. Sarah Pfiffner S TAV 16 Black: Pfiffner is a 4-star recruit with soft hands and a smooth delivery. She did well mixing her sets up and utilizing all of her hitters.   Lauryn Mack OH TAV 16 Black: Mack is another 4-star recruit and you can see her next-level potential when she goes on the attack. She elevates quickly and can deliver rockets for kills. Justice Fuhrmann S Forza1 16 One: Fuhrmann is a bit undersized but she did a nice job running the attack and putting up a hittable ball. She located consistently. Miley Thunstrom OH Forza1 16 One: Thunstrom did well in her role in helping provide offense on the outside. She found gaps in the blocks for kills and even delivered a big block of her own. Kimanni Rugley MB AVA TX 16 Adidas: Rugley is an athletic middle who makes her presence felt in the middle. She gets up fast and has a good arm to punish opponents with. Sydney Black L/DS HJV 16 Elite: Black – a 4-star recruit – was sound in serve receive and doing well with her first-ball contact. Nicole Steiner OH Vision 16 Gold: Steiner was taking her share of cuts on the outside and was helping keep Vision in the game. She has a fluid swing and was mixing up her shots. Kendall Timme OH Arete 16 Navy Telos: Timme is a lanky outside and one of Arete’s best scoring threats. She’s an option both front and back row and can deliver. Rylee Smith MB Arete 16 Navy Telos: Smith has nice size and is a disrupter in the middle. She does well getting touches and blocks. *** Tenesyn Frye S ID Crush 16 Bower: A 4-star recruit, Frye has command of the offense and does well locating. She has a nice touch and with her size she’s a factor at the net too. Kiana Mark OH Rage 16 Westside Jen: Mark brings physicality to the attack. She hits with power and score a lot of points. Lilyana Kautai RS Rage 16 Westside Jen: Kautai is someone opponents need to keep eyes on when she checks in. Rage will set her. She gets up well and takes aggressive swings. Natalia Clifford OH Rage 16 Westside Jen: Another six-rotation outside, Clifford contributes both front row with her attacking and her strong defense in the

Read More »

Red Rock Rave Week 2: Preview And Predictions (FREE)

March 9, 2023

Last week was split between multiple qualifiers and Bluegrass but the main focus this week is centered on Part 2 of the Red Rock Rave featuring 16s and up. There are no other qualifiers or major national tournaments. vballrecruiter.com is making the journey for the three-day event. This event usually takes place later on the calendar. With it getting moved up earlier, it’s going to change the trickle-down situation in 16 and 17 Open. There are usually multiple teams with bids in the field but since the tournament is early this season only one team across the two divisions is previously qualified in Hou Skyline 17 Royal. Let’s take a look at the Open divisions and how they might play out. 18 OPEN Number of Teams: 34 Number of Bids: 3 Previously-Qualified Teams (11): A4 Volley 18 Joaco; A5 18 Marc; Arizona Storm 18 Thunder; AZ Rev 18 Premier; AZ EVJ 18 Elite; Club V 18 Ren Reed; Hou Skyline 18 Royal; MAVS 18-1; Sunshine 18 LA; Tstreet 18 Chandler; Wave 18 Juliana vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (13): 2. Coast 18-1 4. MAVS 18-1 5. Sunshine 18-1 6. HJV 18 Elite 11. Wave 18 Juliana 12. Club V 18 Ren Reed 14. A5 18 Marc 18. AZ Rev 18 Premier 21. Hou Skyline 18 Royal 27. Arizona Storm 18 Thunder 28. Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar 44. Legacy Girls 18 Elite 50. Tstreet 18 Chandler   5-Star Athletes To Know: Noemie Glover RS Coast 18-1 (Oregon) Jurnee Robinson OH A5 18 Marc (LSU) Olivia Babcock RS Sunshine 18 LA (Pitt) Torrey Stafford OH Sunshine 18 LA (Pitt) Jordyn Harvey OH Club V 18 Ren Reed (Stanford) Julia Blyashov OH Wave 18 Juliana Taylor Harvey MB Club V 18 Ren Reed (2025) Alex Bower S ID Crush 18 Bower (BYU, 2024)   4-Star Athletes To Know: Brooklyn Briscoe MB Coast 18-1 (UCLA) Koko Kirsch L/DS Wave 18 Juliana (Stanford) Bianka Lulic MB Coast 18-1 (Miami) Claire Little OH Coast 18-1 (BYU) Ava Marie Lange OH/RS Sunshine 18 LA (Notre Dame) Tori Davis MB Legacy Girls 18 Elite (Baylor) Lois Hansen RS Tstreet 18 Chandler (UCSB) Eva Travis OH Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (UCSB) Mele Corral-Blagojevich OH Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (Oklahoma) Zoe Rachow S Coast 18-1 (Tulane) Makena Lim L/DS A4 Volley 18 Joaco (Georgia) Fatimah Hall S Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (San Diego State) Reagan Fox OH MAVS KC 18-1 (Rutgers) Betsy Goodenow RS MAVS KC 18-1 (Yale) Auburn Tomkinson RS Wave 18 Juliana (Yale) Arya Jue L/DS A5 18 Marc (Yale) Eva Rohrbach MB Wave 18 Juliana (Maryland) Cayla Payne MB Wave 18 Juliana (Colorado) Cindy Tchouangwa OH HJV 18 Elite Kendal Murphy OH AZ Rev 18 Premier (Baylor) Madison Maxwell S/RS Legacy Girls 18 Elite (Long Beach State, 2024) Evan Hendrix OH AZ Rev 18 Premier (TCU, 2024)   Outlook/Prediction: The 18s are in a different spot with qualifying going on since January. That’s why there are 11 teams already qualified. Trickle down can only go to eighth place, so it’s possible that no bids go out at all. Of course, I don’t think that’s going to happen. There are a couple highly-ranked teams in No. 2 Coast 18-1 and No. 6 HJV 18 Elite have yet to earn their bids and I’m going out on a limb to say both will place at least in the Top 8 to qualify. At No. 28, Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar is the only other team from Vballrecrutier.com’s Top 50 in the field without a bid. Considering the depth of field, it’s going to take work for Long Beach to crack the Top 8. Coast gets its bid by winning it all, downing MAVS 18-1 in the final. HJV also bids with the third going into the at-large pool. *** 17 OPEN Number of Teams: 39 Number of Bids: 3 Previously-Qualified Teams (1): Hou Skyline 17 Royal vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (12): 3. Drive Nation 17 Red 13. Hou Skyline 17 Royal 14. AZ Sky 17G 15. Momentous 17 Dan 16. Wave 17 Juliana 18. Vision 17 Gold 20. Coast 17-1 22. SCVC 17 Roxy 32. Club V 17 Ren Matthew 35. SG Elite 17 Rosh 46. AZ Rev 17 Premier 49. Arizona Storm 17 Thunder   5-Star Athletes To Know: Zoey Burgess MB Club V 17 Ren Matthew (Kansas) Jaela Auguste MB Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Florida) Taylor Yu S SG Elite 17 Rosh Ayden Ames MB Drive Nation 17 Red (Nebraska) Jaidyn Jager OH Coast 17-1 (2025) Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC 17 Roxy (2025)   4-Star Athletes To Know: Taylor Williams OH Vision 17 Gold Jenna Hanes MB Wave 17 Juliana (Michigan) Isabel Clark OH Momentous 17 Dan (San Diego) Cymarah Gordon RS Momentous 17 Dan Lolo Lambert OH Drive Nation 17 Red (Arkansas) Bethanie Wu S Drive Nation 17 Red (Yale) Grace Carroll RS Drive Nation 17 Red (Baylor) Blaykli Bobik OH Arizona Storm 17 Thunder (BYU) Lillian Croshaw MB Drive Nation 17 Red Levani Key-Powell OH Club V 17 Ren Reed (Utah) Amanda Saeger S Wave 17 Juliana (DePaul) Camden Bolane MB Wave 17 Juliana (Yale) Shelby Burris MB Drive Nation 17 Red (2025) Lauren Lynch L/DS SG Elite 17 Rosh (2025) Maya Evens L/DS Wave 17 Juliana (2025) Maya Baker S Vision 17 Gold (2025)   Outlook/Prediction: By all indications, this division is going to be a wild ride. Hou Skyline 17 Royal, having qualified last weekend at NEQ, is safe from the chaos but could definitely factor into the final outcomes by creating trickle down to fourth place. Drive Nation 17 Red enters has the highest-ranked team in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 yet is anything but a lock. While Drive Nation finished tied for third at Triple Crown, it has been vulnerable at times. It’s a tournament where I see nine of the ranked teams having a legit shot at earning bids, down to No. 35 SG Elite 17 Rosh. The final two Top-50 teams in No. 46 AZ Rev 16 Premier and

