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NLQ 18/17s: Day 1 Show Stoppers And More

January 27, 2023

Despite the gnarly wind chill outside, Day 1 of the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier 18s and 17s and January Thaw 14-16s tournament started off with straight fire Friday in Minneapolis. There were tons of great teams and athletes on several courts so let’s just jump right in with a few team and athlete spotlights. Iowa Rockets 18R: In 18 Open, this was the team which literally got touches on everything. St. Cloud State commit and outside Shelby Kimm was swinging well along with libero Meg Berkland owning the backline. Another athlete who was fun to watch was setter Allie Barlow, a Northern Michigan signee.  1st Alliance 17 Gold: This was a fun team to watch in 17 Open. You have 4-star Kansas commit Grace Nelson and 4-star Michigan commit Ellie White – the vballrecruiter.com 2022 HS Junior Player of the Year – swinging away on the outside. There is also 3-star recruit Ellery Rees owning the middle and 3-star recruit Calli Kenny dishing and swinging well. Ava Falduto – a 4-star Penn State recruit at L/DS – and Samantha Falk, a 3-star recruit, run the back court. And that’s just to name a few.  Day 1 Show Stoppers Jae Fitting DS Milwaukee Sting 17 Gold: A Loyola Chicago commit, Fitting is an incredible asset to her squad. Don’t get me wrong, Clemson commit Claire Luoma was amazing in the libero jersey but kudos to Fitting for being a lights-out DS on the court.  Calli Kenny S 1st Alliance 17 Gold: The 3-star S/RS Kenny was impressive on Day 1 in 17 Open. She was dishing and swinging with the best of them all the way around.  Bree Messenger OH VC United 171 Elite: Messenger is an undersized and an incredibly scrappy outside hitter. Messenger was fun to watch both offensively and defensively.  Kananihokuao Misipeka OH/Opp Pohaku 17-1: Misipeka, a 3-star athlete, is another undersized hitter who literally flies out there.  Malayah Long S VCNebraska 17 Elite: Long, a Marquette commit, was fun to watch run the show for her VCN squad. She is a fiery setter with great connections.  Mackenzie Dean OH Club Ignit Select 17 Blue: Dean, a Kansas commit, brings the heat on the outside.  Hannah Benjamin OH A5 Jing: Benjamin, a 5-star Kentucky commit, just keeps getting better and more explosive on the court.  Andi Spies S 608 Juniors 18-1: Spies, a Middle Tennessee 2024 commit, is playing on the new 608 Juniors 18s team. She is fiery and has great hands. Stella Swenson S MN Select 18-1: Swenson, a 5-star 2024 Minnesota commit, ran her court with precision. She has a great cast around her along with great decision making skills. Sidenotes With FC Elite 18 Elite 5-star libero Saige Damrow at Wisconsin this spring, make sure to watch 2026 athlete Peyton Carlson filling into the libero role for FC Elite this year. Skyler Pierce was missing from the court today but will be back on Sunday with her Dynasty 17 Black squad. In the meantime, outside Maya Houseworth filled in nicely.  Michigan signee and Nebraska Elite senior Morgan Burke was back dishing on her club team. On her high school squad Skutt Catholic she was the jack of many trades and was an offensive powerhouse at outside hitter.  Anyone else excited for Day 2!?

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Commitment & Signings Week of Jan 20-Jan 26

January 27, 2023

Congrats to all! Corrections? Questions? Additions? Email christi@vballrecruiter.com or DM on Social Media @vballphil 2023 CLARKE UNIVERSITY: OH/Opp Emma Shea-Wopinek (Top Flight) OLIVET NAZARENE: OH/Opp Kennedy Kiger (The Academy) OLIVET NAZARENE: S Molly Riggs (Vantage Volleyball) SALISBURY UNIVERSITY: S Julie Altieri (Triangle) NEBRASKA WESLEYAN: S Kasey Schuster NEBRASKA WESLEYAN: S Harley Ludacka (VC Nebraska) NEWBERRY COLLEGE: OH Ally Owens (Carolina One) GRACELAND: OH Reagan Altman (Rancho Valley) LA VERNE: S Malia Capistrano (Rancho Valley) COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT: Opp Brooke Andries (Southwest Minnesota) NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE: L Grace Ehlers (Southwest Minnesota) DORDT UNIVERSITY: OH Tarren Spartz (Southwest Minnesota) IOWA WESTERN CC: L Jessi Ritchhart (MAVS KC) AVILA UNIVERSITY: S Daphne Gardner (Pohaku) DREW UNIVERSITY: S Alyssa Rachwal (East Coast Power) MOUNT ST. VINCENT: L Carly Synder (CT Stars) STEVENSON: MB Carlee Darden (Metro) LINDENWOOD: Opp Anna Kraemer (Rockwood Thunder) SPOON RIVER COLLEGE: S Karson Park (Rapid Fire VBC) YAKIMA VALLEY COLLEGE: OH Tori Wolsborn (North Central Washington VBC) MAYVILLE STATE: S Noelle Erickson MAYVILLE STATE: MB Taylor Rath (Chaos) MAYVILLE STATE: Opp Jocelyn Aasen CULVER-STOCKTON COLLEGE: OH Norah Boggs (Top Notch) CULVER-STOCKTON COLLEGE: L Riley Passananti (Crossfire Elite South) CULVER-STOCKTON COLLEGE: MB Faith Hopgood LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE: OH Jade Von Deopp (Marin Juniors) AVERETT UNIVERSITY: OH Hope Parrish (Colonial VBC) AVERETT UNIVERSITY: MB Allie Wilkerson (Carolina Advantage) OLYMPIC COLLEGE: S/DS Holly Clarke (High Country) LYON COLLEGE: OH Abigail Adams (Memphis Metro) BRIDGEPORT UNIVERSITY: L Ella Young BRIDGEPORT UNIVERSITY: OH Grace Presswood WHEATON COLLEGE: S Paige Syswerda (Club Fusion) WALSH UNIVERSITY: S Hannah Roddis (Team Detroit) WALSH UNIVERSITY: OH/DS Kendra Courtock (Tandem VBC) WALSH UNIVERSITY: MB Kelli Conder (KIVA) KEYSTONE COLLEGE: OH Kaliyah Brown (Omni VBC) KEYSTONE COLLEGE: OH Kameryn Cortinas KEYSTONE COLLEGE: OH Taylor Hallam UTAH STATE EASTERN: OH Grace Thomsen EASTERN NAZARENE: S Annika Schmitt (Smash) DARTMOUTH: OH Valia Evangeliou MEDAILLE UNIVERSITY: L Lilly Henchen (Hot Shots) WINONA STATE: OH Kenna Kornely (Milwaukee Sting) MARIST: L Katherine Thompson (Milwaukee Sting) OUR LADY OF THE LAKE: OH Makaelyn Perez (Austin Performance) OUR LADY OF THE LAKE: Opp/OH Victoria Urbanczyk (Alamo) OUR LADY OF THE LAKE: S Valeria Ortiz (SA Magic) EASTERN FLORIDA STATE: S Alana Baerga (Oviedo VBA) MID-AMERICA CHRISTIAN: OH Sawyer Franz (Oklahoma Peak) SOUTHERN NAZARENE: L Brynlee Birney (Oklahoma Peak) CARDINAL STRITCH: L Nev Dukic (Wisconsin Juniors) OUACHITA: L Kylie Kisgen OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN: OH Claire Duley (Club Texas) SOUTHERN UTAH: Opp/OH Charlotte Wilson (Madfrog) COPPIN STATE: OH Kaliko Schilling (Spike and Serve) MCNEESE STATE: S/Opp Abby Montes (TAV Houston) CENTRAL ARKANSAS: L Jenna DeLaMater (Elite VBA) PRATT CC: OH/DS Emma Hendrickson SUNY ONEONTA: OH Emma Morretta (Downsville State) TEXAS TECH: S Claudia Rossi (Front Range) WENTWORTH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: Opp Emma Sanders (MVP Volleyball Club) BLINN COLLEGE: S Chloe Howard (Texas Tornados) ROBERT MORRIS: MB Lindsey Scammell (Jupiter Elite) SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CC: S Apetahi Kua (Pi’opi’o Bears VBC) CAL U PA: S Mandy Altsman (Pittsburgh Elite) AUGUSTANA COLLEGE (IL): OH Lanah Queckboerner (VC United) 2024 MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD: MB/OH Brielle Riess (Southwest Minnesota) NORTHEASTERN: OH Jane Nelson (East Coast Power) AKRON: OH/Opp Delaney Gash (Lexington United) TRANSFERS PENN STATE: GR S Mac Podraza (Ohio State/Mintonette Sports) PENN STATE: GR S Ally Van Eekeren (High Point/Creighton/Sports Performance) MINNESOTA: GR L Kylie Murr (Ohio State/Municana) OLIVET NAZARENE: TR MB/S Sydney Marse (Prairie State College) BELMONT: TR S Kam Olson (Central Michigan/VC United) KANSAS WESLEYAN: TR Opp/MB Blondie Penaflor (Hutchinson CC/Next Level) NEWBERRY COLLEGE: TR OH/Opp Emma Christensen (Utah State Eastern) WISCONSIN OSHKOSH: TR L Macie Wieman (Minnesota State Moorhead/Balance VBC) PALM BEACH ATLANTIC: GR L Payton Ahrenstorff (Northern Iowa/Kairos Elite) NEW MEXICO STATE: TR MB Aleka Darko (Ithaca/Woodlands Revolution) LONG BEACH STATE: TR OH Elise Agi (Oregon/Encore VBC) CAL: TR S Paige Morningstar (Louisville/Renaissance VBC) BOISE STATE: GR S Noelani Helm (Portland/Cats VBC) PITT: GR L Logan Mosley (Virginia Tech/Triangle) CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: GR L Kelsey Knudsen (BYU/Saint Mary’s College/Legacy CA) CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: TR Opp Leah Miller (Arizona State/Dig This!) WALSH UNIVERSITY: TR DS Kelly Lynch (CalUPenn/AVC Cleveland) BALL STATE: TR L Josie Bloom (Virginia Tech/Michigan State) UTAH STATE: TR MB Kelsey Watson (Loyola Chicago/HPSTL) UTAH STATE: GR OH Jill Schneggenburger (Colorado/A4) SOUTHEASTERN: GR MB Tatyana Lyons (Tampa/Winter Park) NOTRE DAME: TR L Sydney Palazzolo (High Point/Legacy) CENTRAL WASHINGTON: TR MB Morgan Halady (Portland State/Dakine) HAWAII: TR MB Jacyn Bamis (Clemson/CPA Xtreme) ILLINOIS STATE: TR S Sammi Bunch (Tusculum/Lions) WASHINGTON STATE: GR OH Iman Isanovic (Arizona State) NORTHWESTERN: GR OH Julia Sangiacomo (Santa Clara/Absolute) TEXAS A&M: TR MB Morgan Perkins (Oklahoma/Houston Skyline) NORTH TEXAS: GR OH Jayde Harris (Portland/Forza1) SOUTH ALABAMA: GR OH Abryanna Cannon (Northwestern/Michigan Elite) TEXAS WOMANS: L Luna Franca (Panola College/Trinity Valley CC) FRANCIS MARION: TR MB Kaytlin Smart (Northwestern JC/Cache Valley VBC) NORTH CAROLINA: TR OH Emani’ Foster (North Carolina Charlotte/NC Academy) NORTH FLORIDA: GR OH Morgan Wilson (Towson/Paramount) XAVIER (LA): TR L Ruxandra Flueras (Colby CC) BEACH 2024 UT EL PASO: Calliandra Otjen (RPM Sand) MERCER: Kristi Talocka (Sandstorm Beach) BOYS 2023 MERRIMACK: S Blake Taschner (Wave) AUGUSTANA COLLEGE (IL): L Gavan Moua (MN Select)

