First Impressions from the USAV All-Star Championships

It's All-Star Week, and that doesn't just apply to baseball.   The USAV All-Star Championships kicked off Wednesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, alongside the U19 Pan American Cup in the same building. USAV regions across the country are represented at this event with a medley of players from different clubs joining forces to form an all-star squad.   Big first impressions have already been made after opening day. Let's dive right into a few of those.     Don't Mess with (North) Texas   North Texas would be a safe choice if you had to name one region with a "super team" kind of roster--and that's in multiple divisions.   In the Youth division, North Texas brought the heat en route to a 2-0 record on opening day. That firepower came from a variety of sources on this stacked roster. TAV standout [player_tooltip player_id="142201" first="Jadyn" last="Livings"] built off a phenomenal showing at GJNC and led North Texas on the outside. Livings had some familiar help in the middle, too, with fellow TAV 16 Black star [player_tooltip player_id="142220" first="Favor" last="Anyanwu"] locking down the net throughout the day. And, speaking of duos, setter [player_tooltip player_id="142203" first="Carson" last="Eickenloff"] and outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id="124144" first="Lainee" last="Pyles"] formed a tough tandem once again after winning a GJNC championship with Madfrog. It's also hard to overlook Lauryn Lambert, the soon-to-be Drive Nation outside hitter whose six-rotation skills can hold an entire team together. Good luck finding a weakness with this group of all-stars.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1549789363634114560?s=20u0026t=SIKiYsJ_yi1jCHNzqLx0Zg </div></figure>   North Texas also trotted out an eye-popping roster in the International division. This group has a little of everything: power in the middle with [player_tooltip player_id="141120" first="Reese" last="Robins"], left-side dominance from [player_tooltip player_id="141140" first="Becca" last="Kelley"], savvy setting from Lily Nicholson, and lockdown floor defense provided by [player_tooltip player_id="87572" first="Symone" last="Sims"]. The International iteration of North Texas did not emerge from opening day unscathed, however, and narrowly fell in a five-set marathon to Team Florida. I'm anxious to see the North Texas response on Day 2.     2-0 Teams from Around the Map   We saw strong Wednesday performances from every corner of the USAV map.   Team Florida was just mentioned on the International side, so let's elaborate on this 2-0 team. [player_tooltip player_id="98995" first="Jessica" last="Shattles"] is a setter that stood out way back in January for her work with OTVA at the Northern Lights Qualifier. Her strong year has now culminated in another awesome showing with the all-star team. She also has plenty of good offensive options at the net, as middle blocker Hazel Alevok and outside hitter Erika Spankus played huge roles in that late-night thriller against North Texas.   Florida's success wasn't limited to the International division. Over on the Youth side, Team Florida notched another impressive 2-0 opening day behind players like Amaria King on the outside. We'll surely feature more of this roster in the days to come.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1549819115271032833?s=20u0026t=SIKiYsJ_yi1jCHNzqLx0Zg </div></figure>   Now, let's head way north and keep hopping around the map. The Great Lakes Region is regularly one of the most hotly contested areas in the Midwest, and that has helped produce a seriously formidable all-star team. Illinois standouts permeate the roster. [player_tooltip player_id="135981" first="Alayna" last="Pierce"] and Emma McHatten were particularly strong on the pins and got constant support from Penn State libero commit [player_tooltip player_id="136631" first="Ava" last="Falduto"].   In the same pool as Great Lakes, the Iowa Region got a 2-0 Wednesday effort from its Red team. This is one of the few regions deploying two different teams in the Youth division, with Iowa Youth Black being the other entry. For Iowa Youth Red, though, this undefeated start was sparked by some relentless defense and smart distribution. That distribution came from setter [player_tooltip player_id="168157" first="Brittany" last="Bacorn"], who is fresh off a GJNC championship with Club Ignit Select.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1549812684861865989?s=20u0026t=SIKiYsJ_yi1jCHNzqLx0Zg </div></figure>   We're hopping all the way out to the Southwest for our final 2-0 team. It should be no surprise that the Arizona Region brought a stout lineup to the All-Star Championships. This state has produced plenty of high-flying talent lately, and the state's representatives are carrying the torch well in Tulsa. Devyn Wiest has wielded her all-around skills well, and Kenna Cogill is always dangerous in the middle.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1549817699722739712?s=20u0026t=SIKiYsJ_yi1jCHNzqLx0Zg </div></figure>     Coming Together   I'll make a quick point about the uniqueness of this all-star venue.   This is the first time I've been at a club event with girls' and boys' competitions happening in one space. It's quite a privilege to be a part of this unique convergence at a season-ending all-star event. We're also seeing a lot of cross-competition support from athletes of the same region that are bringing girls' and boys' teams to Tulsa.   So, even after the long grind of the 2022 club season, there's still a lot of "newness" to be found.

It's All-Star Week, and that doesn't just apply to baseball.