Read More »

Qualifying Season Under Way Everywhere

March 8, 2023

The past weekend was one of the busier of the season and should have been even busier than it was. With the opening weekends of the Red Rock Rave and Northeast qualifiers, the second weekend of the Sunshine Classic, Bluegrass and the Boston Festival, something was happening just about everywhere – except for Reno. The Sierra 18s National Qualifier was snowed out and rescheduled two weeks later in Sacramento. It was simply one of those weekends. The schedule exhales and slows down this coming weekend, with Part 2 of the Red Rock Rave featuring the older age groups the only major tournament slated. Let’s check out what went down across the country over the weekend. RED ROCK RAVE WEEKEND 1 Skyline 15 Royal continues on! The Triple Crown champions showed why they are currently the No. 1 ranked team in the country after going 10-0 and winning 15 Open at the Red Rock Rave last weekend. Skyline qualified in the process as well. The latest update to vballrecruiter.com’s 15s National Rankings on March 2 featured Skyline as the top-ranked club. That’s because after winning Triple Crown Skyline boasted an impressive win-loss sheet. The only three teams to top Skyline so far are Madfrog 15 Green, Hou Skyline 15 Royal and Boiler Jrs 15 Gold. That’s to go with victories over Austin Skyline 15 Royal (three times), TAV 15 Black (twice), Madfrog (twice), Alamo 15 Premier, Hou Skyline, Drive Nation 15 Red and AP 15 Adidas. To me, it’s clear Skyline deserved the top spot. The main question is what would happen once Skyline was there? Would there be a letdown after winning Triple Crown? Would teams be able to catch up after themselves improving in the last few weeks? Skyline dropped just one set in Las Vegas, in a victory over No. 33 GP 15 Rox on the last day. Other victories came against national No. 4 Madfrog, No. 15 Wave 15 Brennan and No. 19 Forza1 North 14 One. Joining Skyline in bidding was runner-up Madfrog and third-place TAV, which defeated Wave for the last bid. As I noted in the preview, it was a deep field with 22 of the 38 teams appearing in our Top 50. It was also interesting to note that the three highest-ranked teams in our Top 50 all qualified in No. 1 Skyline, No. 4 Madfrog and No. 5 TAV. Triple Crown runner-up and national No. 10 SCVC 15 Roxy finished tied for fifth after suffering its only loss of the weekend in gold pool play to Madfrog. AZ Sky 15G – ranked No. 13 nationally – backed up its strong performance at Triple Crown by also tying for fifth. TAV was the only opponent to beat AZ Sky, with that result also coming in gold pool. AZ Sky did pick up big victories over both Drive Nation and Madfrog on Day 2. Aspire 15 Premier had a solid weekend. Ranked No. 41 in our Top 50, Aspire upset No. 14 Hou Skyline 15 Royal on Day 2 and finished in a three-way tie at 2-1 with Hou Skyline and Wave. Aspire took second based on tiebreakers while Hou Skyline was third and eliminated from bid contention. While we all missed wanting to see Arizona Storm 14 Thunder and Tstreet 14 Carson meet up at Triple Crown, the two found themselves on the same court in the 14 Open final in Las Vegas. Storm completed its perfect 10-0 weekend by downing Tstreet in three, 23-25, 25-15, 15-8. Both earned their bids, as did Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar. Long Beach held off Madfrog 14 Green, 15-25, 28-26, 15-10, in the third-place match to earn the final bid. That victory felt great for Long Beach for two reasons. Not only did Long Beach qualify, but it lost twice to Madfrog in Kansas City so it got one back. Arizona Storm and Tstreet were the two highest-ranked teams, with Storm No. 1 in our Top 50 and Tstreet No. 3. Madfrog followed at No. 4, while Long Beach is currently No. 11. Skyline 14 Royal – ranked No. 5 – tied for fifth with No. 15 Wave 14 Tammy. National No. 11 Forza1 14 One and No. 19 Forza1 North 14 One – neither of which were at Triple Crown – both tied for seventh. The Hawaiian club and ninth-place finisher Mauloa 14-1 was another team not at Triple Crown but managed to crack the Top 10. With 26 teams competing, 14 Open wasn’t as big as 15 Open but was another competitive field. Of those 26, 14 are ranked in our Top 50. That includes 10 inside the Top 20. I thought with Arizona Storm and Tstreet in the field, they were the obvious favorites to bid. A lot of it came down to which would be the third team joining the bid party and we got an answer with Long Beach. That’s a well-earned bid. *** SUNSHINE CLASSIC WEEKEND 2 We finally have our first Open bids from the 16s age group. Every other age group already had Open qualifiers but it took the 16s until this past weekend to get on the board. And what a beginning it was! Talk about the unexpected, that’s exactly what happened in Orlando. Whereas our national rankings held up at the Red Rock Rave in 14 and 15 Open, 16 Open at Sunshine shattered them. None of our top seven ranked teams qualified there. In fact, national No. 30 HPSTL 16 Royal took home the gold medal and one of the three bids. HPSTL finished 25th at Triple Crown and that didn’t inspire hopes of HPSTL coming to Orlando and taking care of business. But that’s how it played out, with HPSTL coming on strong on the final day. HPSTL upset No. 8 A5 16 Gabe and beat No. 42 Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite in gold pool action to make the four-team gold bracket. HPSTL then topped No. 44 GP 16 Rox in the semis

Read More »

