There was an overwhelming collection of talented players who spent three days competing at the USAV 18s Girls Junior National Championships this past weekend in Phoenix. With so many stars around it’s not an easy task standing out. Below, vballrecruiter.com highlights the top setters we watched in action throughout the weekend.
Bergen Reilly, Kairos 18 Elite – The Nebraska commit is silky smooth and moves the ball around to all her hitters effortlessly. A junior who is a five-star recruit, Reilly has great hands, a calming demeanor and the ability to make the players around her better.
Sophie Skinner, 501 Volley 18 National – Part of last season’s Under Armour All-America game, Skinner runs a nice offense. She has nice hands and a consistent delivery.
Kelly Belardi, Sunshine 18 LA – Few things fire up the Sunshine players like this 5-9 setter delivering a block. It’s not her forte obviously but few can move the ball around with the ease of Belardi. Sunshine passes well and is often in system and that allows Belardi to go to work creating one-on-one looks for her hitters with her soft touch and pin-point delivery. She’s headed to Stanford.
Maddie Waak, Hou Skyline 18 Royal – Waak is a 5-11 setter on her way to LSU. She has strong command of the position and how to run an offense. She’s effective getting everyone involved when Hou Skyline is in system.
Jordan Karlen, Capital 18 Adidas – An undersized setter at 5-9, Karlen has a smooth delivery and clean sets. She dishes with consistent accuracy to all her hitters.
Harmony Sample, S/RS, Madfrog 18 Green – The Notre Dame recruit makes tremendous contributions as a two-way player. She’s a sharp setter with great touch who rarely misses delivering in the hitting window. She’s also a big-time attacker with nice hops and a lively arm to damage defenses with.
Havannah Hoeft, Rage 18 Westside – A Class of 2023 setter, Hoeft is a bit undersized at 5-7 but that doesn’t keep her from being effective. She has nice hands and consistently puts her hitters in good spots to score. She’s adept at moving the ball around and not over relying on any one hitter.
Katie Hurta, S/RS, Adversity 18 Adidas – What a piece to the puzzle Hurta is for Adversity. A 6-1 Penn State commit, she’s a tremendous two-player. She has great hands and a strong sense on defense when she’s setting. She’s also a reliable scoring option with a great swing who can produce some big kills.
Ava Sarafa, Mich Elite 18 Mizuno – This four-star recruit who is committed to Kentucky is a junior who was brought up from the 17s roster. She helped form a 6-2 package in Phoenix. She’s super smooth and can keep defenses guessing with her ability to set from different positions and angles.
Rosemary Archer, Skyline 18 Royal – A 6-0 Pepperdine commit, Archer is a gamer. She plays hard and is a very consistent setter who rarely misses her location.
Mattie Gantt, Madfrog 18 Green – Gantt – a 5-11 University of Texas at El Paso commit – really helped stabilize the setting position for Madfrog. She is part of a 6-2 and has solid hands to go with a strong ability to move the ball around to her various hitters with reliable accuracy.
Natalia Hagopian, Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar – A bit undersized at 5-10, this Northeastern recruit spent time running a 6-2 but moved into a 5-1 role later in the year. She was a key part of Beach’s run to the quarters. She does well connecting with all her hitters and keeping defenses off-balanced.
Cameron Berger, Vital 18-1 Gold – An at-large recipient, Vital took advantage in reaching the quarters. Another undersized setter at 5-10, Berger is a hustler on the court and shows strong leadership in directing the offense. She’s a Class of 2023 setter committed to Michigan State.
Leah Wilton-LaBoy, Absolute Black 18-1 – A 5-9 setter committed to Utah State, Wilton-LaBoy plays with a lot of passion and energy. She’s feisty and knows how to get her hitters involved her smarts and ability to run a wide variety of sets.
Addison Beagle, Dynasty 18 Black – On her way to Drake, this 5-11 setter helped Dynasty reach the challenge rounds with her keen sense and sharp location. Dynasty is undersized and needs to run tempo and put its hitters in favorable positions and that’s what Beagle does.
Katie Dalton, FRVBC 18-1 Black – At 6-1, Dalton has all the skills to shine at Kansas, where she is signed. She’s tall with nice footwork and a competitive attitude.
