USAV Junior Nationals: 16 Open Standouts
The 16 Open of the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships may have been the most competitive of any age groups and had plenty of future top Division 1 talent. Here’s a closer look at the standouts from the four semifinalist…
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Continue ReadingThe 16 Open of the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships may have been the most competitive of any age groups and had plenty of future top Division 1 talent. Here’s a closer look at the standouts from the four semifinalist squads.
Kendra Wait
ASICS MAVS 16-1: MAVS managed a perfect run through the 16 Open, but it didn’t come without some challenges. They had over half of their matches go to three sets, including the final against Coast 16-1. While MAVS has plenty of talented hitters, it was setter Kendra Wait that earned Tournament MVP honors for her play. Wait was doing a little bit of everything and was on point in her setting as well. She had the MAVS offense running like a well-oiled machine and was clearly the glue to the squad. Of the hitters, it was Samantha Schnitta on the outside and Kimberly Whetstone in the middle that were dominating the attack for MAVS. Schnitta was a consistent option on the outside and a big part of the defense while Whetstone was soaring above the net and delivering thunderous spikes on opponents. Whetstone was tough to block due to her beautiful timing with Wait and her tremendous vertical. Libero Caroline Bien also was a key piece to MAVS as she anchored the passing and defense. Bien was able to feed Wait consistently and allow the offense to get rolling. Bien and Whetstone joined Wait on the All-Tournament team.
Lindsey Miller
COAST 16-1: Coast was led in play by its 2020 libero Madison Allen. Allen, a BYU commit, could do it all for Coast. She was flying around the court to make plays and consistently put herself in the right position to keep her team in the point. She was also able to get the ball to setter Madeline Yu, who also was a standout. Yu was mixing up her feeds and playing above her 5-4 size at the net. When it came to attacks, Coast was able to rely heavily on 6-4 middle Lindsey Miller. The Notre Dame commit was easy to spot on the floor because she was always making plays, not just on attack. Miller used her size to her advantage, but also showed tremendous athleticism in her other duties. Miller joined outside hitter Endsley Madi on the All-Tournament team. Madi was the go-to attack on the outside that could also defend and provide a strong block with Miller.
Jill Pressly
EXCEL 16 National Red: Excel was the surprising semifinalist team, going just 5-5 throughout the week but winning the matches it needed to. When EXCEL needed a spark it was outside Jill Pressly that was providing it. Pressly was the most consistent player on the team and was able to go toe-to-toe with any of the opposing outsides in the tournament. She was on the All-Tournament team with libero Mackenzie Morris. Excel had to grind out wins all week, including some tough third sets and it was up to Morris to help get those challenging points. She rose to the occasion in the big matches, which sparked the semifinal run. Setter Ragan Ward was also consistent and able to feed Pressly in the right spots. Olivia Tarsi was also another strong outside for EXCEL that provided Pressly with a needed compliment in the tough matches.
Leandra Mangual
OT 16 S. Roberto: OT was a team that attacked and did it quite well. Outside hitters Leandra Mangual and Taylor Head were their two All-Tournament Team picks. They were both major forces on the court and opponents had a hard time finding their rhythm in the attack. They also took pressure off one another. If one was struggling, the other was there to step up. When both were on their game, OT was extremely difficult to defend. Setter Cierra Jenkins did a great job of mixing up the feeds enough to keep opponents guessing. She also was able to hit her spots and make OT the strong attack it was. Defensively, Elli McKissock was strong at libero when the offense wasn’t on point. OT dropped just four sets all week and three of them were by two points. McKissock never allowed OT to get too far behind.