Bluegrass: vballrecruiter.com All-Tournament Teams

March 7, 2023

The 2023 edition of the Adidas Bluegrass Tournament has come and gone. vballrecruiter.com highlighted our Day 1 and 2 Show Stoppers, as well as a gold medal rundown. Lastly, we bring you are All-Tournament selections from the two-day event in Louisville. 17 OPEN OUTSIDES Alaleh Tolliver Academy 17 Tsunami Alivia Skidmore NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Morgan Gaerte Team Pineapple 17 Black Chloe Smith Adidas KiVA 17 Red MIDDLES Julia Hunt NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Faith Young Tri-State Elite 17 Blue Abbie Cresse Empowered 17 Elite Black RIGHT SIDES Emma Closurdo Adidas KiVA 17 Red Riley Whitlock Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Ella Holloway Memphis VBA 17 Red SETTERS Allie Shondell Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Abby Yoder NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Leah Richmond Academy 17 Tsunami SETTER/RIGHT SIDE Kiana Dinn Tri-State Elite 17 Blue LIBEROS/DS Elizabeth Tabeling NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Mackenzie Cogan Elevation 17 Ulland *** 16 OPEN OUTSIDES Bella Bullington SPVB 16 Elite Annabelle Groomes AVC Cle 16 Red Anna Powell Adidas KiVA 16 Red Bridget Egan Adidas KiVA 16 Red MIDDLES Reese Dunkle Circle City 16 Purple Kayla Channell AVC Cle 16 Red Addison Makun Adidas KiVA 16 Red RIGHT SIDES Lauren Coyne SPVB 16 Elite Bailey Blair Adidas KiVA 16 Red Caroline Moore Tri-State Elite 16 Blue SETTERS Audrey Asleson SPVB 16 Elite Melina Schrader Munciana 16 Blaze Ava Hunter Circle City 16 Purple SETTER/RIGHT SIDE Isabela Haggard Adidas KiVA 16 Red LIBEROS/DS Avery Freeman Circle City 16 Purple Kristen Simon Adidas KiVA 16 RED *** 15 OPEN OUTSIDES Cali Foster Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Madison Miles Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Karis Chatfield Far Out 15 Black MaryKate Scheumann Team Pineapple 15 Black MIDDLES Josie Noble Far Out 15 Black Audrey Dyas NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami D’Aira Whitner AVC Cle 15 Red RIGHT SIDES Caroline Ward Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Addison Buckner AVC Cle 15 Red SETTERS Sophia Gisslen Team Pineapple 15 Black Lexi Shondell Boiler Jrs 15 Gold SETTER/RIGHT SIDE Addyson Bianchini NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami LIBEROS/DS Ellie Hepler Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Cala Haffner Team Pineapple 15 Black Mallory Johnson Far Out 15 Black Emma Frietch NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami *** 14 OPEN OUTSIDES Maisie Jones Tri-State Elite 14 Blue Morgan Meiring Elevation 14 Molly Brooke Codey Adidas KiVA 14 Red Jentelle McNairl Alliance 14 Ren MIDDLES Carsyn Comer Munciana 14 Chipmunks Emily Poteraj Adidas KiVA 14 Red Kyla Williams AVC Cle 14 Red Lilly Tierney NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami RIGHT SIDES Lilah Anthony Adidas KiVA 14 Red SETTERS Kendall Hubbard Elevation 14 Molly Addison Hurley Adidas KiVA 14 Red SETTER/RIGHT SIDE Maria Schulte NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami LIBEROS/DS Lucy Moriarty HPSTL 14 Royal Kendyl Strack Munciana 14 Chipmunks Lindsey Curless Elevation 14 Molly

Read More »

Bluegrass: Day 2 Show Stoppers

March 6, 2023

It’s always a matter of who is going to step up and who is going to star on the final day of any tournament. It was no different as the conclusion of the Adidas Bluegrass Tournament played out Sunday in Louisville. You can see which teams ended up on top here. Below, you can read about the Day 2 Show Stoppers featuring the players who caught our attention the most. DAY 2 SHOW STOPPERS Annabelle Groomes OH AVC Cle 16 Red: Groomes, a 5-star recruit, is showing there is very little she can’t do on the court. We’ve seen Groomes three times this season already and the first two she was setting and hitting in playing a vital role. In Louisville, the lefty was playing six-rotations on the outside and doing it very well. What value her versatility has! Mallory Johnson L/DS Far Out 15 Black: Part of the Class of 2027, Johnson is playing up and playing well. She plays under control and is a sound passer and defender. Josie Noble MB Far Out 15 Black: Noble was a big factor. She brought offense to the lineup with her ability to thud balls to the floor. She also puts up a strong block. Alana Bailey MB Far Out 15 Black: Bailey is a bit undersized in the middle but she’s quick and gets off the ground very well. She gives Far Out another scoring option. Karis Chatfield OH Far Out 15 Black: Chatfield is the six-rotation mainstay for Far Out and she brings a lot of fire and competitiveness to the lineup. Audrey Dyas MB NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami: NKYVC isn’t going to be anyone based on size alone, but Dyas does bring a much-needed presence to the front row. She’s a strong hitter and blocker and she can swing the match to NKYVC’s favor when she checks in. Addyson Bianchini S/RS NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami: Bianchini is an upbeat two-way player who sets and hits. She has a nice release and locates well and can also help out providing offense. Kirsten Kemper S NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami: Kemper sets across the back row and she also has a nice delivery and consistent location. Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: The 5-star recruit from the Class of 2027 is must-watch volleyball! That Ward is still in eighth-grade and is as smooth as she is makes for a fun time. She gets up effortlessly and can simply unload on balls. Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: A 4-star recruit, Hepler owns the back row. She’s a sound passer out of serve receive and you can tell opponents work on keeping the ball away from her as she’s not one to target. Sophia Gisslen S Team Pineapple 15 Black: A 3-star recruit, Gisslen knows how to get the job done. She’s an even-keeled setter who does a great job leading and guiding the offense. Cala Haffner L/DS Team Pineapple 15 Black: Haffner, a 4-star recruit, is another defender who anchors the back row and can make all the plays needed. She’s rarely off the mark with her passing. MaryKate Scheumann OH Team Pineapple 15 Black: Team Pineapple was certainly benefitting from Scheumann and her aggressiveness on the attack. Scheumann wasn’t holding back and was taking big-time swings on the left and scoring consistently. D’Aira Whitner MB AVC Cle 15 Red: Whitner, a 3-star recruit, is a quick middle and that causes trouble for opponents. She can get up and swing before the block is formed. Brooke Codey OH Adidas KiVA 14 Red: A seventh-grader, Codey is the six-rotation anchor KiVA relies a lot on. She’s asked to take the big swings on the left and deliver in the clutch moments and she does a great job of it. Emily Poteraj MB Adidas KiVA 14 Red: Opponents know KiVA is going to set Poteraj the ball and they still struggle to slow her down. She has a nice arm and can generate pace. Lyla Sands MB HPSTL 14 Royal: Sands is an active middle and someone HPSTL will look to get the ball to. Kendall Hubbard S Elevation 14 Molly: Hubbard usually runs a 6-2, hitting across the front. But Elevation was short-handed on Day 2 and thus Hubbard was running a 5-1. She did well in trying to incorporate all her hitters and looking to keep the defense guessing. Carsyn Comer MB Munciana 14 Chipmunks: Comer was once again bringing her passion and play to the court and shining. She’s a big-time factor for Munciana when she’s on the floor and she gives them much-needed height across the front as well. Caroline Hanchar OH Munciana 14 Chipmunks: A bit undersized on the pin, Hanchar isn’t afraid to attack bigger blocks. She was taking aggressive cuts time and time again and helping deliver points to her side. Kendyl Strack L/DS Munciana 14 Chipmunks: Strack was holding it down in the back row and doing well helping keep Munciana in system. Jentelle McNairl OH Alliance 14 Ren: McNairl is an athletic outside and one to keep tabs on. She’s spring with a lively arm and she’s only going to get better and she gains more control and experience. Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red: A 4-star recruit, Makun can overwhelm opponents at time. She’s long and can hit straight down and it puts tons of pressure on opponents to try and defend her. Audrey Asleson S SPVB 16 Elite: We wrote about Asleson on Day 1 and she was back doing her thing on Day 2. That’s not surprising. She’s a smooth disher who knows how to run an offense. Bella Bullington OH SPVB 16 Elite: A 4-star recruit, there was no one in the division with a bigger arm. Bullington was a force to be reckoned with.