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Central Zone Preview And Predictions

January 26, 2023

Part of the vballrecruiter.com team is headed to the Central Zone Invitational on Saturday and Sunday in Indianapolis. Over the years this tournament has really grown in strength and once again boasts a loaded, loaded field, especially for the younger age groups. I’m personally super excited, because in my years of covering club volleyball I’ve never attended this event! That’s about to change and I’m eager to get to see these teams playing in the new year. Below are rundowns on the 15-18 Open divisions as we look at nationally-ranked teams in the field, top recruits and offer thoughts and predictions on those age groups. 15 OPEN Number of Teams: 32 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (14): 1. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold 3. Mintonette Sports m.51 7. Elevation 15 Tony 11. Legacy 15-1 Adidas 12. HPSTL 15 Royal 13. MKE Sting 15 Gold 16. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami 21. A5 15 Bob 29. AVC Cle 15 Red 34. Rev 15-1 Fuego 43. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue 44. Circle City 15 Purple 45. TVC 15 Black 49. Team Pineapple 15 Black *** 5-Star Athletes Kayla Nwabueze MB Legacy 15-1 Adidas Gabi DiVita OH Legacy 15-1 Adidas Bennett Raterman MB HPSTL 15 Royal   4-Star Athletes Margaret Czajka MB MKE Sting 15 Gold Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Meredith Martin L/DS Legacy 15-1 Adidas Lexi Shondell S Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Emma Cugino L/DS Mintonette Sports m.51 Audrey Dyas MB NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami Addison Haberthy S Circle City 15 Purple Kalyssa Taggart S/RS A5 15 Bob   Outlook/Prediction: There is no way this division can disappoint, can it? I don’t believe it can, not with 14 of the 32 teams ranked in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings. It includes top-ranked Boiler Jrs 15 Gold, one of three Top-10 clubs in the field, and one of seven Top-20 teams vying for the championship. Also in the field is No. 3 Mintonette Sports m.51 – the defending 14 Open gold medalist from Indy last summer – and No. 7 Elevation 15 Tony, which earned bronze last summer in 14 Open. Another team to follow is No. 11 Legacy 15-1 Adidas. Legacy captured the 15 Open title at the JVA Rock’N Rumble earlier this month, where it defeated No. 29 AVC Cle 15 Red in the finals. Given the youth and depth of the division, anything can and probably will happen. Certainly, I’m expecting the higher-ranked teams in the field to excel, but it’s likely someone else is going to rise up and surprise by making a deep run. In the end though, the pick is Boiler Jrs beating Legacy in the final. *** 16 OPEN Number of Teams: 32 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (13): 4. A5 16 Gabe 9. Circle City 16 Purple 10. 1st Alliance 16 Gold 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno 14. HPSTL 16 Royal 15. Legacy 16-1 Adidas 27. MKE Sting 16 Gold 33. Mintonette Sports m.61 39. Adidas KiVA 16 Red 41. AVC Cle 16 Red 42. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami 49. Elevation 16 Goller 50. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue *** 5-Star Athletes Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas Addison Tindall OH Team Pineapple 16 Black Annabelle Groomes S/RS AVC Cle 16 Red Abby Vander Wal OH 1st Alliance 16 Gold   4-Star Athletes Ava Tilden OH/RS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Logan Bell OH Circle City 16 Purple Julia Grace L/DS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Francesca Popescu L/DS A5 16 Gabe Asia Harvey OH A5 16 Gabe Riley McCloskey OH/RS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red Madison Quest OH MKE Sting 16 Gold Abigail Li S A5 16 Gabe Ava Harris S Team Pineapple 16 Black   Outlook/Prediction: With 13 of the 32 teams appearing in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings, the 16 Open Division figures to be very competitive as well. Part of that is the field features seven teams ranked in our Top 15, including No. 4 A5 16 Gabe, No. 9 Circle City 15 Purple and No. 10 1st Alliance 16 Gold, which starts off as the top seed. I really expect the depth of this division to show up over the two days, with some unexpected results and upsets taking place throughout. A lot of the teams are bunched together in the rankings and there isn’t much separating many of them. It should produce a lot of close, three-setters as this is going to be the most competitive tournament teams have played in so far as they begin gearing up for qualifying season. When the dust settles, the pick is 1st Alliance over Mich Elite 16 Mizuno for the gold. *** 17 OPEN Number of Teams: 27 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (8): 12. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami 16. Circle City 17 Purple 18. Tri-State Elite 17 Blue 33. HPSTL 17 Royal 37. Rev 17-1 Raptors 42. Adidas KiVA 17 Red 43. Mintonette Sports m.71 49. Boiler Jrs 17 Gold *** 5-Star Athletes Ava Utterback OH Circle City 17 Purple Allie Shondell S Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Lauren Harden OH Rev 17-1 Raptors   4-Star Athletes Riley Whitlock RS Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Mallory Bohl MB Legacy 17-1 Adidas Elizabeth Tabeling L/DS NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Julia Hunt MB NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Alexis Maesch RS Circle City 17 Purple   Outlook/Prediction: Though no clubs from our Top 10 is in attendance, there is still eight clubs from the Top 50. Our rankings follow the top three seeds, as No. 12 NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami, No. 16 Circle City 17 Purple and No. 18 Tri-State Elite 17 Blue open as the top three seeds respectively. While those teams figure to make it deep into Sunday’s action, there’s a great chance for someone else to come on and surprise. One could be HPSTL 17 Royal, which is looking to make the jump to Open this season. Rev 17-1 Raptors and Adidas KiVA 17 Red are two more who could get hot and pull off upsets. Two teams we don’t

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18s Qualifiers On Tap: Preview And Predictions

January 26, 2023

Which 18s teams are next in line to join the group of Open qualifiers so far? With three national qualifiers on the slate for this weekend, eight more bids are going to be handed out. That will take the number of awarded bids from eight to 16. Here are the clubs which have earned their Open bids to date: Sunshine 18 LA (Windy City) Wave 18 Juliana (Windy City) Mintonette Sports m.81 (Windy City) MAVS KC 17-1 (KC MLK) Premier Nebraska 18 Gold (KC MLK) Drive Nation 18 Red (Lone Star) A5 18 Marc (Lone Star) Skyline 18 Royal (Lone Star)   The Florida Fest, Northern Lights and Salt Lake City Showdown qualifiers will add to those numbers after those Friday-Sunday tournaments wrap up. Below, we take a look at each qualifier and what to expect. FLORIDA FEST Number of Teams: 26 Available Bids: 3 Qualified Teams (3): Drive Nation 18 Red; MAVS KC 18-1; Mintonette Sports m.81 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (12):  2. 1st Alliance 18 Gold 5. Drive Nation 18 Red 8. OT 18 John 9. Metro 18 Travel 11. MAVS KC 18-1 13. Madfrog 18 Green 29. Mich Elite 18 Mizuno 33. Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite 35. Mintonette Sports m.81 43. Paramount VBC 18s 46. Triangle 18 Black 47. Gainesville Jrs 18 Black *** 5 Star Athletes Reese Robins MB Drive Nation 18 Red (Louisville) Leah Ford MB Drive Nation 18 Red (USC) Eloise Brandewie MB Mintonette Sports m.81 (Ohio State) Blaire Bayless OH Madfrog 18 Green (Pitt)   4 Star Athletes Allison Cavanaugh RS OT 18 John (Georgia) Kamryn Lee-Caracci MB 1st Alliance 18 Gold (Georgetown) Safi Hampton OH Metro 18 Travel (North Carolina) Reagan Fox OH MAVS KC 18-1 (Rutgers) Milan Rex S/OH Metro 18 Travel (UCSB) Lauryn Bowie RS Mintonette Sports m.81 (Virginia) Zeta Washington MB OT 18 John (Cincinnati) Samantha Hoppes OH/RS Drive Nation 18 Red (Boston College) Betsy Goodenow RS MAVS KC 18-1 (Yale) Gigi Navarrete L/DS 1st Alliance 18 Gold (Northwestern) Jordyn Dailey RS/MB Triangle 18 Black (Kentucky) Brielle Kemavor MB Metro 18 Travel (BYU) Juliette Myrick S Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite (Army) Lily Nicholson S Drive Nation 18 Red (TCU) Kennedy Wagner OH 1st Alliance 18 Gold (Clemson) Ava Sarafa S Mich Elite 18 Mizuno (Kentucky) Callie Kieffer S Drive Nation 18 Red (Alabama) Sydney Breon OH Drive Nation 18 Red (UCLA) Halle Schroder OH Drive Nation 18 Red (Boston College)   Outlook/Prediction: This is the biggest qualifier of the weekend, both in total number of teams in 18 Open and the depth of the field as 12 of the 26 clubs appear in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings. However, this could also be the ‘easiest’ qualifier of the weekend to gain a bid simply because there are three teams already with bids and that could push trickle down to sixth place. 1st Alliance 18 Gold didn’t play in the Windy City Qualifier earlier this month and is making its first appearance at a qualifier. 1st Alliance, the defending 17 Open national champions from Indy, are the top seed and are big favorites to grab one of the three bids. Mintonette Sports m.81, MAVS KC 18-1 and Drive Nation 18 Red follow as the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds but all three already have their spots clinched for Columbus. The teams to pay close attention to in terms of earning bids this weekend is OT 18 John, Metro 18 Travel, Mich Elite 18 Mizuno, Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite and Gainesville Jrs 18 Black. The prediction is the three bids are going to that group of five teams, with Metro and Gainesville taking them home. As for the tournament winner, 1st Alliance defeats MAVS for first place. *** SALT LAKE CITY SHOWDOWN Number of Teams: 25 Available Bids: 3 Qualified Teams (1): Sunshine 18 LA vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (8):  7. AZ Rev 18 Premier 10. Sunshine 18 LA 14. Club V 18 Ren Reed 21. Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar 30. NPJ 18 Forefront 32. Arizona Storm 18 Thunder 38. Absolute 18 Black 44. ID Crush 18 Bower *** 5 Star Athletes Alex Acevedo OH NPJ 18 Forefront (Oregon) Olivia Babcock RS Sunshine 18 LA (Pitt) Torrey Stafford OH Sunshine 18 LA (Pitt) Jordyn Harvey OH Club V 18 Ren Reed (Stanford) Taylor Harvey MB Club V 18 Ren Reed Alex Bower S ID Crush 18 Bower   4 Star Athletes Tehani Ulufatu L/DS Absolute 18 Black (Baylor) Ava-Marie Lange OH/RS Sunshine 18 LA (Harvard) Makena Lim L/DS A4 Volley 18 Joaco (Georgia) Mele Corral-Blagojevich OH Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (Oklahoma) Kendal Murphy OH AZ Rev 18 Premier (Baylor)   Outlook/Prediction: The bad news for teams hoping to qualify is Sunshine 18 LA – the top seed – is the only club with an Open bid and thus trickle down can’t go past fourth place. It’s going to take a legit finish to qualify at this event. The good news though is the field isn’t quite as deep as it was last season and there’s a great opportunity for three teams to take advantage of that. So Cal clubs like Wave 18 Juliana (already qualified) and Coast 18 Ozhan (not qualified) did not make the trip and that should help in the case of Coast, though teams wouldn’t mind Wave being here considering Wave already has a bid. In terms of Open bids going out, I think there is one lock here with Club V 18 Ren Reed. Playing at its local qualifier, I expect Club V to play well and secure one of the three bids. Club V opens as the No. 2 overall seed. Other clubs expected to compete for bids include Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar, AZ Rev 18 Premier, NPJ 18 Forefront and Arizona Storm 18 Thunder. If you want a few underdogs to create havoc and root for them, OJVA 18 Gold, ID Crush 18 Bower, Hive 18 Gold and A4 Volley 18 Joaco are teams to watch in that sense. Any one of

