USAV 16 Open: Preview And Predictions

Number of Teams: 36

vballrecruiter.com National Rankings:

1. Dynasty 16 Black

2. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami

3. A5 Mizuno 16-1 Gabe

4. Co Jrs 16 Sherri

5. Wave 16 Brennan

6. TAV 16 Black

7. 1st Alliance 16 Gold

8. OT 16 Jason

9. KC Power 16-1

12. Circle City 16 Purple

13. Metro 16 Travel

14. Triangle 16 Black

15. Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar

16. Coast 16-1

17. Arizona Storm 16 Thunder

18. Premier Nebraska 16 Gold

19. Vision 16 Gold

20. AJV 16 Adidas

21. Skyline 16 Royal

22. Madfrog 16 Green

23. SG Elite 16 Rosh

24. OT 16 Roberto

25. MKE Sting 16 Gold

26. Drive Nation 16 Red

27. Top Select 16 Elite

28. Flyers 16 Dylan

29. Gainesville 16 Black

30. Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite

34. Club V 16 Ren Wayne

38. Seal Beach 16 Black

41. Norco 16 Black

42. OT 16 Will

43. Hou Skyline 16 Royal

44. OJVA 16 Gold

Unranked – Alamo 16 Premier

Unranked – Capitanas 16-1

vballrecruiter.com 5-star recruits (18):

Izzy Starck, S/RS, Co Jrs 16 Sherri

Skyler Pierce, OH, Dynasty 16 Black

Charlie Fuerbringer, S/RS, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar

Ayden Ames, MB, TAV 16 Black

Favor Anyanwu, MB, TAV 16 Black

Babi Gubbins, OH, Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar

Taylor Yu, S, SG Elite 16 Rosh

Camille Edwards, S, TAV 16 Black

Carlie Cisneros, OH, Dynasty 16 Black

Jadyn Livings, OH, TAV 16 Black

Suli Davis, OH, Drive Nation 16 Red (2025)

Amina N’diaye, OH, OT 16 Roberto (2025)

Zoe Gillen-Malveaux, MB, Drive Nation 16 Red (2025)

Reese Messer, S, Dynasty 16 Black (2025)

Abigail Mullen, RS, Dynasty 16 Black (2025)

Jaidyn Jager, OH, Coast 16-1 (2025)

Gillian Pitts, L, TAV 16 Black (2025)

Macaria Spears, OH, Metro 16 Travel (2025)

vballrecruiter.com 4-star recruits (20):

Mia Hood, MB, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe

Logan Wiley, MB, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe

Bethanie Wu, S, TAV 16 Black

Grace Carroll, S, Alamo 16 Premier

Carson Eickenloff, S, Madfrog 16 Green

Lillian Croshaw, MB, Madfrog 16 Green

Anna Bjork, MB, MKE Sting 16 Gold

Julia Hunt, MB, NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami

Ryan McAleer, L, Dynasty 16 Black

Ava Utterback, OH, Circle City 16 Purple

Amanda Saeger, S, Wave 16 Brennan

Camden Bolane, MB, Wave 16 Brennan

Mikala Young, OH, TAV 16 Black

Lainee Pyles, MB, Madfrog 16 Green

Anna Boatner, MB, TAV 16 Black

Jade Ingram, MB, Dynasty 16 Black

Hannah Benjamin, OH, A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe

Madeline Stucky, S, Norco 16 Black

Maya Witherspoon, OH, Rockwood Thunder 16 Elite (2025)

Lauren Lynch, L, SG Elite 16 Rosh (2025)

Outlook: The feeling is there’s a short list of teams that can earn the gold medal. Dynasty 16 Black comes in as a strong favorite having won three national qualifiers plus Triple Crown. Dynasty has just two losses on a national stage this year – to TAV 16 Black and NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami. It’s why Dynasty garnered the top seed. TAV is on the short list of teams that could win it all. Injuries have prevented TAV from reaching its full potential but the club appears poised and on track health-wise and should be a definite factor. Yet, it appears TAV could be way under-seeded. The club is the No. 3 team in Pool 1, which is a tough pool containing Dynasty, Co Jrs 16 Sherri and TAV as the top three teams in the pool Ouch. Wave 16 Brennan has fared well all season and has the type of ball control and defense to go all the way. Wave enters as the No. 3 seed. A5 Mizuno 16 Gabe has the height and size to be a real factor. A5 begins as the No. 2 seed. NKYVC 16-1 Tsunami has finished high all season long and knows how to win tight matches. NKYVC opens as the No. 2 tam in Pool 4 behind OT 16 Jason. The teams which are somewhat x-factors are Co Jrsand Metro 16 Travel. Co Jrs didn’t fare so well at the JVA West Coast Cup but has the size and talent to be any team in the country. It is just a matter of playing consistently over four days. Metro captured first at the JVA SummerFest recently and has the size and physicality to be a problem to any opponent. Metro is the No. 5 seed. Another team to watch for that could be way under-seeded is Capitanas 16-1. The Puerto Rican club is formidable but is the No. 6 team in Pool 6. Pool 6 could be the toughest one to break, as it contains Triangle 16 Black at the top followed by Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar, Vision 16 Gold, Top Select 16 Elite and Alamo 16 Premier, as well as Capitanas. There are plenty more squads that could make runs and be in contention on Day 4. OT Jason, 1st Alliance 16 Gold, Circle City 16 Purple, KC Power 16-1 and Trianglehave turned in strong seasons and it would not be a surprise to see any or all of them in the top eight. It’s part of what makes this division so intriguing is how many competitive clubs there are that can all beat each other any given outing.

Prediction: The final comes down to Dynasty and TAV. TAV prevails in three sets to earn the gold medal. Wave and A5 get the bronzes.