With the first elimination day on hand, dreams remain alive for those advancing while those knocked out dealt with the heartbreak of seeing their national championship aspirations leave with it. Desperation mode was kicking in and it brought out the best in those competing. Below, we highlight our Day 2 All Red Hat Team by featuring our 10 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
Jessica Costlow OH Mich Elite 16 Mizuno: Costlow spent all last season playing out of position as a middle. With added roster depth this season, she’s been able to shift to the outside. She’s a perfect for a the All Red Hat Team. She’s a bit undersized but she’s an absolute gamer and doesn’t back down. She’s also a smart hitter with lots of shots in her bag.
Bellamie Beus OH ID Crush 16 Bower: Beus – a 4-star recruit from the Class of 2026 – is another outside who really caught our attention with the way she gets after it. She’s a feisty competitor with huge upside with her jumping and swinging ability. She’s an explosive attacker who gets off the floor well and hammers balls off blocks or down around them.
Shelby Ignash MB Mich Elite 16 Mizuno: Ignash was a new addition at the beginning of the season and she’s turned into a staple of the offensive attack by season’s end. She’s a physical middle who hits with lots of power. She can get out on the slide too and crush balls. And defenses need to be prepared because Mich Elite will run her often when in system.
Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA 16 Red: Makun – a 4-star recruit – is a major presence in the middle with her size and length. She continues to improve and can impact the rally on both sides of it with her hitting and blocking. She can make gaps disappear in a hurry with her long reach. And with it, she can go right over blockers and send balls down at or near the 10-foot line.
Stella Dillon RS Coast 16-1: Dillon joined Coast late last year and since has been a regular in the starting lineup. She’s a contributor on the right side with both her blocking and hitting. She has decent size and she definitely opens up the attack as defenses need to keep note of her. Coast will go to her consistently. She has a solid arm and was doing well tooling blocks.
Maddie Mitchell S/RS MAVS 16-1: We love Mitchell and what she brings to the lineup. She’s in a tough spot with 5-star Logan Parks playing the same role but MAVS isn’t the same team without Mitchell on the court. She’s a bit undersized but she knows what is needed to win. She plays under control, both as a setter and a hitter. She does well dishing and moving the ball around. As a hitter, she isn’t going to deliver the biggest kill in the gym but hitting hard doesn’t count for extra points. Trust us, she knows how to score consistently against bigger blocks.
Billie Reiter S MKE Sting 16 Gold: We really enjoy watching these next two setters a lot! Reiter can run a 5-1 like she did in Sting’s victory over Circle City 16 Purple. Or she can set back row as part of 6-2 package as she did in the match after. Either way, she gets after it and is a steadying presence on the court. She has a soft touch and locates well while connecting with all her hitters.
Malorie Boesiger S Nebraska One 16 Synergy: You would have no idea watching Boesiger that she is actually playing up not one but two age groups! That’s right, it makes her part of the Class of 2027. She’s a bit undersized but she is a spot-on disher who plays without any fear or trepidation.
Avery Freeman L Circle City 16 Purple: From our perspective, there might be higher-rated liberos than Freeman but when it comes down to having to win, we’d gladly take her as our starting libero. She flat-out competes and gets after on the defensive end and it’s fun to watch. She’s not a demonstrative libero who plays with a lot of outward emotion. She’s more reserved with determination and tenacity that is easy to see with the effort she plays out.
Izzy Mahaffey L Arizona Storm 16 Thunder: Mahaffey was a wall when we were watching. And on top of that, she was making it look easy. She has that type of game. She’s also a fiery libero who plays with lots of emotion and passion.
