USAV Junior Nationals: 15 Open Standouts
One of the divisions with a lot of eyes on it at the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships is the 15 Open Division. Play wrapped up on Friday and the final four featured some of the best players in…
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Continue ReadingOne of the divisions with a lot of eyes on it at the USA Volleyball Girls’ Junior National Championships is the 15 Open Division.
Play wrapped up on Friday and the final four featured some of the best players in the country, regardless of age. Here’s a look at some of the players
Ashley Le
TAV 15 Black: There was no question who was the best team in the 15 Open, as TAV Black went 11-0 in matches and 22-1 in sets to claim the national championship. Outside hitter Charitie Luper was named Tournament MVP as she stood out the most from this stacked squad. Luper was all over the court, making plays in the back row while rising high above the net on attacks and blocks. Natalie Glenn was another standout on the outside. She was nearly unstoppable and made for an outstanding duo with Luper. TAV also had Kaylee Cox and Jordyn Williams in the middle to give them endless hitting options. Handling the offense was Ashley Le, who had tremendous tournament while the TAV offense never slowed down. Le and Glenn were named to the All-Tournament team alongside Luper.
Cecily Bramschreiber
Madfrog 15 National Blue: Madfrog didn’t quite have the horses to match the firepower of TAV in the final, but outside hitter Cecily Bramschreiber was playing as well as anyone this past week. She was all over the floor and could bring a consistent attack from the outside that was scoring frequently. Madfrog definitely counted on her a lot. She, along with middle Nicole Steinheiser were named to the All-Tournament Team as they were the go-to attacks during their playoff run. Lyric Stewart was also a big force in the middle for the runner-up team. When Madfrog was at its best, it was doing it through defense and passing. Libero Lindsey Zhang was able to play very consistent in the back row and also had a strong serve to keep Madfrog balanced.
Taylor Simpson
Sunshine 15 Westside: The only non-Texas semifinalist team had a pair of multi-position players lead the way last week. Both Taylor Simpson and Kerry Keefe could handle setting and outside play and both did quite well. Simpson was Sunshine’s top standout, earning herself All-Tournament Team honors. She was the most noticeable on the floor in terms of her overall ability and energy. Elia Rubin was the steady outside option for Sunshine, going toe-to-toe with some tremendous attackers on the other side. Rubin held her own and was a big part of Sunshine’s success. Libero Trinity Stanger may have been overlooked for All-Tournament Team honors, but she flying all over the court to get to balls last week. Up against powerful hitters, Stanger was up for the challenge and kept her team in a number of big points.
Madeleine Waak
H Skyline 15 Royal: Skyline gave TAV a tough first set in their semifinal before eventually falling like the rest, but the team out of Houston still had plenty of standouts. Setter/outside hitter Madeleine Waak was part of the All-Tournament team for her running of the offense and ability to attack as well. Waak was trying to do it all for Skyline in Detroit. Cimone Woodard and Ellie Echter were also two primary hitters for Skyline that Waak was able to feed throughout the week. All three made for a strong trio of hitters to combat, with Echter also earning All-Tournament Team honors. Brooke Frazier was the libero faced with trying to stop the powerful hitters in the 15 Open field. She played quite well and was crucial in the quarterfinal win over A5 Mizuno 15-1.