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Three More Open Bids Awarded in 18 Open

January 24, 2023

The second weekend of the 18s qualifier season was a light one, with just the Lone Star Classic 18s on the schedule. The 20-team field produced three 18 Open bids, which went to tournament champion Drive Nation 18 Red, A5 18-Marc and Skyline 18 Royal. They joined Sunshine 18 LA, Wave 18 Juliana, Mintonette Sports m.81, MAVS KC 18-1 and Premier Nebraska 18 Gold as clubs holding 18 Open bids after two weeks of qualifying. With three 18s qualifiers set for this coming weekend the field will double in size by next week. With nationally-ranked No. 5 Drive Nation and No. 6 A5 gaining their bids this past weekend, half of our initial Top 10 from the 18s National Rankings have secured bids so far, including No. 3 Wave, No. 4 Premier Nebraska and No. 10 Sunshine. Skyline opened up at No. 25. Drive Nation dropped just one match over the three days, with No. 18 AJV 18 Adidas taking down the eventual champs in three during Day 2 pool play. It was part of three consecutive three-setters for Drive Nation, which had defeated SA Magic 18 Elite in three to end Day 1 and opened Day 2 with a three-set victory over No. 23 Hou Skyline 18 Royal. Drive Nation swept No. 13 Madfrog 18 Green to make the gold pools. Once there, Drive Nation beat No. 17 HJV 18 Elite in three before sweeping both Skyline and A5. A5 had an interesting path to a bid. The Georgia club came out hot, winning its first five matches. However, A5 lost three of its final four contests but still managed to get its bid. A5 was already guaranteed a spot in gold pools before losing to Skyline to end Day 2. Unranked Actyve 18 Black then delivered an upset in three to start Day 3. A5 recovered to sweep Hou Skyline. That created a three-way tie with A5, Actyve and Hou Skyline as all were 1-1. A5 was fortunate to gain the first-place slot based on the best set percentage. Actyve was second and Hou Skyline was third. Skyline opened its weekend with a setback against unranked AZ EVJ 18 Elite but was able to steady itself quickly. Skyline didn’t lose against until facing Drive Nation on Day 3. That loss pitted Skyline against upstart Actyve for the final bid. Skyline swept, 25-13, 25-11, to earn the last Open spot. Actyve was one of the stories of the weekend. The So Cal club didn’t figure to be in the mix for a bid on Day 3 and yet it was a victory short of pulling off the shocker. Actyve picked up key victories over No. 20 TAV 18 Black, No. 17 HJV and No. 6 A5. Actyve came close to winning its gold pool and clinching a bid outright, but fell to No. 23 Hou Skyline 15-13 in the third. You never know!

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Commitment & Signings Week of Jan 13-19

January 20, 2023

Congrats to all! Corrections? Questions? Additions? Email christi@vballrecruiter.com or DM on Social Media @vballphil   2023 UTAH: OH Skylar George (Houston Skyline) CONVERSE UNIVERSITY: OH Ariel Bryant (Palmetto Rage) FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON: S Victoria Carrico (Central Jersey VBA) BETHEL COLLEGE: Opp/MB Alayna Vines (Oklahoma Charge) OKLAHOMA WESLEYAN: DS Emma Strong (Rise VBC) OKLAHOMA WESLEYAN: Heather Holland PACIFIC LUTHERAN: S/DS Savanna Colliado (Pilipa’a Na Wahine) HILLSDALE COLLEGE: OH/Opp Greta Wise (FC Elite) UTAH STATE EASTERN: S Agata Makowska WHATCOM CC: DS Brooklynn Thesenvitz (Puget Sound VBA) BLUEFIELD STATE: MB Callesta Styles (Wisconsin Elite) BLUEFIELD STATE: L Karlee Rae Hill (River Valley Juniors) ITHACA COLLEGE: Opp/OH Naomi Clauhs (Club Integrity) ITHACA COLLEGE: OH Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu (Wildfire VBA) DAYTONA STATE: Opp Jaliyah Cohnes (OTVA Tampa) CASE WESTERN RESERVE: OH Katie Yanni (Pittsburgh Elite) UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN: OH Grace Moravchik (Minnesota North) TRUMAN STATE: Opp/OH Elise Gibson (HPSTL) STONEHILL COLLEGE: S Maddie Schamaun (Paramount VBC) STONEHILL COLLEGE: S Amaya Parnell (Mill City) KEYSTONE COLEGE: OH Holly Grady (Club Cactus) RIO HONDO COLLEGE: L Keary Godinez (Icon VBC) TRINITY VALLEY CC: MB Jade Rodriquez Silva TRINITY VALLEY CC: MB/Opp Genesis Rodriquez CASTLETON: MB Madison Sheehan (Storm VBC) CASTLETON: S/L Sophia Call (Olympic Premier) CASTLETON: MB Sierra Plummer (FCA Maryland) BRIAR CLIFF: S/OH Reese Strouth (Midwest Power) MINNESOTA MORRIS: MB Tori Scheler (Duke City) LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN: MB Austen Goodgion (TAV) NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY: MB Grace Morrow (Belusa United) ST. LAWRENCE: L Kori Meissner (Evergreen VBA) ST. LAWRENCE: MB Kalina Natcheva (Cape Cod Juniors) ST. LAWRENCE: Opp/MB Araiza Acum-Santos (Husky) MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: MB Emma Hickman (Houston Juniors) PRATT CC: S Victoria Coble NORTHWESTERN OHIO: MB Rhema Pernell MONTANA STATE BILLINGS: OH/DS Aubrey Allison (Big Sky VBC)   2024 WISCONSIN: L Maile Chan (Athena VBA) ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM: L Meg Jarrett (United Volleyball) WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE: S Milica Tomic (Milwaukee Sting) AKRON: OH Delaney Gash (Lexington United)   TRANSFERS CHAMINADE: GR L Hula Crisostomo (New Mexico Military Institute/UTEP/Ka Ulukoa) NORTHERN IOWA: TR OH Calia Clubb (Illinois State/Iowa Rockets) NORTHERN IOWA: TR L Erin Powers (Alabama Birmingham/Milwaukee Sting) NORTHERN IOWA: TR MB Kara Oxenknecht (New Hampshire/Sports Performance) HOUSTON: TR OH Katie Corelli (Ole Miss/Club V) NAVARRO COLLEGE: TR S Alessandra Pantoja (Dominican University/Attack VBC) FURMAN: TR S Eva Wheeler (Georgia State/ClevPRIME) WILLIAM CAREY: TR MB Grace Engels (Coastal Alabama CC/United Volleyball) EASTERN MENNONITE: TR Opp Sophia Denby (Christopher Newport/Coastal Area) WICHITA STATE: TR S Izzi Strand (UC San Diego/Vision) SAN FRANCISCO: TR Opp/OH Crystal Galaviz (Georgia State/Sports Performance) NORFOLK STATE: TR OH/DS Alexa Harris (Murray State/Albany/Rockwood Thunder) UT SAN ANTONIO: TR L Aliah Giroux (Southern Mississippi/Alamo) FLAGLER: TR MB Colby Stempkowski (St. Leo/Top Select) SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE: TR MB Hailey Smith (Nova Southeastern/Arete) LEWIS CLARK STATE: TR S Sofie Langer (Central Wyoming/Norfolk State/Aspire) EASTERN KENTUCKY: TR L Lucy Malone (Rutgers/Union) PENN STATE: GR OH Jess Mruzik (Michigan/Legacy) TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI: TR S Rylie Romero (Nevada/SA Juniors) TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI: TR L Kendall Mahaney (Lubbock Christian) TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI: TR OH Rylee Achzehn (Southern Utah/AZ Sky) EASTERN MICHIGAN: TR S Hannah Kivett (Florida Gulf Coast/Evansville United) USC: TR L Ellie Geoghegan (San Diego State/Sunshine) UCONN: TR S Ayva Cebollero (Oregon/Hive) TULANE: TR S Laura Fiabane (Salt Lake CC) TULANE: GR MB Orsula Staka (San Francisco) CINCINATTI: TR S Katelyn Lefler (Illinois State/Motion Volleyball Program) GEORGIA TECH: TR MB DeAndra Pierce (Texas/Austin Juniors) SAINT KATHERINE: TR OH/Opp Daniela Jimenez (Arizona Western College) CREIGHTON: GR MB Ellie Bichelmeyer (Rice/KC MAVS) INDIANA PENNSYLVANIA: TR OH Kat Warpinski (Loyola Chicago/M1) BETHUNE COOKMAN: TR MB Alyssa King (UTEP/Wildfire VBA) MONTCLAIR STATE: TR OH Rachel Curran (Eastern University/Garden State Elite)   BEACH   2024 UTAH: Jayda Van Alfen (Tamarack)   TRANSFERS WILLIAM CAREY: TR Mary Katherine Ashburn (Tusculum/501 Volley)   BOYS   2023 WILLIAM PENN: Luka DeJong (Ohana VBC) RUTGERS NEWARK: S Willy Wang (MVVC)  

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15s: Initial Top 50 National Rankings

January 19, 2023

From a rankings standpoint, the 15s divisions is likely to fluctuate a bunch as the season wears on. More so than the older age divisions. We already released those ones, starting with the 18s then moving to the 17s and 16s. Below, we give you our initial Top 50 National Rankings for the 15s division! vballrecruiter.com Top 50 National Rankings 1. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (IN) 2. Madfrog 15 Green (TX) 3. Mintonette Sports m.51 (OH) 4. Skyline 15 Royal (TX) 5. TAV 15 Black (TX) 6. Hou Skyline 15 Royal (TX) 7. Elevation 15 Tony (OH) 8. Wave 15 Brennan (CA) 9. SG Elite 15 Rosh (CA) 10. Austin Skyline 15 Royal (TX) *** 11. Legacy 15-1 Adidas (MI) 12. HPSTL 15 Royal (MO) 13. MKE Sting 15 Gold (WI) 14. Forza1 North 15 UA (CA) 15. Alamo 15 Premier (TX) 16. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami (KY) 17. SCVC 15 Roxy (CA) 18. Austin Performance 15 Adidas (TX) 19. HJV 15 Elite (TX) 20. Drive Nation 15 Red (TX) *** 21. A5 15 Bob (GA) 22. AZ Sky 15G (AZ) 23. Pohaku 15-1 (KS) 24. Premier Nebraska 15 Gold (NE) 25. Tstreet 15 Curtis (CA) 26. TAV Houston 15 Adidas (TX) 27. Dynasty 15 Black (KS) 28. GP 15 Rox (FL) 29. AVC Cle 15 Red (OH) 30. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder (AZ) *** 31. Northern Lights 15-1 (MN) 32. Far Out 15 Black (MI) 33. AZ Rev 15 Premier (AZ) 34. Rev 15-1 Fuego (IN) 35. High Tide 15 Elite (FL) 36. NC Academy 15 Diamond (NC) 37. WPVC 15 Armour Black (FL) 38. Top Select 15 Elite (FL) 39. Co Jrs 15 Sherri (CO) 40. Actyve 15 Black (CA) *** 41. Iowa Rockets 15R (IA) 42. Tribe 15 Elite (FL) 43. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue (OH) 44. Circle City 15 Purple (IN) 45. TVC 15 Black (OH) 46. MN Select 15-1 (MN) 47. Coast 15 Luis (CA) 48. Jupiter 15 Elite (FL) 49. Team Pineapple 15 Black (IN) 50. Triangle 15 Black (NC)

