Regardless of how the 15 Open division plays out at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships, one thing we already know for sure. The division is deep and overflowing with next-level athletes who were given center stage to showcase their skills on the second day of competition. vballrecruiter.com was on hand watching it go down and it led us to creating our Day 2 All Red Hat Team featuring our favorite players of the day.
The goal is to highlight a daily team consisting of two players from each position – outside, middle, right side, setter and libero who – were our absolute favorite players of the day. Favorite doesn’t mean only a 5-star recruit or a familiar name. These are players who stood out to us for a variety of reasons, from amazing play to great energy or attitude or making key hustle plays. These are daily all-stars who really stood out the most to us for one reason or another.
DAY 2 ALL RED HAT TEAM
Finley Krystkowiak OH Wave 15 Brennan: Wave as a whole is undersized compared to other squads. Krystkowiak, a 6-3 5-star recruit, brings real size to the lineup and is the go-to hitter who Wave relies on to score in the clutch. She hits at a high contact point and can create sharp angles cross court. It makes her a tough cover because teams have to defend more court than usual.
Paisley Pavliska OH Alamo 15 Premier: Pavliska is a competitive outside who does just about everything at an above-average level. She’s a bit undersized but she’s a smart attacker who knows how to use both pace and off-speed to score on a regular basis. Like Krystkowiak, Pavliska is leaned on in the clutch to come through and score points.
Nina Hemsley MB Forza1 North 15 One: Hemsley plays with so much fire and energy in the middle. She’s slightly undersized but an effective scorer who changes Forza’s dynamic when she checks in. She’s also a smart hitter who sees the court and knows when to unload and when to tip.
Brooke Harwood MB Arizona Storm 15 Thunder: Harwood – a 5-star recruit – was starring in the middle. At 6-3, she’s long and extends very well. She can get out and run the slide effectively and give defenses yet another concern. She was also scoring points with her serve.
Abby Zimmerman RS SCVC 15 Roxy: Zimmerman is listed at 6-1 but looks more like 6-4. Or at least she plays like it. She’s an up-and-coming talent who the community will get to know in the coming years as she continues to blossom. She has a big arm, puts up a big block and can hammer balls down to the floor.
Lauren Garcia RS Alamo 15 Premier: What stands out about Garcia is her versatility. She’s multi-talented and does them all well. She’s able to set, hit and pass and there is not many players like that in the division. She has a nice, fluid swing and can hit with pace. She’s a sound passer. We didn’t see her setting on Day 2, but we did see her dishing on Day 1 and she has nice hands and locates well.
Danielle Whitmire S/RS TAV 15 Black: Whitmire – a 5-star recruit – is a stud. She has a big, booming arm that produces highlight kills. Combined with her height and ability to hit high, defenses really struggle to contain her. She’s also a smooth setter with nice hands and spot-on accuracy.
Vivian Hickman S AZ Sky 15G: Hickman was running the show and was doing it at a high level. She’s a bit undersized but she has a bright future as she continues to develop and improve. She’s already smooth in her delivery. She gets to the ball well and has a clean, consistent release. She does well going behind her and connecting with all her hitters.
Kaitlyn Herweg L SCVC 15 Roxy: SCVC had a great day, taking down TAV and ending pool play 5-0. It’s hard to win at this level without defense and Herweg was supplying plenty of it. She’s a lights-out passer and defender with a sound platform. She’s rarely off with her plays and holds up against the biggest of hitters.
Raegan Ramirez L Austin Skyline 15 Royal: With Austin Skyline, it’s easy to get wrapped up on the offensive side with the setters and weapons they have. Yet, Ramirez gets the job done and she does so without much flare or flash. She’s good enough to make plays without the extra and does well out of serve receive and patrolling the back row.