Read More »

Red Rock Rave: Day 3 Show Stoppers

March 14, 2023

With qualifying on the line during the last day of competition of the Red Rock Rave at Las Vegas, players came out determined to help their teams finish positioned for a bid. While only a few clubs could leave town with their tickets punched, plenty of athletes caught our attention during the process. Below, we bring you our Day 3 Show Stoppers. DAY 3 SHOW STOPPERS Ayden Ames MB Drive Nation 17 Red: The 5-star Nebraska commit is a legit game-changer in the middle with her ability to impact both sides of the ball. She moves well and takes away space in a hurry blocking while also being able to torment defenses with her scoring. Lolo Lambert OH Drive Nation 17 Red: Lambert – a 4-star recruit – is a high-flying outside capable of delivering highlight worthy kills. She takes a lot of important swings for Drive Nation and was key in its success. Grace Carroll RS Drive Nation 17 Red: Carroll – a 4-star recruit committed to Baylor – shined at the net. With Drive Nation forced to run a 5-1 this weekend due to injury, Carroll was invaluable to the attack. The lefty’s big swing brought instant offense to the court and Drive Nation made sure to feed her the ball. Brianna Watson OH Drive Nation 17 Red: A 3-star outside committed to LSU, Watson was another piece of the team’s success. She came through with plenty of clutch swings as she helped keep the offense powering along when she was in front. Caleigh King L/DS Drive Nation 17 Red: King – a 3-star recruit committed to UNLV – did a sound job in the back row. She covered well and was helping extend rallies. Jaidyn Jager OH Coast 17-1: A 5-star outside from the Class of 2025, Jager is a six-rotation player Coast relies on a lot. She’s a smart hitter who can hurt defenses with a variety of shots. She’s also a strong backrow defender and passer. Mackenzie Parsons MB Coast 17-1: A 3-star recruit, Parsons brings some physicality to the net. She puts up a big block and is definitely an offensive threat defenses need to be prepared for. Kiki Remensperger S Wave 17 Juliana: Remensperger did a nice job directing Wave’s attack as it ended Day 3 with a bid. The 3-star recruit is quick with nice hands and a consistent delivery. She did well connecting with her middles too. Jenna Hanes MB Wave 17 Juliana: Hanes – a 4-star Michigan commit – was lights out in the middle once more. She changes the dynamic when she’s in, both with her blocking and attacking. In system, Wave goes to Hanes a bunch and still defenses struggle to slow her down at all. Maya Evens L/DS Wave 17 Juliana: Evens – a 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025 – faced big-time hitters on the final day and didn’t blink. She more than held her own defensively with accurate passing and doing a great job digging balls. *** Camden Bolane RS Wave 17 Juliana: Bolane, a Yale commit, brought versatility to the lineup throughout the weekend as she played outside, middle and right side at times. On Day 3, she was mostly tasked with anchoring the right side across the front and she did great in her role. She came up with timely blocks and kills. Blaykli Bobik OH Arizona Storm 17 Thunder: A 4-star recruit committed to BYU, Bobik was a big part of Storm’s run to the semis as they knocked on the door for a bid. She has a whippy arm and carries a large portion of the attack on the left. Skyler Gartin MB Arizona Storm 17 Thunder: Gartin – a 3-star recruit – is someone defenses need to keep track of. Storm will get her the ball when in system because she knows how to end the point. Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC 17 Roxy: Deckert – a 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025 – had her hands full facing both Wave and Hou Skyline in gold pool action. Both her passing and defending were on point as she owned the back row. Taylor Yu S SG Elite 17 Rosh: Yu – a 5-star recruit – is an effortless setter who is rarely off her mark. She puts her hitters in great situations consistently and is a big reason SG was in the hunt for a bid on Day 3. Sophia Wolfson MB SG Elite 17 Rosh: Wolfson was scoring well out of the middle for SG and giving Wu a reliable option she took advantage of. She gets up quickly and was putting balls down to the floor. Cleo Hardin RS Vision 17 Gold: A 3-star recruit committed to Yale, Hardin was bringing it on the attack. She’s an aggressive swinger who isn’t afraid of challenging blockers and seeing what happens, leading to big kills at times. Jaden Hendrickson RS Absolute 17 Black: Hendrickson is a solid pin hitter with a nice arm. She gives Absolute versatility and was swinging well from the right. Caelyn Emmerling OH TAV Houston 17 Adidas: A six-rotation outside, Emmerling is a featured part of the attack. She swings well and knows how to keep pressure on defenses. Kirra Musgrove S/RS Hou Skyline 17 Royal: Musgrove – a 5-star recruit from the Class of 2025 – was on it once again. She’s a smooth setter and locates well. Offensively, she’s long and has a very good arm to go at defenses with. *** Quinn Loper OH Wave 16 Kevin: Loper was a vital part of Wave’s run to the 16 Open gold medal. The 4-star outside has a fluid swing and hits with plenty of pace as she keeps coming at defenses. Ruby Hill S/RS Wave 16 Kevin: Hill – a 4-star recruit – brings her height to the front row as well as gives Wave another option on the right. Her versatility to remain in and set back row is also a

Read More »

Red Rock Rave: Gold Medal Rundown

March 14, 2023

This week’s edition of WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!? is brought to us courtesy of Wave 16 Kevin. At No. 26 in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50, Wave was the eighth highest-ranked team in 16 Open at the Red Rock Rave national qualifier in Las Vegas. Six teams ranked higher all finished above Wave at last month’s Triple Crown NIT. None of that would make Wave a favorite this past weekend to bid let alone earn the gold medal. But after going 7-3 and finishing on top of the 16 Open standings, the question had to be asked. What just happened? Las Vegas is becoming the place where this Wave group has breakthroughs. Last year as 15s, the team qualified for Open for the first time after finishing a surprise fourth. This year, Wave broke through and took it all. The field this go around featured top contenders like No. 1 Surfside 16 PV Legends, No. 3 Drive Nation 16 Red, No. 6 HJV 16 Elite and No. 7 Arizona Storm 16 Thunder, not to mention No. 10 TAV 16 Black and No. 13 Coast 16-1. It’s the reason why Wave retooled its roster though, in hopes of being able to take a step forward like it accomplished this past weekend. Outside Quinn Loper, setter/right side Ruby Hill and setter Emily Page were new additions who all played key roles in helping Wave win 16 Open. With returning players like outsides Nia Thompson and Mae Kordas and right side Keila Gabriel it’s given Wave more depth and roster flexibility. Wave needed to beat Rage 16 Garren in a crossover match on Day 1 to remain in contention. Wave lost to HJV and unranked A4 Volley 16 Cassie on Day 2 but managed to advance based on having the best set percentage in a three-way tie at 1-2 with A4 and AZ Rev 16 Premier. All that mattered though was Wave was positioned to take advantage of its luck and landed in a three-team pool with Surfside and Coast. For others, that might have doomed them. However, Wave was actually 2-1 on the year against Surfside before meeting in Monday’s gold pool and 0-1 against Coast, so there was familiarity. Wave pulled off two dramatic upsets, first edging Surfside 17-15 in the third before tackling Coast 15-10 in another Game 3. The feel-good story seemed to be in its last chapter though, with TAV on the horizon in the semifinals. Not only was TAV favored, but should Wave lose it would have to face the loser between Drive Nation and Arizona Storm in the third-place contest. Yet, Wave was not ready for the ride to end, first upsetting TAV in another wild conclusion, 16-14 in the third. That clinched the bid for Wave, so the pressure was off so to speak. But Wave wasn’t letting up and recorded another big upset in taking down Drive Nation in the final, 26-24, 26-24. That overshadowed what was an intense showdown for third place and the last remaining bid between TAV and Storm. Storm was able to survive, winning Game 3, 15-12. The qualifying action in 17 Open was a different type of thrilling. As highlighted on Day 2, with national No. 14 AZ Sky 17G and No. 15 Momentous 17 Dan out of contention and No. 13 Hou Skyline 17 Royal owning a bid, there was opportunity for others to capitalize. At the top of the list to do so was third-ranked Drive Nation 17 Red. The rest of the contenders included No. 16 Wave 17 Juliana, No. 18 Vision 17 Gold, No. 20 Coast 17-1, No. 22 SCVC 17 Roxy, No. 35 SG Elite 17 Rosh and No. 49 Arizona Storm 17 Thunder. Arizona Storm did its best to deliver another upset story, but it wasn’t meant to be. Storm advanced to the four-team gold bracket but lost to Coast in the semis. Drive Nation defeated Wave in the other semi before sweeping Coast in the final. Wave swept Storm for third place and the final bid. Wave had a tough gold pool with Hou Skyline and SCVC. Meanwhile, Storm beat both Vision and A4 Volley 17 Tyler in its gold pool. The bid chase in 18 Open ultimately boiled down to one three-team gold pool. Nine of the previously 11 qualified clubs advanced to the gold pools. As fate would have it, all nine were matched together in Pools 2-4. That left Pool 1 with three unqualified clubs in No. 2 Coast 18-1, No. 6 HJV 18 Elite and unranked TAV 18 Black. The first and second-place finishers in that pool were guaranteed bids through trickle down. Coast downed both HJV and TAV while TAV slipped past HJV to take second place and earn its bid. The final Open bid will go into the at-large pool.