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First 18 Open Bids Awarded

January 19, 2023

The opening 18s national qualifiers of the season this past weekend not only produced the first bids for Columbus, but it also tested our national rankings for the first time. In Chicago at the Windy City Qualifier, 16 of the 30 teams in the field appeared in our initial Top 50 Rankings, including five teams from the Top 10. It was a smaller field in Kansas City for the MLK Tournament, with just 13 clubs vying for two bids as a result. Despite the size, eight of the teams were nationally ranked, including four from the Top 12. In the end, it was No. 11 MAVC KC 18-1 and No. 4 Premier Nebraska 18 Gold securing 18 Open bids after finishing 1-2 in a four-team pool that also featured No. 12 MN Select 18-1 and No. 40 KC Power 18-1. As for the three 18 Open bids in Chicago, they went to tournament champion and national No. 10 Sunshine 18 LA, No. 3 Wave 18 Juliana and No. 35 Mintonette Sports m.81. The field there was loaded, featuring national No. 1 Coast 18 Ozhan, No. 9 Metro 18 Travel, No. 14 Club V 18 Ren Reed and No. 16 Circle City 18 Purple. Coast’s hopes at earning a bid in its first try ended when it was eliminated with Day 2 losses to Club V and Sunshine. Day 3 came down to two, four-team pools between Sunshine, Mintonette, Adversity 18 Adidas and No. 36 FC Elite 18 Elite in one and Wave, No. 33 Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite, Circle City and Club V. The top-two teams from each pool would advance, with the pool winners earning bids and the second-place teams playing off for the final bid. Sunshine and Wave both went 3-0, with Sunshine beating Wave, 28-26, 25-22, for the championship. Mintonette wound up facing Circle City for third and swept, 25-20, 25-21, for the final bid. Here’s how the final standings looked compared to our rankings: 1. Sunshine (10) 2. Wave (3) 3. Mintonette (35) 4. Circle City (16) 5. Club V (14) 5. FC Elite (36) 7. Adversity (n/r) 7. Rockwood Thunder (33) 9. Coast (1) 10. AVC Cle (27) 11. Metro (9) 11. Mich Elite (29) 13. NPJ Forefront (30) 14. Paramount (43) 15. Legacy (26) 15. Union (49) 17. Top Select (n/r) 18. VC United (n/r) 19. Rev 18-1 (37) 19. MKE Sting (24) 22. Absolute (38) The final day in Kansas City came down to the four-team pool of MN Select, Premier Nebraska, KC Power and MAVS KC. MAVS came out strong, sweeping both Premier Nebraska and MN Select. With KC Power going 0-2, MAVS had first place secured before facing KC Power in the 3 v 4 match and with it one of the two Open bids. The real drama came in the pool’s last match, a clash between Premier Nebraska and MN Select. Both were 1-1, with the final bid going to the winner. Both needed three to get past KC Power, so it was anyone’s guess what would happen. It turned out Premier Nebraska swept, 27-25, 25-22, to take second and join MAVS in bidding. Here’s how the standings there stack up with our national rankings: 1. MAVS (11) 2. Premier Nebraska (4) 3. MN Select (12) 4. KC Power (40) 5. Topeka Impact (42) 6. Dynasty (31) 7. OT John (8)

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16s: Initial Top 50 National Rankings

January 18, 2023

Let’s get on with it. After releasing our initial 18s Top 50 National Rankings followed by the 17s division, it’s time to take our first look at the 16s Top 50. With the season getting underway and all the tournaments ahead, we know these rankings are going to change throughout the season. It’ll be fun to see how they measure up at the end of the year! vballrecruiter.com’s 16s Top 50 National Rankings 1. Arizona Storm 16 Thunder (AZ) 2. HJV 16 Elite (TX) 3. Drive Nation 16 Red (TX) 4. A5 16 Gabe (GA) 5. Hou Skyline 16 Royal (TX) 6. TAV 16 Black (TX) 7. Surfside 16 PV Legends (CA) 8. Alamo 16 Premier (TX) 9. Circle City 16 Purple (IN) 10. 1st Alliance 16 Gold (IL) *** 11. Austin Skyline 16 Royal (TX) 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno (MI) 13. OT 16 T JP (FL) 14. HPSTL 16 Royal (MO) 15. Legacy 16-1 Adidas (MI) 16. Coast 16 Luis (CA) 17. Dynasty 16 Black (KS) 18. AZ Sky 16G (AZ) 19. Wave 16 Kevin (CA) 20. Madfrog 16 Green (TX) *** 21. Absolute 16 Black (CA) 22. MAVS KC 16-1 (KS) 23. Northern Lights 16-1 (MN) 24. AJV 16 Adidas (TX) 25. ID Crush 16 Bower (ID) 26. Excel 16 National Red (TX) 27. MKE Sting 16 Gold (WI) 28. Nor Cal Black 16-1 (CA) 29. OT 16 O Roberto (FL) 30. Skyline 16 Royal (TX) *** 31. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar (CA) 32. OT 16 J Will (FL) 33. Mintonette Sports m.61 (OH) 34. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite (MO) 35. Munciana 16 Blaze (IN) 36. Top Select 16 Elite (FL) 37. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold (NE) 38. GP 16 Rox (FL) 39. Adidas KiVA 16 Red (KY) 40. Tribe 16 Elite (FL) *** 41. AVC Cle 16 Red (OH) 42. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami (KY) 43. Co Jrs 16 Shannon (CO) 44. FC Elite 16 Navy (WI) 45. Triangle 16 Black (NC) 46. Vision 16 Gold (CA) 47. Tstreet 16 Naseri (CA) 48. Club V 16 Ren Wayne (UT) 49. Elevation 16 Goller (OH) 50. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue (OH)

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Tour of Texas: First Stop Full Of Fun

January 18, 2023

Sunday in Austin proved to be a wild ride! A ton of great teams were squaring off right from the get go as the Invitational divisions started off the day with a crossover match for Gold.  The 17 Invitational final featured A5 17-Jing against HJV 17 Elite. HJV defeated TAV 17 Black in three the match before squaring off against Houston Skyline 17 Royal in the semis and winning another three-set match. A5 faced Skyline 17 Royal in the first round of the bracket, winning in three, followed by Madfrog 16 Green. A5 captured that match in straight sets. Two athletes that were the heart and soul of their teams in the finals were A5 libero Gabi Cornier and HJV libero Alice Volpe. Of course, we all love to see amazing defense but liberos who are also calm and can control the serve receive leads teams to massive success. A5 ended up winning in two, 25-20, 25-12.   The 16 Invitational division had HJV 16 Elite facing off against A5 16-Gabe. HJV’s path included a first round against Alamo 16 Premier which they won in three. Next was Drive Nation 16 Red, which HJV swept. A5 started off their bracket play against Houston Skyline 16 Royal, which A5 took in three before beating TAV 16 Black. In the final match, HJV ended up defeating A5 in straight sets. HJV was led by middle Jordan Taylor and outside Aaliyah Smith. A5 was led by setter Abigail Li and libero Francesca Popescu.  The 15 Invitational featured Madfrog 15 Green meeting Skyline 15 Royal in the finals. Madfrog’s path to the final included a first-round in-bracket against Austin Skyline 15 Royal, which Madfrog won in three. Madfrog then swept Alamo 15 Premier. Skyline’s road included a first round win in two against TAV 15 Black followed by a sweep over Houston Skyline 15 Royal. The final match was definitely entertaining with a Skyline victory in three. Madfrog was paced by libero Gabi Rodriquez and outside Kennedy Crayton. Skyline was led by the outside duo of Layla Austin and Skylar Jackson and middle Keoni Williams.  In 14 Invitational TAV 14 Black captured the championship over Madfrog 14 Green in straight sets. Madfrog’s path to the championship match included sweeping Houston Skyline 14 Royal in the first round and doing the same to Excel 14 Red in the next round. TAV’s path included a first round win in two against Austin Skyline 14 Royal followed by another sweep over Skyline 14 Royal. The final match ended up with TAV defeating Madfrog, 25-13, 25-13. TAV’s S/OHs Sophee Peterson and Brynn Stephens anchored a loaded squad while Madfrog was led by setter Charlotte Cavin and outside hitter Vanessa Glenn. While the Invitational divisions get a lot of the focus we wanted to give a shout out to the National division winners. In 18 National, Alamo 18 Premier ended up winning the title over Mexico team NLJuvenil Mayo in two. In 17 National, Houston area clubs Houston Stellar 17 Elite faced off against Katy United 17 Adidas, winning in three. Roots 161 Green defeated SA Xtreme 16U in two in the 16 National division. In 15 National, Houston Skyline 15 Black defeated Texas Legacy 15 Elite in two. And in the 14 National division, Premier 14 Black (Texas) defeated SA Elite 141 Navy in straight sets.  Before we share the weekend’s Show Stoppers we must put out that there were many more athletes that could have been featured in this loaded tournament but with tons of divisions I am sharing the athletes who stood out this weekend in their respective age divisions.  Weekend Show Stoppers  Outside/Opposite Hitters Hannah Benjamin, OH, A5 17 Jing Macaria Spears, OH/Opp, TAV 17 Black Suli Davis, OH, Drive Nation 16 Red Taylor Porter, OH/Opp, Houston Skyline 16 Royal Sydnee Peterson, OH/Opp, TAV 16 Black Lauryn Mack, OH, TAV 16 Black Aaliyah Smith, OH, HJV 16 Elite Megan Fitch, OH, Alamo 16 Premier Henley Anderson, OH, AP 15 Adidas Kennedy Crayton, OH, Madfrog 15 Green Skylar Jackson, OH, Skyline 15  Royal Layla Austin, OH, Skyline 15  Royal Ryan Sadler, OH, A5 15-Bob  Arianna Muoneke, OH, HJV 15 Elite Gwenyth Koss, OH, HJV 15 Elite Mya Cheatum, OH, Austin Juniors 15 Adidas Halle Thompson, OH, Houston Skyline 15 Royal Vanessa Glenn, OH, Madfrog 14 Green Kaylie Davis, OH, Skyline 14 Royal Kate Cuppett, OH, Skyline 14 Royal Lexi Martin, OH, Drive Nation 14 Red Jordan Morrow, OH Houston Skyline 14 Royal Lucky Fasavalu, OH, Austin Skyline 14 Royal Riley Koshkin, OH, Excel 14 Red Liberos Gabriela Cornier, L, A5 17 Jing Alice Volpe, L, HJV 17 Elite Gillian Pitts, L, TAV 17  Black Callie Krueger, L, Austin Skyline 16 Royal Gabriella Rodriquez, L, Madfrog 15 Green Francesca Popescu, L, A5 16-Gabe Middle Blockers Logan Wiley, A5 17 Jing Zoe Humphrey, MB, HJV 17 Elite Favor Anyanwu, MB, TAV 17 Black Ayden Ames, MB,  Drive Nation 17 Red Jaela Auguste, MB, Houston Skyline 17 Royal Jordan Taylor, MB, HJV 16 Elite Zoe Gillen-Malveaux, MB, Drive Nation 16 Red Keoni Williams, MB, Skyline 15  Royal Nyla Livings, MB, TAV 14 Black Setters Grace Agolli, S, A5 17-Jing Savannah Skopal, S, Austin Juniors 17 Adidas  Kirra Musgrove, S Houston Skyline 17 Royal Abigail Li, S, A5 16-Gabe Blair Thiebaud, S, Houston Skyline 15 Royal Sophee Peterson, S/OH, TAV 14 Black Brynn Stephens, S/OH, TAV 14 Black Charlotte Cavin, S, Madfrog 14 Green Nafanua Alofipo, S/Opp, Austin Skyline 14 Royal

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NLQ 18/17s: Day 1 Show Stoppers And More

