The volleyball world received the rematch between vballrecruiter.com’s top two teams in the country as No. 1 Skyline 15 Royal swept past No. 2 Mintonette Sports m.51 to capture the USAV 15 Open gold medal Saturday in Chicago. It was less than weeks ago when the two sides squared off in Orlando, with Mintonette winning there and claiming the AAU 15 Open championship. As for the final day of 15 Open competition in Chicago, it was lights-out and easily the best volleyball we witnessed all season. Picking the Day 4 All Red Hat Team was no easy task as we present our 10 players below.
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 4 ALL RED HAT TEAM
Halle Thompson OH Hou Skyline 15 Royal: If this tournament were a video game, Thompson would be the cheat code! The 6-2 high-flying outside established herself as the class of the division. About the only thing she can’t do on the attack is score with a bicycle kick. Other than that, the only way to stop her is to hope she misses her swing. She’s so long and athletic and hits so high and fast that she overwhelms defenses.
Layla Hoying OH Mintonette Sports m.51: Hoying’s all-around game was on full display as Mintonette finished with the silver medal. She’s such a strong player physically and is a solid passer and defender out of the back row. And though she’s a bit undersized compared to other outsides in the division, she can get up and send balls straight down without a problem.
Keoni Williams MB Skyline 15 Royal: The 6-4 Williams takes over the net like few can. She’s so long and takes up a lot of space with her reach. Even when she’s not touching or blocking balls, she’s still impacting hitters’ swings in order to avoid her. Offensively, she’s a force who can hammer balls over the block at tough-to-defend angles.
LeVariya Pinder MB Skyline 15 Royal: Pinder plays outside in high school and you can see in the way she attacks out of the middle. At 6-0, she’s not short but not necessarily tall compared to Williams. Still, Pinder is quick and gets up in a hurry. It allows her to be impactful at the net scoring and blocking.
Taylor Clarke RS Skyline 15 Royal: Clarke – part of the Class of 2025 – is a game-changing right side with the way she can score and open up the attack. The dynamic of Skyline’s offense complete changes when she checks in, opening the attack and providing another high-flying option who can go over or around blocks with ease.
Willow Weninger RS Pohaku 15-1: We love what Weninger brings to the lineup. She’s a fiery right side who also changes the look of the attack when she’s front row. She’s lanky with a lively arm and is a featured part of the attack who defenses must respect and be ready for.
Madison Victoriano S Skyline 15 Royal: All Victoriano does is win! Saturday marked her fourth Open medal as Skyline lifted the championship trophy. She’s a quick setter who moves very well and does a nice job getting her feet to the ball and delivering. She has a soft touch and locates well.
Eva Long S Legacy 15-1 Adidas: We love watching Long compete because she’s such a gamer. You can see the intensity she plays with but she also does well playing under control. She does well directing the attack and mixing up her sets and getting all her hitters involved.
Emma Cugino L Mintonette Sports m.51: Few defend and patrol the back row like Cugino. She’s a total stud and a defensive stalwart. She’s a high-level passer and defender. She also has a great hands and does very well setting off balls to help keep Mintonette in system.
Henlee Moszkowicz L Hou Skyline 15 Royal: Moszkowicz was arguably our favorite player from Day 4 and that’s saying something. Hou Skyline is known for its relentless attack but she was bringing a defensive edge and tenacity to the court. She was making tons of plays keeping rallies alive and standing in against big-swinging hitters.