Read More »

Red Rock Rave: Day 2 Show Stoppers

March 12, 2023

The path to the Open bids is clear with just the final day remaining of the Red Rock Rave qualifier in Las Vegas. While the top-ranked teams are still in contention in 16 Open, the same can’t be said about 17 Open after the Day 2 results shook up the final-day pairings. We knew something had to give in Pool 1 in 17 Open, as national No. 3 Drive Nation 17 Red, No. 13 Hou Skyline 17 Royal and No. 14 AZ Sky 17G shared the same four-team pool. It came down to Hou Skyline sweeping AZ Sky for second place behind Drive Nation. AZ Sky is the highest-ranked team in 17 Open out of contention but not by much. Momentous 17 Dan – ranked No. 15 nationally – was upset by both unranked A4 Volley 17 Tyler and No. 35 SG Elite 17 Rosh and finished third in its pool. Momentous had a chance to advance after losing to A4 but fell to SG in three games. Had Momentous defeated SG it would’ve earned the second-place tiebreaker over A4 but instead joins AZ Sky in the exit line. The winners of Monday’s four three-team pools advance to the four-team gold bracket where the Open bids will be ultimately determined. Hou Skyline, the only team with a bid so far, is in Pool 4 with No. 16 Wave 17 Juliana and No. 22 SCVC 17 Roxy. If Hou Skyline wins its pool, the other three pool winners will pick up bids before playing a gold-bracket match. But if Hou Skyline fails to advance, then teams must win in the semifinals and/or third-place match to qualify. Drive Nation is matched with Absolute 17 Black and Seal Beach 17 Black in Pool 1. It’s Arizona Storm 17 Thunder, Vision 17 Gold and A4 in Pool 2. Pool 3 is likely to come down to SG Elite and Coast 17-1, but TAV Houston 17 Adidas is certainly capable of the upsets. It was calmer in 16 Open, at least in regards to the national rankings. On Day 1, No. 35 Absolute 16 Black was the highest-ranked team to be eliminated. On Sunday, it was No. 28 Madfrog 16 Green being shown the door after losing to No. 21 AVA TX 16 Adidas. In addition, No. 49 AZ Sky 16G was also eliminated Sunday. It leaves all the top-ranked teams in the hunt for Monday. Pool 1 is an all-So Cal fight between No. 1 Surfside 16 PV Legends, No. 13 Coast 16-1 and No. 26 Wave 16 Kevin. Coast was upset by Temecula Viper 16-1 Costa in pool play and needed to beat Muscle 16-1 in crossover action to advance. Wave, meanwhile, finished in a three-way tie at 1-2 with A4 Volley 16 Cassie and AZ Rev 16 Premier but managed to take second based on tiebreakers. Seventh-ranked Arizona Storm 16 Thunder is favored in Pool 2 with No. 27 ID Crush 16 Bower and unranked Vision 16 Gold. Vision took Drive Nation 16 Red to three games in pool play before falling Sunday and will look to play spoiler on Day 3. As for Drive Nation, the third-ranked team in the country is in Pool 3 with Temecula and AVA TX. The final pool is No. 6 HJV 16 Elite, No. 10 TAV 16 Black and unranked Club One 16 Platinum. HJV is 1-0 against TAV this season, so TAV will look to even the score and win the pool. There is no trickle down in 16 Open, so teams must win the pool and advance to the gold bracket to stay alive. *** DAY 2 SHOW STOPPERS Sophia Meyer L/DS Coast 17-1: Coast is still in the mix but worked for it after beating both Tx Peformance 16-1 and Club V 17 Ren Matthew in three games before losing to SCVC in crossover. Meyer was solid throughout, holding down the back row and consistently making plays. Makayla Gates OH Momentous 17 Dan: Gates is a six-rotation outside who gets off the ground well and has a fluid swing. The 6-0 outside was doing well tooling blocks. Cymarah Gordon RS Momentous 17 Dan: A 4-star right side, Gordon puts up a massive block! She gets her hands over the net and forms a wall. She can also turn it around and send down booming kills. Victoria Leyva L/DS TX Performance 17-1: Leyva helped TX Performance upset Club V in pool play but was eventually eliminated with a loss to Absolute 17 Black in crossover. She is an energetic libero who is fast and makes up ground quickly. Amar’e Stout RS TX Performance 17-1: Stout’s big arm is a key part of the attack. Defenders need to be ready because Stout will get the ball and isn’t afraid to go for it. Maya Evens L/DS Wave 17 Juliana: Evens was part of a perfect 3-0 day as Wave didn’t drop a set. The 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025 scoops up everything near her in the back row and is a lights-out passer in serve receive. Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC 17 Roxy: Another 4-star recruit from the Class of 2025, Deckert is a cool character in the back row. She’s always under control and doesn’t rattle while making plays look effortless. Kendall Beshear OH SCVC 17 Roxy: A 3-star recruit, Beshear explodes on the attack and hits a heavy ball. Beshear carried a big load as SCVC went 3-0 on the day and remains in the running for a bid. Zada Sanger OH Absolute 17 Black: It was a tough go for Absolute in pool play with losses to SCVC and Vision but Sanger and company beat Tx Performance in crossover to stay alive. Sanger was taking aggressive swings and not backing down. Dylan Whisenant L/DS Absolute 17 Black: Whisenant was getting after it defensively with lots of hustle and keeping rallies going. *** Grace Carroll RS Drive Nation 17 Red: Drive Nation didn’t lose a set in going 3-0 and

Read More »