January 27, 2023

Despite the gnarly wind chill outside, Day 1 of the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier 18s and 17s and January Thaw 14-16s tournament started off with straight fire Friday in Minneapolis. There were tons of great teams and athletes on several courts so let’s just jump right in with a few team and athlete spotlights. Iowa Rockets 18R: In 18 Open, this was the team which literally got touches on everything. St. Cloud State commit and outside Shelby Kimm was swinging well along with libero Meg Berkland owning the backline. Another athlete who was fun to watch was setter Allie Barlow, a Northern Michigan signee.  1st Alliance 17 Gold: This was a fun team to watch in 17 Open. You have 4-star Kansas commit Grace Nelson and 4-star Michigan commit Ellie White – the vballrecruiter.com 2022 HS Junior Player of the Year – swinging away on the outside. There is also 3-star recruit Ellery Rees owning the middle and 3-star recruit Calli Kenny dishing and swinging well. Ava Falduto – a 4-star Penn State recruit at L/DS – and Samantha Falk, a 3-star recruit, run the back court. And that’s just to name a few.  Day 1 Show Stoppers Jae Fitting DS Milwaukee Sting 17 Gold: A Loyola Chicago commit, Fitting is an incredible asset to her squad. Don’t get me wrong, Clemson commit Claire Luoma was amazing in the libero jersey but kudos to Fitting for being a lights-out DS on the court.  Calli Kenny S 1st Alliance 17 Gold: The 3-star S/RS Kenny was impressive on Day 1 in 17 Open. She was dishing and swinging with the best of them all the way around.  Bree Messenger OH VC United 171 Elite: Messenger is an undersized and an incredibly scrappy outside hitter. Messenger was fun to watch both offensively and defensively.  Kananihokuao Misipeka OH/Opp Pohaku 17-1: Misipeka, a 3-star athlete, is another undersized hitter who literally flies out there.  Malayah Long S VCNebraska 17 Elite: Long, a Marquette commit, was fun to watch run the show for her VCN squad. She is a fiery setter with great connections.  Mackenzie Dean OH Club Ignit Select 17 Blue: Dean, a Kansas commit, brings the heat on the outside.  Hannah Benjamin OH A5 Jing: Benjamin, a 5-star Kentucky commit, just keeps getting better and more explosive on the court.  Andi Spies S 608 Juniors 18-1: Spies, a Middle Tennessee 2024 commit, is playing on the new 608 Juniors 18s team. She is fiery and has great hands. Stella Swenson S MN Select 18-1: Swenson, a 5-star 2024 Minnesota commit, ran her court with precision. She has a great cast around her along with great decision making skills. Sidenotes With FC Elite 18 Elite 5-star libero Saige Damrow at Wisconsin this spring, make sure to watch 2026 athlete Peyton Carlson filling into the libero role for FC Elite this year. Skyler Pierce was missing from the court today but will be back on Sunday with her Dynasty 17 Black squad. In the meantime, outside Maya Houseworth filled in nicely.  Michigan signee and Nebraska Elite senior Morgan Burke was back dishing on her club team. On her high school squad Skutt Catholic she was the jack of many trades and was an offensive powerhouse at outside hitter.  Anyone else excited for Day 2!?

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Commitment & Signings Week of Jan 20-Jan 26

January 27, 2023

Congrats to all! Corrections? Questions? Additions? Email christi@vballrecruiter.com or DM on Social Media @vballphil 2023 CLARKE UNIVERSITY: OH/Opp Emma Shea-Wopinek (Top Flight) OLIVET NAZARENE: OH/Opp Kennedy Kiger (The Academy) OLIVET NAZARENE: S Molly Riggs (Vantage Volleyball) SALISBURY UNIVERSITY: S Julie Altieri (Triangle) NEBRASKA WESLEYAN: S Kasey Schuster NEBRASKA WESLEYAN: S Harley Ludacka (VC Nebraska) NEWBERRY COLLEGE: OH Ally Owens (Carolina One) GRACELAND: OH Reagan Altman (Rancho Valley) LA VERNE: S Malia Capistrano (Rancho Valley) COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT: Opp Brooke Andries (Southwest Minnesota) NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE: L Grace Ehlers (Southwest Minnesota) DORDT UNIVERSITY: OH Tarren Spartz (Southwest Minnesota) IOWA WESTERN CC: L Jessi Ritchhart (MAVS KC) AVILA UNIVERSITY: S Daphne Gardner (Pohaku) DREW UNIVERSITY: S Alyssa Rachwal (East Coast Power) MOUNT ST. VINCENT: L Carly Synder (CT Stars) STEVENSON: MB Carlee Darden (Metro) LINDENWOOD: Opp Anna Kraemer (Rockwood Thunder) SPOON RIVER COLLEGE: S Karson Park (Rapid Fire VBC) YAKIMA VALLEY COLLEGE: OH Tori Wolsborn (North Central Washington VBC) MAYVILLE STATE: S Noelle Erickson MAYVILLE STATE: MB Taylor Rath (Chaos) MAYVILLE STATE: Opp Jocelyn Aasen CULVER-STOCKTON COLLEGE: OH Norah Boggs (Top Notch) CULVER-STOCKTON COLLEGE: L Riley Passananti (Crossfire Elite South) CULVER-STOCKTON COLLEGE: MB Faith Hopgood LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE: OH Jade Von Deopp (Marin Juniors) AVERETT UNIVERSITY: OH Hope Parrish (Colonial VBC) AVERETT UNIVERSITY: MB Allie Wilkerson (Carolina Advantage) OLYMPIC COLLEGE: S/DS Holly Clarke (High Country) LYON COLLEGE: OH Abigail Adams (Memphis Metro) BRIDGEPORT UNIVERSITY: L Ella Young BRIDGEPORT UNIVERSITY: OH Grace Presswood WHEATON COLLEGE: S Paige Syswerda (Club Fusion) WALSH UNIVERSITY: S Hannah Roddis (Team Detroit) WALSH UNIVERSITY: OH/DS Kendra Courtock (Tandem VBC) WALSH UNIVERSITY: MB Kelli Conder (KIVA) KEYSTONE COLLEGE: OH Kaliyah Brown (Omni VBC) KEYSTONE COLLEGE: OH Kameryn Cortinas KEYSTONE COLLEGE: OH Taylor Hallam UTAH STATE EASTERN: OH Grace Thomsen EASTERN NAZARENE: S Annika Schmitt (Smash) DARTMOUTH: OH Valia Evangeliou MEDAILLE UNIVERSITY: L Lilly Henchen (Hot Shots) WINONA STATE: OH Kenna Kornely (Milwaukee Sting) MARIST: L Katherine Thompson (Milwaukee Sting) OUR LADY OF THE LAKE: OH Makaelyn Perez (Austin Performance) OUR LADY OF THE LAKE: Opp/OH Victoria Urbanczyk (Alamo) OUR LADY OF THE LAKE: S Valeria Ortiz (SA Magic) EASTERN FLORIDA STATE: S Alana Baerga (Oviedo VBA) MID-AMERICA CHRISTIAN: OH Sawyer Franz (Oklahoma Peak) SOUTHERN NAZARENE: L Brynlee Birney (Oklahoma Peak) CARDINAL STRITCH: L Nev Dukic (Wisconsin Juniors) OUACHITA: L Kylie Kisgen OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN: OH Claire Duley (Club Texas) SOUTHERN UTAH: Opp/OH Charlotte Wilson (Madfrog) COPPIN STATE: OH Kaliko Schilling (Spike and Serve) MCNEESE STATE: S/Opp Abby Montes (TAV Houston) CENTRAL ARKANSAS: L Jenna DeLaMater (Elite VBA) PRATT CC: OH/DS Emma Hendrickson SUNY ONEONTA: OH Emma Morretta (Downsville State) TEXAS TECH: S Claudia Rossi (Front Range) WENTWORTH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: Opp Emma Sanders (MVP Volleyball Club) BLINN COLLEGE: S Chloe Howard (Texas Tornados) ROBERT MORRIS: MB Lindsey Scammell (Jupiter Elite) SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CC: S Apetahi Kua (Pi’opi’o Bears VBC) CAL U PA: S Mandy Altsman (Pittsburgh Elite) AUGUSTANA COLLEGE (IL): OH Lanah Queckboerner (VC United) 2024 MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD: MB/OH Brielle Riess (Southwest Minnesota) NORTHEASTERN: OH Jane Nelson (East Coast Power) AKRON: OH/Opp Delaney Gash (Lexington United) TRANSFERS PENN STATE: GR S Mac Podraza (Ohio State/Mintonette Sports) PENN STATE: GR S Ally Van Eekeren (High Point/Creighton/Sports Performance) MINNESOTA: GR L Kylie Murr (Ohio State/Municana) OLIVET NAZARENE: TR MB/S Sydney Marse (Prairie State College) BELMONT: TR S Kam Olson (Central Michigan/VC United) KANSAS WESLEYAN: TR Opp/MB Blondie Penaflor (Hutchinson CC/Next Level) NEWBERRY COLLEGE: TR OH/Opp Emma Christensen (Utah State Eastern) WISCONSIN OSHKOSH: TR L Macie Wieman (Minnesota State Moorhead/Balance VBC) PALM BEACH ATLANTIC: GR L Payton Ahrenstorff (Northern Iowa/Kairos Elite) NEW MEXICO STATE: TR MB Aleka Darko (Ithaca/Woodlands Revolution) LONG BEACH STATE: TR OH Elise Agi (Oregon/Encore VBC) CAL: TR S Paige Morningstar (Louisville/Renaissance VBC) BOISE STATE: GR S Noelani Helm (Portland/Cats VBC) PITT: GR L Logan Mosley (Virginia Tech/Triangle) CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: GR L Kelsey Knudsen (BYU/Saint Mary’s College/Legacy CA) CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: TR Opp Leah Miller (Arizona State/Dig This!) WALSH UNIVERSITY: TR DS Kelly Lynch (CalUPenn/AVC Cleveland) BALL STATE: TR L Josie Bloom (Virginia Tech/Michigan State) UTAH STATE: TR MB Kelsey Watson (Loyola Chicago/HPSTL) UTAH STATE: GR OH Jill Schneggenburger (Colorado/A4) SOUTHEASTERN: GR MB Tatyana Lyons (Tampa/Winter Park) NOTRE DAME: TR L Sydney Palazzolo (High Point/Legacy) CENTRAL WASHINGTON: TR MB Morgan Halady (Portland State/Dakine) HAWAII: TR MB Jacyn Bamis (Clemson/CPA Xtreme) ILLINOIS STATE: TR S Sammi Bunch (Tusculum/Lions) WASHINGTON STATE: GR OH Iman Isanovic (Arizona State) NORTHWESTERN: GR OH Julia Sangiacomo (Santa Clara/Absolute) TEXAS A&M: TR MB Morgan Perkins (Oklahoma/Houston Skyline) NORTH TEXAS: GR OH Jayde Harris (Portland/Forza1) SOUTH ALABAMA: GR OH Abryanna Cannon (Northwestern/Michigan Elite) TEXAS WOMANS: L Luna Franca (Panola College/Trinity Valley CC) FRANCIS MARION: TR MB Kaytlin Smart (Northwestern JC/Cache Valley VBC) NORTH CAROLINA: TR OH Emani’ Foster (North Carolina Charlotte/NC Academy) NORTH FLORIDA: GR OH Morgan Wilson (Towson/Paramount) XAVIER (LA): TR L Ruxandra Flueras (Colby CC) BEACH 2024 UT EL PASO: Calliandra Otjen (RPM Sand) MERCER: Kristi Talocka (Sandstorm Beach) BOYS 2023 MERRIMACK: S Blake Taschner (Wave) AUGUSTANA COLLEGE (IL): L Gavan Moua (MN Select)

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Central Zone Preview And Predictions

