At-large magic? A year ago in Indianapolis it was Alamo 15 Premier capturing the 15 Open gold medal after receiving an at-large bid. We still have three days to go here in Chicago at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships but could we be in for a repeat performance of sorts?
TAV 14 Black, Arizona Storm 14 Thunder and Tstreet 14 Carson have been the class of the division all season and received the top three seeds. They are also heavy favorites in our preview and predictions we put out, where we said it would take a monumental upset to keep one of the three from hoisting the championship trophy.
However, one of the big three lost on Day 1. Can you guess which team? It was Tstreet falling at the hands of Tejas 14 Black, which received one of the seven at-larges into Open. Tejas, the last seed in Pool 2, also took care of Top Select 14 Elite, which earned a bronze medal in 14 Open at AAUs. Tejas lost its last outing to Lions 14-1 and sits at 2-1. Of course, Tstreet’s loss doesn’t mean Tstreet is out of contention. Hardly. The top-four teams in each pool advance, so it would take the most unexpected of results for Tstreet not to break the first round of pool.
Skyline 14 Royal, Drive Nation 14 Red, Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar, AP 14 Adidas and A5 14 Helen – the silver medalist in 14 Open at AAU – joined TAV and Arizona Storm as squads to post a 3-0 mark on the opening day.
DAY 1 SHOW STOPPERS
Camille Presley MB AP 14 Adidas: Presley is a presence in the middle with size and ability to impact the rally on both sides of the ball. She puts up a strong block. She also is a legit threat on offense with the way she can score and put balls away.
Allie Hudgins OH AP 14 Adidas: Hudgins is such a force and weapon for AP. Watch the heck out when she goes on the attack. She’s long, has a booming arm and can drill the ball as hard as anyone in the age group.
Ryah Brock OH Forza1 North 14 One: Brock jumps and moves well with a really nice arm. She’s a smart hitter who knows how to attack blocks and takes a lot of swings.
Lyric Judson MB Premier Nebraska 14 Gold: Judson was getting it done in her role. She’s a quick middle and moves side-to-side well and she was putting balls away when set.
Emily Redwine L/DS Tejas 14 Black: Redwine is a scrappy libero who gives all-out effort in keeping plays alive. She was covering well and bringing tons of energy.
Ava Burgess OH Club V 14 Ren Silver: Burgess is one of the rising stars in the division. She’s a taller outside with a fluid arm and can really connect at times.
Simrin Adams RS Mizuno Long Beach 14 Rockstar: Adams was crushing it from the right side. She was a difficult cover for defenses as she was scoring at a high rate. She’s a wirey attacker who swings well.
Nailah Randle OH SA Jrs 14 Adidas: Randle is yet another future star. She’s an athletic outside with plenty of length and the ability to get in the air and deliver loud winners.
Naomi Livings OH TAV 14 Black: Talking about loud winners, Livings had a few of the loudest. She has a great arm and can blast balls corner to corner.
Kendall Omoruyi MB Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: Omoruyi – who is our featured Player of the Week – is a wrecking ball in the middle. She’s very tall and takes up a lot of space blocking with her long arms. She’s also tough to slow on offense with her ability to hit so high and go straight over the block.
Reagan Wallraff MB Arizona Storm 14 Thunder: Wallraff keeps the middle attack going when she checks in. She’s a quick middle with a whippy arm and can rip balls down.