Red Rock Rave: Day 1 Show Stoppers

March 11, 2023

For many of the top-seeded clubs the opening day of the second weekend of the Red Rock Rave Qualifier in Las Vegas offered an easing-in period. But for some, the first day was truly a matter of survival as they found themselves locked in elimination matches. The highest-profile case came in 16 Open when AVA TX 16 Adidas and Absolute 16 Black were matched in a crossover in which the winner advanced to the Round 2 Division 1 pools while the loser would fall to the Round 2 Division 2 pools for Sunday. AVA entered ranked No. 21 in vballrecruiter.com’s 16s Top 50 National Rankings while Absolute sits at No. 35. This was a case where neither team expected to be knocked from contention on Day 1. Yet, Absolute was on the wrong side of the score as AVA TX prevailed in three, 25-17, 25-27, 15-8. Wave 16 Kevin – ranked No. 26 nationally – and unranked clubs in Forza1 North 16 One and Club One 16 Platinum joined AVA in capturing must-win crossover matches to move on as well. Two unranked teams in 16 Open which helped create some of the upheaval Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center were Forza1 16 One and AZ Rev 16 Premier. Forza began its day with an upset of Absolute while AZ Rev closed its three-team pool by upsetting AVA TX and finishing first. Forza lost its crossover to AZ Sky 16G while ID Crush 16 Bower defeated AZ Rev in another crossover. Both AZ Rev and Forza remain in the mix for Day 2. The only other real news out of 16 Open is Vision 16 Gold and Temecula Viper 16 both advancing as the No. 3 team in their respective pools. They each beat the No. 2 team in their pools, with Vision taking down Aspire 16 Adidas and Temecula upending Rage Westside 16 Jen. Of the top six-ranked teams in 16 Open from our Top 50, only No. 13 Coast 16-1 lost Saturday. Coast had already clinched first place in its pool when it fell to unranked Muscle VB 16-1. Meanwhile, No. 1 Surfside 16 PV Legends, No. 3 Drive Nation 16 Red, No. 6 HJV 16 Elite, No. 7 Arizona Storm and TAV 16 Black went a combined 15-0 with only Surfside dropping a set. All 12 teams in appearing in vballrecruiter.com’s 17s Top 50 National Rankings advanced in 17 Open. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. While the highest-ranked team in No. 3 Drive Nation 17 Red went 3-0, the next two highest in No. 13 Hou Skyline 17 Royal and No. 14 AZ Sky 17G lost. Hou Skyline earned its Open bid at NEQ last weekend but was uprooted by No. 49 Arizona Storm 17 Thunder in its three-team pool. AZ Sky was beaten by unranked TAV Houston 17 Adidas. It left both Hou Skyline and AZ Sky – which tied for third at Triple Crown – needing to win crossovers to remain in the mix. Both did. Wave 17 Juliana – ranked No. 16 nationally – No. 18 Vision 17 Gold and No. 20 Coast 17-1 didn’t lose a set on the day. Momentous 17 Dan – ranked No. 15 – finished 3-0 and but went three twice while No. 22 SCVC 17 Roxy ended 3-0 and dropped one set. DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS Addison Massey OH TX Performance 16-1: Massey helped her team to an upset of No. 49 AZ Sky 16G. She’s a six-rotation outside and a big part of the attack. She swings front and back row and did well in helping carrying her share of the offense. Sarah Pfiffner S TAV 16 Black: Pfiffner is a 4-star recruit with soft hands and a smooth delivery. She did well mixing her sets up and utilizing all of her hitters.   Lauryn Mack OH TAV 16 Black: Mack is another 4-star recruit and you can see her next-level potential when she goes on the attack. She elevates quickly and can deliver rockets for kills. Justice Fuhrmann S Forza1 16 One: Fuhrmann is a bit undersized but she did a nice job running the attack and putting up a hittable ball. She located consistently. Miley Thunstrom OH Forza1 16 One: Thunstrom did well in her role in helping provide offense on the outside. She found gaps in the blocks for kills and even delivered a big block of her own. Kimanni Rugley MB AVA TX 16 Adidas: Rugley is an athletic middle who makes her presence felt in the middle. She gets up fast and has a good arm to punish opponents with. Sydney Black L/DS HJV 16 Elite: Black – a 4-star recruit – was sound in serve receive and doing well with her first-ball contact. Nicole Steiner OH Vision 16 Gold: Steiner was taking her share of cuts on the outside and was helping keep Vision in the game. She has a fluid swing and was mixing up her shots. Kendall Timme OH Arete 16 Navy Telos: Timme is a lanky outside and one of Arete’s best scoring threats. She’s an option both front and back row and can deliver. Rylee Smith MB Arete 16 Navy Telos: Smith has nice size and is a disrupter in the middle. She does well getting touches and blocks. *** Tenesyn Frye S ID Crush 16 Bower: A 4-star recruit, Frye has command of the offense and does well locating. She has a nice touch and with her size she’s a factor at the net too. Kiana Mark OH Rage 16 Westside Jen: Mark brings physicality to the attack. She hits with power and score a lot of points. Lilyana Kautai RS Rage 16 Westside Jen: Kautai is someone opponents need to keep eyes on when she checks in. Rage will set her. She gets up well and takes aggressive swings. Natalia Clifford OH Rage 16 Westside Jen: Another six-rotation outside, Clifford contributes both front row with her attacking and her strong defense in the

Read More »

Red Rock Rave Week 2: Preview And Predictions (FREE)

March 9, 2023

Last week was split between multiple qualifiers and Bluegrass but the main focus this week is centered on Part 2 of the Red Rock Rave featuring 16s and up. There are no other qualifiers or major national tournaments. vballrecruiter.com is making the journey for the three-day event. This event usually takes place later on the calendar. With it getting moved up earlier, it’s going to change the trickle-down situation in 16 and 17 Open. There are usually multiple teams with bids in the field but since the tournament is early this season only one team across the two divisions is previously qualified in Hou Skyline 17 Royal. Let’s take a look at the Open divisions and how they might play out. 18 OPEN Number of Teams: 34 Number of Bids: 3 Previously-Qualified Teams (11): A4 Volley 18 Joaco; A5 18 Marc; Arizona Storm 18 Thunder; AZ Rev 18 Premier; AZ EVJ 18 Elite; Club V 18 Ren Reed; Hou Skyline 18 Royal; MAVS 18-1; Sunshine 18 LA; Tstreet 18 Chandler; Wave 18 Juliana vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (13): 2. Coast 18-1 4. MAVS 18-1 5. Sunshine 18-1 6. HJV 18 Elite 11. Wave 18 Juliana 12. Club V 18 Ren Reed 14. A5 18 Marc 18. AZ Rev 18 Premier 21. Hou Skyline 18 Royal 27. Arizona Storm 18 Thunder 28. Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar 44. Legacy Girls 18 Elite 50. Tstreet 18 Chandler   5-Star Athletes To Know: Noemie Glover RS Coast 18-1 (Oregon) Jurnee Robinson OH A5 18 Marc (LSU) Olivia Babcock RS Sunshine 18 LA (Pitt) Torrey Stafford OH Sunshine 18 LA (Pitt) Jordyn Harvey OH Club V 18 Ren Reed (Stanford) Julia Blyashov OH Wave 18 Juliana Taylor Harvey MB Club V 18 Ren Reed (2025) Alex Bower S ID Crush 18 Bower (BYU, 2024)   4-Star Athletes To Know: Brooklyn Briscoe MB Coast 18-1 (UCLA) Koko Kirsch L/DS Wave 18 Juliana (Stanford) Bianka Lulic MB Coast 18-1 (Miami) Claire Little OH Coast 18-1 (BYU) Ava Marie Lange OH/RS Sunshine 18 LA (Notre Dame) Tori Davis MB Legacy Girls 18 Elite (Baylor) Lois Hansen RS Tstreet 18 Chandler (UCSB) Eva Travis OH Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (UCSB) Mele Corral-Blagojevich OH Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (Oklahoma) Zoe Rachow S Coast 18-1 (Tulane) Makena Lim L/DS A4 Volley 18 Joaco (Georgia) Fatimah Hall S Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (San Diego State) Reagan Fox OH MAVS KC 18-1 (Rutgers) Betsy Goodenow RS MAVS KC 18-1 (Yale) Auburn Tomkinson RS Wave 18 Juliana (Yale) Arya Jue L/DS A5 18 Marc (Yale) Eva Rohrbach MB Wave 18 Juliana (Maryland) Cayla Payne MB Wave 18 Juliana (Colorado) Cindy Tchouangwa OH HJV 18 Elite Kendal Murphy OH AZ Rev 18 Premier (Baylor) Madison Maxwell S/RS Legacy Girls 18 Elite (Long Beach State, 2024) Evan Hendrix OH AZ Rev 18 Premier (TCU, 2024)   Outlook/Prediction: The 18s are in a different spot with qualifying going on since January. That’s why there are 11 teams already qualified. Trickle down can only go to eighth place, so it’s possible that no bids go out at all. Of course, I don’t think that’s going to happen. There are a couple highly-ranked teams in No. 2 Coast 18-1 and No. 6 HJV 18 Elite have yet to earn their bids and I’m going out on a limb to say both will place at least in the Top 8 to qualify. At No. 28, Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar is the only other team from Vballrecrutier.com’s Top 50 in the field without a bid. Considering the depth of field, it’s going to take work for Long Beach to crack the Top 8. Coast gets its bid by winning it all, downing MAVS 18-1 in the final. HJV also bids with the third going into the at-large pool. *** 17 OPEN Number of Teams: 39 Number of Bids: 3 Previously-Qualified Teams (1): Hou Skyline 17 Royal vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Teams (12): 3. Drive Nation 17 Red 13. Hou Skyline 17 Royal 14. AZ Sky 17G 15. Momentous 17 Dan 16. Wave 17 Juliana 18. Vision 17 Gold 20. Coast 17-1 22. SCVC 17 Roxy 32. Club V 17 Ren Matthew 35. SG Elite 17 Rosh 46. AZ Rev 17 Premier 49. Arizona Storm 17 Thunder   5-Star Athletes To Know: Zoey Burgess MB Club V 17 Ren Matthew (Kansas) Jaela Auguste MB Hou Skyline 17 Royal (Florida) Taylor Yu S SG Elite 17 Rosh Ayden Ames MB Drive Nation 17 Red (Nebraska) Jaidyn Jager OH Coast 17-1 (2025) Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC 17 Roxy (2025)   4-Star Athletes To Know: Taylor Williams OH Vision 17 Gold Jenna Hanes MB Wave 17 Juliana (Michigan) Isabel Clark OH Momentous 17 Dan (San Diego) Cymarah Gordon RS Momentous 17 Dan Lolo Lambert OH Drive Nation 17 Red (Arkansas) Bethanie Wu S Drive Nation 17 Red (Yale) Grace Carroll RS Drive Nation 17 Red (Baylor) Blaykli Bobik OH Arizona Storm 17 Thunder (BYU) Lillian Croshaw MB Drive Nation 17 Red Levani Key-Powell OH Club V 17 Ren Reed (Utah) Amanda Saeger S Wave 17 Juliana (DePaul) Camden Bolane MB Wave 17 Juliana (Yale) Shelby Burris MB Drive Nation 17 Red (2025) Lauren Lynch L/DS SG Elite 17 Rosh (2025) Maya Evens L/DS Wave 17 Juliana (2025) Maya Baker S Vision 17 Gold (2025)   Outlook/Prediction: By all indications, this division is going to be a wild ride. Hou Skyline 17 Royal, having qualified last weekend at NEQ, is safe from the chaos but could definitely factor into the final outcomes by creating trickle down to fourth place. Drive Nation 17 Red enters has the highest-ranked team in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 yet is anything but a lock. While Drive Nation finished tied for third at Triple Crown, it has been vulnerable at times. It’s a tournament where I see nine of the ranked teams having a legit shot at earning bids, down to No. 35 SG Elite 17 Rosh. The final two Top-50 teams in No. 46 AZ Rev 16 Premier and