January 26, 2023

Part of the vballrecruiter.com team is headed to the Central Zone Invitational on Saturday and Sunday in Indianapolis. Over the years this tournament has really grown in strength and once again boasts a loaded, loaded field, especially for the younger age groups. I’m personally super excited, because in my years of covering club volleyball I’ve never attended this event! That’s about to change and I’m eager to get to see these teams playing in the new year. Below are rundowns on the 15-18 Open divisions as we look at nationally-ranked teams in the field, top recruits and offer thoughts and predictions on those age groups. 15 OPEN Number of Teams: 32 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (14): 1. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold 3. Mintonette Sports m.51 7. Elevation 15 Tony 11. Legacy 15-1 Adidas 12. HPSTL 15 Royal 13. MKE Sting 15 Gold 16. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami 21. A5 15 Bob 29. AVC Cle 15 Red 34. Rev 15-1 Fuego 43. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue 44. Circle City 15 Purple 45. TVC 15 Black 49. Team Pineapple 15 Black *** 5-Star Athletes Kayla Nwabueze MB Legacy 15-1 Adidas Gabi DiVita OH Legacy 15-1 Adidas Bennett Raterman MB HPSTL 15 Royal   4-Star Athletes Margaret Czajka MB MKE Sting 15 Gold Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Meredith Martin L/DS Legacy 15-1 Adidas Lexi Shondell S Boiler Jrs 15 Gold Emma Cugino L/DS Mintonette Sports m.51 Audrey Dyas MB NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami Addison Haberthy S Circle City 15 Purple Kalyssa Taggart S/RS A5 15 Bob   Outlook/Prediction: There is no way this division can disappoint, can it? I don’t believe it can, not with 14 of the 32 teams ranked in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings. It includes top-ranked Boiler Jrs 15 Gold, one of three Top-10 clubs in the field, and one of seven Top-20 teams vying for the championship. Also in the field is No. 3 Mintonette Sports m.51 – the defending 14 Open gold medalist from Indy last summer – and No. 7 Elevation 15 Tony, which earned bronze last summer in 14 Open. Another team to follow is No. 11 Legacy 15-1 Adidas. Legacy captured the 15 Open title at the JVA Rock’N Rumble earlier this month, where it defeated No. 29 AVC Cle 15 Red in the finals. Given the youth and depth of the division, anything can and probably will happen. Certainly, I’m expecting the higher-ranked teams in the field to excel, but it’s likely someone else is going to rise up and surprise by making a deep run. In the end though, the pick is Boiler Jrs beating Legacy in the final. *** 16 OPEN Number of Teams: 32 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (13): 4. A5 16 Gabe 9. Circle City 16 Purple 10. 1st Alliance 16 Gold 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno 14. HPSTL 16 Royal 15. Legacy 16-1 Adidas 27. MKE Sting 16 Gold 33. Mintonette Sports m.61 39. Adidas KiVA 16 Red 41. AVC Cle 16 Red 42. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami 49. Elevation 16 Goller 50. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue *** 5-Star Athletes Campbell Flynn S Legacy 16-1 Adidas Addison Tindall OH Team Pineapple 16 Black Annabelle Groomes S/RS AVC Cle 16 Red Abby Vander Wal OH 1st Alliance 16 Gold   4-Star Athletes Ava Tilden OH/RS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Logan Bell OH Circle City 16 Purple Julia Grace L/DS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Francesca Popescu L/DS A5 16 Gabe Asia Harvey OH A5 16 Gabe Riley McCloskey OH/RS NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red Madison Quest OH MKE Sting 16 Gold Abigail Li S A5 16 Gabe Ava Harris S Team Pineapple 16 Black   Outlook/Prediction: With 13 of the 32 teams appearing in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings, the 16 Open Division figures to be very competitive as well. Part of that is the field features seven teams ranked in our Top 15, including No. 4 A5 16 Gabe, No. 9 Circle City 15 Purple and No. 10 1st Alliance 16 Gold, which starts off as the top seed. I really expect the depth of this division to show up over the two days, with some unexpected results and upsets taking place throughout. A lot of the teams are bunched together in the rankings and there isn’t much separating many of them. It should produce a lot of close, three-setters as this is going to be the most competitive tournament teams have played in so far as they begin gearing up for qualifying season. When the dust settles, the pick is 1st Alliance over Mich Elite 16 Mizuno for the gold. *** 17 OPEN Number of Teams: 27 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (8): 12. NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami 16. Circle City 17 Purple 18. Tri-State Elite 17 Blue 33. HPSTL 17 Royal 37. Rev 17-1 Raptors 42. Adidas KiVA 17 Red 43. Mintonette Sports m.71 49. Boiler Jrs 17 Gold *** 5-Star Athletes Ava Utterback OH Circle City 17 Purple Allie Shondell S Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Lauren Harden OH Rev 17-1 Raptors   4-Star Athletes Riley Whitlock RS Boiler Jrs 17 Gold Mallory Bohl MB Legacy 17-1 Adidas Elizabeth Tabeling L/DS NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Julia Hunt MB NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami Alexis Maesch RS Circle City 17 Purple   Outlook/Prediction: Though no clubs from our Top 10 is in attendance, there is still eight clubs from the Top 50. Our rankings follow the top three seeds, as No. 12 NKYVC 17-1 Tsunami, No. 16 Circle City 17 Purple and No. 18 Tri-State Elite 17 Blue open as the top three seeds respectively. While those teams figure to make it deep into Sunday’s action, there’s a great chance for someone else to come on and surprise. One could be HPSTL 17 Royal, which is looking to make the jump to Open this season. Rev 17-1 Raptors and Adidas KiVA 17 Red are two more who could get hot and pull off upsets. Two teams we don’t

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18s Qualifiers On Tap: Preview And Predictions

January 26, 2023

Which 18s teams are next in line to join the group of Open qualifiers so far? With three national qualifiers on the slate for this weekend, eight more bids are going to be handed out. That will take the number of awarded bids from eight to 16. Here are the clubs which have earned their Open bids to date: Sunshine 18 LA (Windy City) Wave 18 Juliana (Windy City) Mintonette Sports m.81 (Windy City) MAVS KC 17-1 (KC MLK) Premier Nebraska 18 Gold (KC MLK) Drive Nation 18 Red (Lone Star) A5 18 Marc (Lone Star) Skyline 18 Royal (Lone Star)   The Florida Fest, Northern Lights and Salt Lake City Showdown qualifiers will add to those numbers after those Friday-Sunday tournaments wrap up. Below, we take a look at each qualifier and what to expect. FLORIDA FEST Number of Teams: 26 Available Bids: 3 Qualified Teams (3): Drive Nation 18 Red; MAVS KC 18-1; Mintonette Sports m.81 vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (12):  2. 1st Alliance 18 Gold 5. Drive Nation 18 Red 8. OT 18 John 9. Metro 18 Travel 11. MAVS KC 18-1 13. Madfrog 18 Green 29. Mich Elite 18 Mizuno 33. Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite 35. Mintonette Sports m.81 43. Paramount VBC 18s 46. Triangle 18 Black 47. Gainesville Jrs 18 Black *** 5 Star Athletes Reese Robins MB Drive Nation 18 Red (Louisville) Leah Ford MB Drive Nation 18 Red (USC) Eloise Brandewie MB Mintonette Sports m.81 (Ohio State) Blaire Bayless OH Madfrog 18 Green (Pitt)   4 Star Athletes Allison Cavanaugh RS OT 18 John (Georgia) Kamryn Lee-Caracci MB 1st Alliance 18 Gold (Georgetown) Safi Hampton OH Metro 18 Travel (North Carolina) Reagan Fox OH MAVS KC 18-1 (Rutgers) Milan Rex S/OH Metro 18 Travel (UCSB) Lauryn Bowie RS Mintonette Sports m.81 (Virginia) Zeta Washington MB OT 18 John (Cincinnati) Samantha Hoppes OH/RS Drive Nation 18 Red (Boston College) Betsy Goodenow RS MAVS KC 18-1 (Yale) Gigi Navarrete L/DS 1st Alliance 18 Gold (Northwestern) Jordyn Dailey RS/MB Triangle 18 Black (Kentucky) Brielle Kemavor MB Metro 18 Travel (BYU) Juliette Myrick S Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite (Army) Lily Nicholson S Drive Nation 18 Red (TCU) Kennedy Wagner OH 1st Alliance 18 Gold (Clemson) Ava Sarafa S Mich Elite 18 Mizuno (Kentucky) Callie Kieffer S Drive Nation 18 Red (Alabama) Sydney Breon OH Drive Nation 18 Red (UCLA) Halle Schroder OH Drive Nation 18 Red (Boston College)   Outlook/Prediction: This is the biggest qualifier of the weekend, both in total number of teams in 18 Open and the depth of the field as 12 of the 26 clubs appear in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings. However, this could also be the ‘easiest’ qualifier of the weekend to gain a bid simply because there are three teams already with bids and that could push trickle down to sixth place. 1st Alliance 18 Gold didn’t play in the Windy City Qualifier earlier this month and is making its first appearance at a qualifier. 1st Alliance, the defending 17 Open national champions from Indy, are the top seed and are big favorites to grab one of the three bids. Mintonette Sports m.81, MAVS KC 18-1 and Drive Nation 18 Red follow as the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds but all three already have their spots clinched for Columbus. The teams to pay close attention to in terms of earning bids this weekend is OT 18 John, Metro 18 Travel, Mich Elite 18 Mizuno, Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite and Gainesville Jrs 18 Black. The prediction is the three bids are going to that group of five teams, with Metro and Gainesville taking them home. As for the tournament winner, 1st Alliance defeats MAVS for first place. *** SALT LAKE CITY SHOWDOWN Number of Teams: 25 Available Bids: 3 Qualified Teams (1): Sunshine 18 LA vballrecruiter.com Nationally-Ranked Clubs (8):  7. AZ Rev 18 Premier 10. Sunshine 18 LA 14. Club V 18 Ren Reed 21. Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar 30. NPJ 18 Forefront 32. Arizona Storm 18 Thunder 38. Absolute 18 Black 44. ID Crush 18 Bower *** 5 Star Athletes Alex Acevedo OH NPJ 18 Forefront (Oregon) Olivia Babcock RS Sunshine 18 LA (Pitt) Torrey Stafford OH Sunshine 18 LA (Pitt) Jordyn Harvey OH Club V 18 Ren Reed (Stanford) Taylor Harvey MB Club V 18 Ren Reed Alex Bower S ID Crush 18 Bower   4 Star Athletes Tehani Ulufatu L/DS Absolute 18 Black (Baylor) Ava-Marie Lange OH/RS Sunshine 18 LA (Harvard) Makena Lim L/DS A4 Volley 18 Joaco (Georgia) Mele Corral-Blagojevich OH Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (Oklahoma) Kendal Murphy OH AZ Rev 18 Premier (Baylor)   Outlook/Prediction: The bad news for teams hoping to qualify is Sunshine 18 LA – the top seed – is the only club with an Open bid and thus trickle down can’t go past fourth place. It’s going to take a legit finish to qualify at this event. The good news though is the field isn’t quite as deep as it was last season and there’s a great opportunity for three teams to take advantage of that. So Cal clubs like Wave 18 Juliana (already qualified) and Coast 18 Ozhan (not qualified) did not make the trip and that should help in the case of Coast, though teams wouldn’t mind Wave being here considering Wave already has a bid. In terms of Open bids going out, I think there is one lock here with Club V 18 Ren Reed. Playing at its local qualifier, I expect Club V to play well and secure one of the three bids. Club V opens as the No. 2 overall seed. Other clubs expected to compete for bids include Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar, AZ Rev 18 Premier, NPJ 18 Forefront and Arizona Storm 18 Thunder. If you want a few underdogs to create havoc and root for them, OJVA 18 Gold, ID Crush 18 Bower, Hive 18 Gold and A4 Volley 18 Joaco are teams to watch in that sense. Any one of

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Three More Open Bids Awarded in 18 Open

January 24, 2023

The second weekend of the 18s qualifier season was a light one, with just the Lone Star Classic 18s on the schedule. The 20-team field produced three 18 Open bids, which went to tournament champion Drive Nation 18 Red, A5 18-Marc and Skyline 18 Royal. They joined Sunshine 18 LA, Wave 18 Juliana, Mintonette Sports m.81, MAVS KC 18-1 and Premier Nebraska 18 Gold as clubs holding 18 Open bids after two weeks of qualifying. With three 18s qualifiers set for this coming weekend the field will double in size by next week. With nationally-ranked No. 5 Drive Nation and No. 6 A5 gaining their bids this past weekend, half of our initial Top 10 from the 18s National Rankings have secured bids so far, including No. 3 Wave, No. 4 Premier Nebraska and No. 10 Sunshine. Skyline opened up at No. 25. Drive Nation dropped just one match over the three days, with No. 18 AJV 18 Adidas taking down the eventual champs in three during Day 2 pool play. It was part of three consecutive three-setters for Drive Nation, which had defeated SA Magic 18 Elite in three to end Day 1 and opened Day 2 with a three-set victory over No. 23 Hou Skyline 18 Royal. Drive Nation swept No. 13 Madfrog 18 Green to make the gold pools. Once there, Drive Nation beat No. 17 HJV 18 Elite in three before sweeping both Skyline and A5. A5 had an interesting path to a bid. The Georgia club came out hot, winning its first five matches. However, A5 lost three of its final four contests but still managed to get its bid. A5 was already guaranteed a spot in gold pools before losing to Skyline to end Day 2. Unranked Actyve 18 Black then delivered an upset in three to start Day 3. A5 recovered to sweep Hou Skyline. That created a three-way tie with A5, Actyve and Hou Skyline as all were 1-1. A5 was fortunate to gain the first-place slot based on the best set percentage. Actyve was second and Hou Skyline was third. Skyline opened its weekend with a setback against unranked AZ EVJ 18 Elite but was able to steady itself quickly. Skyline didn’t lose against until facing Drive Nation on Day 3. That loss pitted Skyline against upstart Actyve for the final bid. Skyline swept, 25-13, 25-11, to earn the last Open spot. Actyve was one of the stories of the weekend. The So Cal club didn’t figure to be in the mix for a bid on Day 3 and yet it was a victory short of pulling off the shocker. Actyve picked up key victories over No. 20 TAV 18 Black, No. 17 HJV and No. 6 A5. Actyve came close to winning its gold pool and clinching a bid outright, but fell to No. 23 Hou Skyline 15-13 in the third. You never know!

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Commitment & Signings Week of Jan 13-19

January 20, 2023

Congrats to all! Corrections? Questions? Additions? Email christi@vballrecruiter.com or DM on Social Media @vballphil   2023 UTAH: OH Skylar George (Houston Skyline) CONVERSE UNIVERSITY: OH Ariel Bryant (Palmetto Rage) FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON: S Victoria Carrico (Central Jersey VBA) BETHEL COLLEGE: Opp/MB Alayna Vines (Oklahoma Charge) OKLAHOMA WESLEYAN: DS Emma Strong (Rise VBC) OKLAHOMA WESLEYAN: Heather Holland PACIFIC LUTHERAN: S/DS Savanna Colliado (Pilipa’a Na Wahine) HILLSDALE COLLEGE: OH/Opp Greta Wise (FC Elite) UTAH STATE EASTERN: S Agata Makowska WHATCOM CC: DS Brooklynn Thesenvitz (Puget Sound VBA) BLUEFIELD STATE: MB Callesta Styles (Wisconsin Elite) BLUEFIELD STATE: L Karlee Rae Hill (River Valley Juniors) ITHACA COLLEGE: Opp/OH Naomi Clauhs (Club Integrity) ITHACA COLLEGE: OH Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu (Wildfire VBA) DAYTONA STATE: Opp Jaliyah Cohnes (OTVA Tampa) CASE WESTERN RESERVE: OH Katie Yanni (Pittsburgh Elite) UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN: OH Grace Moravchik (Minnesota North) TRUMAN STATE: Opp/OH Elise Gibson (HPSTL) STONEHILL COLLEGE: S Maddie Schamaun (Paramount VBC) STONEHILL COLLEGE: S Amaya Parnell (Mill City) KEYSTONE COLEGE: OH Holly Grady (Club Cactus) RIO HONDO COLLEGE: L Keary Godinez (Icon VBC) TRINITY VALLEY CC: MB Jade Rodriquez Silva TRINITY VALLEY CC: MB/Opp Genesis Rodriquez CASTLETON: MB Madison Sheehan (Storm VBC) CASTLETON: S/L Sophia Call (Olympic Premier) CASTLETON: MB Sierra Plummer (FCA Maryland) BRIAR CLIFF: S/OH Reese Strouth (Midwest Power) MINNESOTA MORRIS: MB Tori Scheler (Duke City) LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN: MB Austen Goodgion (TAV) NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY: MB Grace Morrow (Belusa United) ST. LAWRENCE: L Kori Meissner (Evergreen VBA) ST. LAWRENCE: MB Kalina Natcheva (Cape Cod Juniors) ST. LAWRENCE: Opp/MB Araiza Acum-Santos (Husky) MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: MB Emma Hickman (Houston Juniors) PRATT CC: S Victoria Coble NORTHWESTERN OHIO: MB Rhema Pernell MONTANA STATE BILLINGS: OH/DS Aubrey Allison (Big Sky VBC)   2024 WISCONSIN: L Maile Chan (Athena VBA) ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM: L Meg Jarrett (United Volleyball) WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE: S Milica Tomic (Milwaukee Sting) AKRON: OH Delaney Gash (Lexington United)   TRANSFERS CHAMINADE: GR L Hula Crisostomo (New Mexico Military Institute/UTEP/Ka Ulukoa) NORTHERN IOWA: TR OH Calia Clubb (Illinois State/Iowa Rockets) NORTHERN IOWA: TR L Erin Powers (Alabama Birmingham/Milwaukee Sting) NORTHERN IOWA: TR MB Kara Oxenknecht (New Hampshire/Sports Performance) HOUSTON: TR OH Katie Corelli (Ole Miss/Club V) NAVARRO COLLEGE: TR S Alessandra Pantoja (Dominican University/Attack VBC) FURMAN: TR S Eva Wheeler (Georgia State/ClevPRIME) WILLIAM CAREY: TR MB Grace Engels (Coastal Alabama CC/United Volleyball) EASTERN MENNONITE: TR Opp Sophia Denby (Christopher Newport/Coastal Area) WICHITA STATE: TR S Izzi Strand (UC San Diego/Vision) SAN FRANCISCO: TR Opp/OH Crystal Galaviz (Georgia State/Sports Performance) NORFOLK STATE: TR OH/DS Alexa Harris (Murray State/Albany/Rockwood Thunder) UT SAN ANTONIO: TR L Aliah Giroux (Southern Mississippi/Alamo) FLAGLER: TR MB Colby Stempkowski (St. Leo/Top Select) SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE: TR MB Hailey Smith (Nova Southeastern/Arete) LEWIS CLARK STATE: TR S Sofie Langer (Central Wyoming/Norfolk State/Aspire) EASTERN KENTUCKY: TR L Lucy Malone (Rutgers/Union) PENN STATE: GR OH Jess Mruzik (Michigan/Legacy) TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI: TR S Rylie Romero (Nevada/SA Juniors) TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI: TR L Kendall Mahaney (Lubbock Christian) TEXAS A&M CORPUS CHRISTI: TR OH Rylee Achzehn (Southern Utah/AZ Sky) EASTERN MICHIGAN: TR S Hannah Kivett (Florida Gulf Coast/Evansville United) USC: TR L Ellie Geoghegan (San Diego State/Sunshine) UCONN: TR S Ayva Cebollero (Oregon/Hive) TULANE: TR S Laura Fiabane (Salt Lake CC) TULANE: GR MB Orsula Staka (San Francisco) CINCINATTI: TR S Katelyn Lefler (Illinois State/Motion Volleyball Program) GEORGIA TECH: TR MB DeAndra Pierce (Texas/Austin Juniors) SAINT KATHERINE: TR OH/Opp Daniela Jimenez (Arizona Western College) CREIGHTON: GR MB Ellie Bichelmeyer (Rice/KC MAVS) INDIANA PENNSYLVANIA: TR OH Kat Warpinski (Loyola Chicago/M1) BETHUNE COOKMAN: TR MB Alyssa King (UTEP/Wildfire VBA) MONTCLAIR STATE: TR OH Rachel Curran (Eastern University/Garden State Elite)   BEACH   2024 UTAH: Jayda Van Alfen (Tamarack)   TRANSFERS WILLIAM CAREY: TR Mary Katherine Ashburn (Tusculum/501 Volley)   BOYS   2023 WILLIAM PENN: Luka DeJong (Ohana VBC) RUTGERS NEWARK: S Willy Wang (MVVC)  

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15s: Initial Top 50 National Rankings

January 19, 2023

From a rankings standpoint, the 15s divisions is likely to fluctuate a bunch as the season wears on. More so than the older age divisions. We already released those ones, starting with the 18s then moving to the 17s and 16s. Below, we give you our initial Top 50 National Rankings for the 15s division! vballrecruiter.com Top 50 National Rankings 1. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (IN) 2. Madfrog 15 Green (TX) 3. Mintonette Sports m.51 (OH) 4. Skyline 15 Royal (TX) 5. TAV 15 Black (TX) 6. Hou Skyline 15 Royal (TX) 7. Elevation 15 Tony (OH) 8. Wave 15 Brennan (CA) 9. SG Elite 15 Rosh (CA) 10. Austin Skyline 15 Royal (TX) *** 11. Legacy 15-1 Adidas (MI) 12. HPSTL 15 Royal (MO) 13. MKE Sting 15 Gold (WI) 14. Forza1 North 15 UA (CA) 15. Alamo 15 Premier (TX) 16. NKYVC 15-1 Tsunami (KY) 17. SCVC 15 Roxy (CA) 18. Austin Performance 15 Adidas (TX) 19. HJV 15 Elite (TX) 20. Drive Nation 15 Red (TX) *** 21. A5 15 Bob (GA) 22. AZ Sky 15G (AZ) 23. Pohaku 15-1 (KS) 24. Premier Nebraska 15 Gold (NE) 25. Tstreet 15 Curtis (CA) 26. TAV Houston 15 Adidas (TX) 27. Dynasty 15 Black (KS) 28. GP 15 Rox (FL) 29. AVC Cle 15 Red (OH) 30. Arizona Storm 15 Thunder (AZ) *** 31. Northern Lights 15-1 (MN) 32. Far Out 15 Black (MI) 33. AZ Rev 15 Premier (AZ) 34. Rev 15-1 Fuego (IN) 35. High Tide 15 Elite (FL) 36. NC Academy 15 Diamond (NC) 37. WPVC 15 Armour Black (FL) 38. Top Select 15 Elite (FL) 39. Co Jrs 15 Sherri (CO) 40. Actyve 15 Black (CA) *** 41. Iowa Rockets 15R (IA) 42. Tribe 15 Elite (FL) 43. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue (OH) 44. Circle City 15 Purple (IN) 45. TVC 15 Black (OH) 46. MN Select 15-1 (MN) 47. Coast 15 Luis (CA) 48. Jupiter 15 Elite (FL) 49. Team Pineapple 15 Black (IN) 50. Triangle 15 Black (NC)