Read More »

Qualifying Season Under Way Everywhere

March 8, 2023

The past weekend was one of the busier of the season and should have been even busier than it was. With the opening weekends of the Red Rock Rave and Northeast qualifiers, the second weekend of the Sunshine Classic, Bluegrass and the Boston Festival, something was happening just about everywhere – except for Reno. The Sierra 18s National Qualifier was snowed out and rescheduled two weeks later in Sacramento. It was simply one of those weekends. The schedule exhales and slows down this coming weekend, with Part 2 of the Red Rock Rave featuring the older age groups the only major tournament slated. Let’s check out what went down across the country over the weekend. RED ROCK RAVE WEEKEND 1 Skyline 15 Royal continues on! The Triple Crown champions showed why they are currently the No. 1 ranked team in the country after going 10-0 and winning 15 Open at the Red Rock Rave last weekend. Skyline qualified in the process as well. The latest update to vballrecruiter.com’s 15s National Rankings on March 2 featured Skyline as the top-ranked club. That’s because after winning Triple Crown Skyline boasted an impressive win-loss sheet. The only three teams to top Skyline so far are Madfrog 15 Green, Hou Skyline 15 Royal and Boiler Jrs 15 Gold. That’s to go with victories over Austin Skyline 15 Royal (three times), TAV 15 Black (twice), Madfrog (twice), Alamo 15 Premier, Hou Skyline, Drive Nation 15 Red and AP 15 Adidas. To me, it’s clear Skyline deserved the top spot. The main question is what would happen once Skyline was there? Would there be a letdown after winning Triple Crown? Would teams be able to catch up after themselves improving in the last few weeks? Skyline dropped just one set in Las Vegas, in a victory over No. 33 GP 15 Rox on the last day. Other victories came against national No. 4 Madfrog, No. 15 Wave 15 Brennan and No. 19 Forza1 North 14 One. Joining Skyline in bidding was runner-up Madfrog and third-place TAV, which defeated Wave for the last bid. As I noted in the preview, it was a deep field with 22 of the 38 teams appearing in our Top 50. It was also interesting to note that the three highest-ranked teams in our Top 50 all qualified in No. 1 Skyline, No. 4 Madfrog and No. 5 TAV. Triple Crown runner-up and national No. 10 SCVC 15 Roxy finished tied for fifth after suffering its only loss of the weekend in gold pool play to Madfrog. AZ Sky 15G – ranked No. 13 nationally – backed up its strong performance at Triple Crown by also tying for fifth. TAV was the only opponent to beat AZ Sky, with that result also coming in gold pool. AZ Sky did pick up big victories over both Drive Nation and Madfrog on Day 2. Aspire 15 Premier had a solid weekend. Ranked No. 41 in our Top 50, Aspire upset No. 14 Hou Skyline 15 Royal on Day 2 and finished in a three-way tie at 2-1 with Hou Skyline and Wave. Aspire took second based on tiebreakers while Hou Skyline was third and eliminated from bid contention. While we all missed wanting to see Arizona Storm 14 Thunder and Tstreet 14 Carson meet up at Triple Crown, the two found themselves on the same court in the 14 Open final in Las Vegas. Storm completed its perfect 10-0 weekend by downing Tstreet in three, 23-25, 25-15, 15-8. Both earned their bids, as did Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar. Long Beach held off Madfrog 14 Green, 15-25, 28-26, 15-10, in the third-place match to earn the final bid. That victory felt great for Long Beach for two reasons. Not only did Long Beach qualify, but it lost twice to Madfrog in Kansas City so it got one back. Arizona Storm and Tstreet were the two highest-ranked teams, with Storm No. 1 in our Top 50 and Tstreet No. 3. Madfrog followed at No. 4, while Long Beach is currently No. 11. Skyline 14 Royal – ranked No. 5 – tied for fifth with No. 15 Wave 14 Tammy. National No. 11 Forza1 14 One and No. 19 Forza1 North 14 One – neither of which were at Triple Crown – both tied for seventh. The Hawaiian club and ninth-place finisher Mauloa 14-1 was another team not at Triple Crown but managed to crack the Top 10. With 26 teams competing, 14 Open wasn’t as big as 15 Open but was another competitive field. Of those 26, 14 are ranked in our Top 50. That includes 10 inside the Top 20. I thought with Arizona Storm and Tstreet in the field, they were the obvious favorites to bid. A lot of it came down to which would be the third team joining the bid party and we got an answer with Long Beach. That’s a well-earned bid. *** SUNSHINE CLASSIC WEEKEND 2 We finally have our first Open bids from the 16s age group. Every other age group already had Open qualifiers but it took the 16s until this past weekend to get on the board. And what a beginning it was! Talk about the unexpected, that’s exactly what happened in Orlando. Whereas our national rankings held up at the Red Rock Rave in 14 and 15 Open, 16 Open at Sunshine shattered them. None of our top seven ranked teams qualified there. In fact, national No. 30 HPSTL 16 Royal took home the gold medal and one of the three bids. HPSTL finished 25th at Triple Crown and that didn’t inspire hopes of HPSTL coming to Orlando and taking care of business. But that’s how it played out, with HPSTL coming on strong on the final day. HPSTL upset No. 8 A5 16 Gabe and beat No. 42 Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite in gold pool action to make the four-team gold bracket. HPSTL then topped No. 44 GP 16 Rox in the semis

Read More »