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First 18 Open Bids Awarded

January 19, 2023

The opening 18s national qualifiers of the season this past weekend not only produced the first bids for Columbus, but it also tested our national rankings for the first time. In Chicago at the Windy City Qualifier, 16 of the 30 teams in the field appeared in our initial Top 50 Rankings, including five teams from the Top 10. It was a smaller field in Kansas City for the MLK Tournament, with just 13 clubs vying for two bids as a result. Despite the size, eight of the teams were nationally ranked, including four from the Top 12. In the end, it was No. 11 MAVC KC 18-1 and No. 4 Premier Nebraska 18 Gold securing 18 Open bids after finishing 1-2 in a four-team pool that also featured No. 12 MN Select 18-1 and No. 40 KC Power 18-1. As for the three 18 Open bids in Chicago, they went to tournament champion and national No. 10 Sunshine 18 LA, No. 3 Wave 18 Juliana and No. 35 Mintonette Sports m.81. The field there was loaded, featuring national No. 1 Coast 18 Ozhan, No. 9 Metro 18 Travel, No. 14 Club V 18 Ren Reed and No. 16 Circle City 18 Purple. Coast’s hopes at earning a bid in its first try ended when it was eliminated with Day 2 losses to Club V and Sunshine. Day 3 came down to two, four-team pools between Sunshine, Mintonette, Adversity 18 Adidas and No. 36 FC Elite 18 Elite in one and Wave, No. 33 Rockwood Thunder 18 Elite, Circle City and Club V. The top-two teams from each pool would advance, with the pool winners earning bids and the second-place teams playing off for the final bid. Sunshine and Wave both went 3-0, with Sunshine beating Wave, 28-26, 25-22, for the championship. Mintonette wound up facing Circle City for third and swept, 25-20, 25-21, for the final bid. Here’s how the final standings looked compared to our rankings: 1. Sunshine (10) 2. Wave (3) 3. Mintonette (35) 4. Circle City (16) 5. Club V (14) 5. FC Elite (36) 7. Adversity (n/r) 7. Rockwood Thunder (33) 9. Coast (1) 10. AVC Cle (27) 11. Metro (9) 11. Mich Elite (29) 13. NPJ Forefront (30) 14. Paramount (43) 15. Legacy (26) 15. Union (49) 17. Top Select (n/r) 18. VC United (n/r) 19. Rev 18-1 (37) 19. MKE Sting (24) 22. Absolute (38) The final day in Kansas City came down to the four-team pool of MN Select, Premier Nebraska, KC Power and MAVS KC. MAVS came out strong, sweeping both Premier Nebraska and MN Select. With KC Power going 0-2, MAVS had first place secured before facing KC Power in the 3 v 4 match and with it one of the two Open bids. The real drama came in the pool’s last match, a clash between Premier Nebraska and MN Select. Both were 1-1, with the final bid going to the winner. Both needed three to get past KC Power, so it was anyone’s guess what would happen. It turned out Premier Nebraska swept, 27-25, 25-22, to take second and join MAVS in bidding. Here’s how the standings there stack up with our national rankings: 1. MAVS (11) 2. Premier Nebraska (4) 3. MN Select (12) 4. KC Power (40) 5. Topeka Impact (42) 6. Dynasty (31) 7. OT John (8)

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16s: Initial Top 50 National Rankings

January 18, 2023

Let’s get on with it. After releasing our initial 18s Top 50 National Rankings followed by the 17s division, it’s time to take our first look at the 16s Top 50. With the season getting underway and all the tournaments ahead, we know these rankings are going to change throughout the season. It’ll be fun to see how they measure up at the end of the year! vballrecruiter.com’s 16s Top 50 National Rankings 1. Arizona Storm 16 Thunder (AZ) 2. HJV 16 Elite (TX) 3. Drive Nation 16 Red (TX) 4. A5 16 Gabe (GA) 5. Hou Skyline 16 Royal (TX) 6. TAV 16 Black (TX) 7. Surfside 16 PV Legends (CA) 8. Alamo 16 Premier (TX) 9. Circle City 16 Purple (IN) 10. 1st Alliance 16 Gold (IL) *** 11. Austin Skyline 16 Royal (TX) 12. Mich Elite 16 Mizuno (MI) 13. OT 16 T JP (FL) 14. HPSTL 16 Royal (MO) 15. Legacy 16-1 Adidas (MI) 16. Coast 16 Luis (CA) 17. Dynasty 16 Black (KS) 18. AZ Sky 16G (AZ) 19. Wave 16 Kevin (CA) 20. Madfrog 16 Green (TX) *** 21. Absolute 16 Black (CA) 22. MAVS KC 16-1 (KS) 23. Northern Lights 16-1 (MN) 24. AJV 16 Adidas (TX) 25. ID Crush 16 Bower (ID) 26. Excel 16 National Red (TX) 27. MKE Sting 16 Gold (WI) 28. Nor Cal Black 16-1 (CA) 29. OT 16 O Roberto (FL) 30. Skyline 16 Royal (TX) *** 31. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar (CA) 32. OT 16 J Will (FL) 33. Mintonette Sports m.61 (OH) 34. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite (MO) 35. Munciana 16 Blaze (IN) 36. Top Select 16 Elite (FL) 37. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold (NE) 38. GP 16 Rox (FL) 39. Adidas KiVA 16 Red (KY) 40. Tribe 16 Elite (FL) *** 41. AVC Cle 16 Red (OH) 42. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami (KY) 43. Co Jrs 16 Shannon (CO) 44. FC Elite 16 Navy (WI) 45. Triangle 16 Black (NC) 46. Vision 16 Gold (CA) 47. Tstreet 16 Naseri (CA) 48. Club V 16 Ren Wayne (UT) 49. Elevation 16 Goller (OH) 50. Tri-State Elite 16 Blue (OH)

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Tour of Texas: First Stop Full Of Fun

January 18, 2023

Sunday in Austin proved to be a wild ride! A ton of great teams were squaring off right from the get go as the Invitational divisions started off the day with a crossover match for Gold.  The 17 Invitational final featured A5 17-Jing against HJV 17 Elite. HJV defeated TAV 17 Black in three the match before squaring off against Houston Skyline 17 Royal in the semis and winning another three-set match. A5 faced Skyline 17 Royal in the first round of the bracket, winning in three, followed by Madfrog 16 Green. A5 captured that match in straight sets. Two athletes that were the heart and soul of their teams in the finals were A5 libero Gabi Cornier and HJV libero Alice Volpe. Of course, we all love to see amazing defense but liberos who are also calm and can control the serve receive leads teams to massive success. A5 ended up winning in two, 25-20, 25-12.   The 16 Invitational division had HJV 16 Elite facing off against A5 16-Gabe. HJV’s path included a first round against Alamo 16 Premier which they won in three. Next was Drive Nation 16 Red, which HJV swept. A5 started off their bracket play against Houston Skyline 16 Royal, which A5 took in three before beating TAV 16 Black. In the final match, HJV ended up defeating A5 in straight sets. HJV was led by middle Jordan Taylor and outside Aaliyah Smith. A5 was led by setter Abigail Li and libero Francesca Popescu.  The 15 Invitational featured Madfrog 15 Green meeting Skyline 15 Royal in the finals. Madfrog’s path to the final included a first-round in-bracket against Austin Skyline 15 Royal, which Madfrog won in three. Madfrog then swept Alamo 15 Premier. Skyline’s road included a first round win in two against TAV 15 Black followed by a sweep over Houston Skyline 15 Royal. The final match was definitely entertaining with a Skyline victory in three. Madfrog was paced by libero Gabi Rodriquez and outside Kennedy Crayton. Skyline was led by the outside duo of Layla Austin and Skylar Jackson and middle Keoni Williams.  In 14 Invitational TAV 14 Black captured the championship over Madfrog 14 Green in straight sets. Madfrog’s path to the championship match included sweeping Houston Skyline 14 Royal in the first round and doing the same to Excel 14 Red in the next round. TAV’s path included a first round win in two against Austin Skyline 14 Royal followed by another sweep over Skyline 14 Royal. The final match ended up with TAV defeating Madfrog, 25-13, 25-13. TAV’s S/OHs Sophee Peterson and Brynn Stephens anchored a loaded squad while Madfrog was led by setter Charlotte Cavin and outside hitter Vanessa Glenn. While the Invitational divisions get a lot of the focus we wanted to give a shout out to the National division winners. In 18 National, Alamo 18 Premier ended up winning the title over Mexico team NLJuvenil Mayo in two. In 17 National, Houston area clubs Houston Stellar 17 Elite faced off against Katy United 17 Adidas, winning in three. Roots 161 Green defeated SA Xtreme 16U in two in the 16 National division. In 15 National, Houston Skyline 15 Black defeated Texas Legacy 15 Elite in two. And in the 14 National division, Premier 14 Black (Texas) defeated SA Elite 141 Navy in straight sets.  Before we share the weekend’s Show Stoppers we must put out that there were many more athletes that could have been featured in this loaded tournament but with tons of divisions I am sharing the athletes who stood out this weekend in their respective age divisions.  Weekend Show Stoppers  Outside/Opposite Hitters Hannah Benjamin, OH, A5 17 Jing Macaria Spears, OH/Opp, TAV 17 Black Suli Davis, OH, Drive Nation 16 Red Taylor Porter, OH/Opp, Houston Skyline 16 Royal Sydnee Peterson, OH/Opp, TAV 16 Black Lauryn Mack, OH, TAV 16 Black Aaliyah Smith, OH, HJV 16 Elite Megan Fitch, OH, Alamo 16 Premier Henley Anderson, OH, AP 15 Adidas Kennedy Crayton, OH, Madfrog 15 Green Skylar Jackson, OH, Skyline 15  Royal Layla Austin, OH, Skyline 15  Royal Ryan Sadler, OH, A5 15-Bob  Arianna Muoneke, OH, HJV 15 Elite Gwenyth Koss, OH, HJV 15 Elite Mya Cheatum, OH, Austin Juniors 15 Adidas Halle Thompson, OH, Houston Skyline 15 Royal Vanessa Glenn, OH, Madfrog 14 Green Kaylie Davis, OH, Skyline 14 Royal Kate Cuppett, OH, Skyline 14 Royal Lexi Martin, OH, Drive Nation 14 Red Jordan Morrow, OH Houston Skyline 14 Royal Lucky Fasavalu, OH, Austin Skyline 14 Royal Riley Koshkin, OH, Excel 14 Red Liberos Gabriela Cornier, L, A5 17 Jing Alice Volpe, L, HJV 17 Elite Gillian Pitts, L, TAV 17  Black Callie Krueger, L, Austin Skyline 16 Royal Gabriella Rodriquez, L, Madfrog 15 Green Francesca Popescu, L, A5 16-Gabe Middle Blockers Logan Wiley, A5 17 Jing Zoe Humphrey, MB, HJV 17 Elite Favor Anyanwu, MB, TAV 17 Black Ayden Ames, MB,  Drive Nation 17 Red Jaela Auguste, MB, Houston Skyline 17 Royal Jordan Taylor, MB, HJV 16 Elite Zoe Gillen-Malveaux, MB, Drive Nation 16 Red Keoni Williams, MB, Skyline 15  Royal Nyla Livings, MB, TAV 14 Black Setters Grace Agolli, S, A5 17-Jing Savannah Skopal, S, Austin Juniors 17 Adidas  Kirra Musgrove, S Houston Skyline 17 Royal Abigail Li, S, A5 16-Gabe Blair Thiebaud, S, Houston Skyline 15 Royal Sophee Peterson, S/OH, TAV 14 Black Brynn Stephens, S/OH, TAV 14 Black Charlotte Cavin, S, Madfrog 14 Green Nafanua Alofipo, S/Opp, Austin Skyline 14 Royal

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