Bluegrass: vballrecruiter.com All-Tournament Teams

March 7, 2023

The 2023 edition of the Adidas Bluegrass Tournament has come and gone. vballrecruiter.com highlighted our Day 1 and 2 Show Stoppers, as well as a gold medal rundown. Lastly, we bring you are All-Tournament selections from the two-day event in Louisville. 17 OPEN OUTSIDES Alaleh Tolliver Academy 17 Tsunami Alivia Skidmore NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Morgan Gaerte Team Pineapple 17 Black Chloe Smith Adidas KiVA 17 Red MIDDLES Julia Hunt NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Faith Young Tri-State Elite 17 Blue Abbie Cresse Empowered 17 Elite Black RIGHT SIDES Emma Closurdo Adidas KiVA 17 Red Riley Whitlock Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Ella Holloway Memphis VBA 17 Red SETTERS Allie Shondell Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Abby Yoder NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Leah Richmond Academy 17 Tsunami SETTER/RIGHT SIDE Kiana Dinn Tri-State Elite 17 Blue LIBEROS/DS Elizabeth Tabeling NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Mackenzie Cogan Elevation 17 Ulland *** 16 OPEN OUTSIDES Bella Bullington SPVB 16 Elite Annabelle Groomes AVC Cle 16 Red Anna Powell Adidas KiVA 16 Red Bridget Egan Adidas KiVA 16 Red MIDDLES Reese Dunkle Circle City 16 Purple Kayla Channell AVC Cle 16 Red Addison Makun Adidas KiVA 16 Red RIGHT SIDES Lauren Coyne SPVB 16 Elite Bailey Blair Adidas KiVA 16 Red Caroline Moore Tri-State Elite 16 Blue SETTERS Audrey Asleson SPVB 16 Elite Melina Schrader Munciana 16 Blaze Ava Hunter Circle City 16 Purple SETTER/RIGHT SIDE Isabela Haggard Adidas KiVA 16 Red LIBEROS/DS Avery Freeman Circle City 16 Purple Kristen Simon Adidas KiVA 16 RED *** 15 OPEN OUTSIDES Cali Foster Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Madison Miles Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Karis Chatfield Far Out 15 Black MaryKate Scheumann Team Pineapple 15 Black MIDDLES Josie Noble Far Out 15 Black Audrey Dyas NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami D’Aira Whitner AVC Cle 15 Red RIGHT SIDES Caroline Ward Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Addison Buckner AVC Cle 15 Red SETTERS Sophia Gisslen Team Pineapple 15 Black Lexi Shondell Boiler Jrs 15 Gold SETTER/RIGHT SIDE Addyson Bianchini NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami LIBEROS/DS Ellie Hepler Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Cala Haffner Team Pineapple 15 Black Mallory Johnson Far Out 15 Black Emma Frietch NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami *** 14 OPEN OUTSIDES Maisie Jones Tri-State Elite 14 Blue Morgan Meiring Elevation 14 Molly Brooke Codey Adidas KiVA 14 Red Jentelle McNairl Alliance 14 Ren MIDDLES Carsyn Comer Munciana 14 Chipmunks Emily Poteraj Adidas KiVA 14 Red Kyla Williams AVC Cle 14 Red Lilly Tierney NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami RIGHT SIDES Lilah Anthony Adidas KiVA 14 Red SETTERS Kendall Hubbard Elevation 14 Molly Addison Hurley Adidas KiVA 14 Red SETTER/RIGHT SIDE Maria Schulte NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami LIBEROS/DS Lucy Moriarty HPSTL 14 Royal Kendyl Strack Munciana 14 Chipmunks Lindsey Curless Elevation 14 Molly

Read More »

Bluegrass: Day 2 Show Stoppers

March 6, 2023

It’s always a matter of who is going to step up and who is going to star on the final day of any tournament. It was no different as the conclusion of the Adidas Bluegrass Tournament played out Sunday in Louisville. You can see which teams ended up on top here. Below, you can read about the Day 2 Show Stoppers featuring the players who caught our attention the most. DAY 2 SHOW STOPPERS Annabelle Groomes OH AVC Cle 16 Red: Groomes, a 5-star recruit, is showing there is very little she can’t do on the court. We’ve seen Groomes three times this season already and the first two she was setting and hitting in playing a vital role. In Louisville, the lefty was playing six-rotations on the outside and doing it very well. What value her versatility has! Mallory Johnson L/DS Far Out 15 Black: Part of the Class of 2027, Johnson is playing up and playing well. She plays under control and is a sound passer and defender. Josie Noble MB Far Out 15 Black: Noble was a big factor. She brought offense to the lineup with her ability to thud balls to the floor. She also puts up a strong block. Alana Bailey MB Far Out 15 Black: Bailey is a bit undersized in the middle but she’s quick and gets off the ground very well. She gives Far Out another scoring option. Karis Chatfield OH Far Out 15 Black: Chatfield is the six-rotation mainstay for Far Out and she brings a lot of fire and competitiveness to the lineup. Audrey Dyas MB NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami: NKYVC isn’t going to be anyone based on size alone, but Dyas does bring a much-needed presence to the front row. She’s a strong hitter and blocker and she can swing the match to NKYVC’s favor when she checks in. Addyson Bianchini S/RS NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami: Bianchini is an upbeat two-way player who sets and hits. She has a nice release and locates well and can also help out providing offense. Kirsten Kemper S NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami: Kemper sets across the back row and she also has a nice delivery and consistent location. Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: The 5-star recruit from the Class of 2027 is must-watch volleyball! That Ward is still in eighth-grade and is as smooth as she is makes for a fun time. She gets up effortlessly and can simply unload on balls. Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold: A 4-star recruit, Hepler owns the back row. She’s a sound passer out of serve receive and you can tell opponents work on keeping the ball away from her as she’s not one to target. Sophia Gisslen S Team Pineapple 15 Black: A 3-star recruit, Gisslen knows how to get the job done. She’s an even-keeled setter who does a great job leading and guiding the offense. Cala Haffner L/DS Team Pineapple 15 Black: Haffner, a 4-star recruit, is another defender who anchors the back row and can make all the plays needed. She’s rarely off the mark with her passing. MaryKate Scheumann OH Team Pineapple 15 Black: Team Pineapple was certainly benefitting from Scheumann and her aggressiveness on the attack. Scheumann wasn’t holding back and was taking big-time swings on the left and scoring consistently. D’Aira Whitner MB AVC Cle 15 Red: Whitner, a 3-star recruit, is a quick middle and that causes trouble for opponents. She can get up and swing before the block is formed. Brooke Codey OH Adidas KiVA 14 Red: A seventh-grader, Codey is the six-rotation anchor KiVA relies a lot on. She’s asked to take the big swings on the left and deliver in the clutch moments and she does a great job of it. Emily Poteraj MB Adidas KiVA 14 Red: Opponents know KiVA is going to set Poteraj the ball and they still struggle to slow her down. She has a nice arm and can generate pace. Lyla Sands MB HPSTL 14 Royal: Sands is an active middle and someone HPSTL will look to get the ball to. Kendall Hubbard S Elevation 14 Molly: Hubbard usually runs a 6-2, hitting across the front. But Elevation was short-handed on Day 2 and thus Hubbard was running a 5-1. She did well in trying to incorporate all her hitters and looking to keep the defense guessing. Carsyn Comer MB Munciana 14 Chipmunks: Comer was once again bringing her passion and play to the court and shining. She’s a big-time factor for Munciana when she’s on the floor and she gives them much-needed height across the front as well. Caroline Hanchar OH Munciana 14 Chipmunks: A bit undersized on the pin, Hanchar isn’t afraid to attack bigger blocks. She was taking aggressive cuts time and time again and helping deliver points to her side. Kendyl Strack L/DS Munciana 14 Chipmunks: Strack was holding it down in the back row and doing well helping keep Munciana in system. Jentelle McNairl OH Alliance 14 Ren: McNairl is an athletic outside and one to keep tabs on. She’s spring with a lively arm and she’s only going to get better and she gains more control and experience. Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red: A 4-star recruit, Makun can overwhelm opponents at time. She’s long and can hit straight down and it puts tons of pressure on opponents to try and defend her. Audrey Asleson S SPVB 16 Elite: We wrote about Asleson on Day 1 and she was back doing her thing on Day 2. That’s not surprising. She’s a smooth disher who knows how to run an offense. Bella Bullington OH SPVB 16 Elite: A 4-star recruit, there was no one in the division with a bigger arm. Bullington was a force to be reckoned with.

Read More »