Austin’s Triple Crown NIT All-16U Team
Assembling a team of the best 16U athletes at Triple Crown NIT will be quite a task. We’re going to do it anyway. We’ve been harping on the idea that NIT represents a pivotal recruiting venue for the Class of…
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Continue ReadingAssembling a team of the best 16U athletes at Triple Crown NIT will be quite a task. We’re going to do it anyway.
We’ve been harping on the idea that NIT represents a pivotal recruiting venue for the Class of 2025 this year, and several players in the 16U group rose to that occasion. While there won’t be any open contact between college coaches and 2025s until the summer, this Kansas City event is an unmatched venue for hundreds of recruiters to make evaluations. Future stars have been discovered.
So, with all that in mind, I’m starting my post-NIT coverage with my takes for the all-16U team. Difficult choices lie ahead, and we’ll have so many more names to spotlight in the coming days.
OH (MVP): Kaci Demaria – 6’3 OH – Surfside 16 PV Legends
I briefly alluded to Demaria’s MVP-caliber performance in my summary of Surfside’s championship victory over Houston Skyline. Now, she sits firmly atop my list of all-16U Triple Crown performers.
There’s little that this California prospect can’t do. Of course, people will quickly point to the fact that her tremendous length and sky-high contact point allow her to hit over even the most formidable blockers. But I’m most impressed with the variety of other responsibilities Demaria can take on without losing her stride as an elite attacker. She can serve, pass, and play defense far beyond her years. After taking in the full 16U title match, I had little doubt that Demaria would garner MVP honors on this list.
OH: Bailey Warren – 5’10 OH – Houston Skyline 16 Royal
Texas will be well represented on this all-tournament team, and Warren is emerging as one of the state’s best.
Sure, some of NIT’s 16U pin hitters might have a length advantage over Warren. However, few would have concerns about height after they watch the way Warren elevates and terminates for Houston Skyline. She is 16 Royal’s quintessential go-to attacker who can sky to ridiculous heights and hit crazy angles. Warren brought all those skills to the forefront as her team finished runner-up in Kansas City.
OH: Suli Davis – 6’1 OH – Drive Nation 16-Red
This is Davis’ second consecutive year at the 16s level, and she’s still dominating. Indeed, Drive Nation has so much talent that it can choose to leave a player like Davis with the 16s, even as the 17s team loaded up in the offseason. This high-flying 2025 prospect has taken her game to another level this year, and I couldn’t help but notice the intensity on Davis’ face as her team churned through bracket play. She wants the ball with everything on the line.
OH: Asia Harvey – 6’0 OH – A5 Mizuno 16-Gabe
I might not have enough superlatives to describe just how hard Harvey can hit from the left side. She rips the cover off the ball. Defenders had a tough time digging Harvey’s heat even when they were in the right position to make a touch. Alternatively, Harvey also showed that she can cut indefensible angles that had opposing coaches shaking their heads. This is another special left-side hitter coming up the A5 pipeline.
OH: Teraya Sigler – 6’0 OH – Arizona Storm 16 Thunder
Sigler has been a name to know long before she reached the 16s level. She’s been tearing it up on big stages with Arizona Storm for a while, and now she has another stellar Triple Crown performance to her credit. 16 Thunder has found even more ways to get their star outside hitter involved in the offense, as Sigler has emerged as a major outlet scorer on the pipe. Most of all, Sigler exudes so much energy that Arizona Storm clearly feeds off of in high-pressure situations like the ones we saw in last weekend’s Elite bracket.
RS: Addison Gaido – 6’4 RS – Austin Skyline 16 Royal
Hey, we’re back in Texas.
Gaido has been right at the center of Austin Skyline’s rise to the forefront of 16s competition. 16 Royal is more than happy to heave the ball to Gaido in some out-of-system spots, as this long opposite can carve through and around any block to score. It also helps that Gaido works incredibly hard in transition and has some nice footwork for someone of her length. Expect to see Austin Skyline back on the main stage before long.
RS: Camryn Jeffery – 6’2 RS – A5 Mizuno 16-Gabe
Jeffery is A5’s perfect complement to the aforementioned Harvey. If it’s not Harvey completely flattening the ball on the left, Jeffery will certainly do the honors on the right. But Jeffery also gets a nod on this feature for her ability to seamlessly take over on the left side in Rotation 1 and score some clutch side-outs. There’s no need to run Jeffery on any fancy routes in this rotation. Just lob the ball up to her on the left and let her take care of it.
S: Isabella Mogridge – 5’10 S – OT 16 T JP
We’re now getting into the setters, and it feels proper to start with an athlete I covered in one of our single-match features for Triple Crown Sports.
Mogridge is a stunningly perfect fit for OT 16 T JP’s style of volleyball. The Tampa team is full of springy, twitchy hitters who thrive on fast-tempo, low-trajectory sets. That’s Mogridge’s comfort zone. Few setters in the 16U bracket had such steady command of their offense, and Mogridge is another entry in a long list of OTVA setters who are finding high-level success.
S: Campbell Flynn – 6’3 S – Legacy 16-1 Adidas
Flynn presents so many matchup problems, and club volleyball enthusiasts have known this for a while. She could probably play opposite if she wanted to, as Flynn stands at six-foot-three and has a wicked lefty arm swing. However, Flynn is just too good at dictating a match from the setter spot to take her out of a 5-1 offense. The Legacy product’s fearless demeanor shows in the way she shoots balls into the middle or whips on a tight pass when she’s in the frontcourt. This is the ultimate “impact setter.”
S: Ella Craggs – 5’10 S – MiElite 16 Mizuno
We’re not leaving the Great Lakes for this next entry.
Craggs is the steady setter who has helped keep this MiElite group in the national conversation. 16 Mizuno was certainly not the biggest group in the NIT field last weekend, but Craggs brings the precision and pace to put her hitters in excellent spots. Go back and look at MiElite’s film to see a wealth of split-block chances on both pins for a team that battled to the Round of 8. That’s the value of talented setters like Craggs.
MB: Zoe Gillen-Malveaux – 6’3 MB – Drive Nation 16-Red
Well, we have another Drive Nation 16-Red in their second year of 16s action.
The incredible raw potential of Gillen-Malveaux cannot be ignored, and that potential is already translating into full-fledged dominance on the club stage. She can touch some amazing heights from the middle blocker spot, and that reach will only get higher in successive years. Gillen-Malveaux’s impact is not just measured in jump touches or floor-denting kills, either, as she regularly produces block touches that yield great transition chances for 16-Red.
MB: Mackenzie Collins – 6’1 MB – HJV 16 Elite
Collins gets off the floor in a hurry. It makes us think back to so many other past standouts to compete with Houston Juniors, and the club clearly has another spectacular leader for this season and beyond. Triple Crown was my personal learning experience regarding a few of the Texas players on this feature. The Lone Star State absolutely rose to the occasion with Collins sitting atop the pedestal of 2025 athletes you’ll need to keep an eye on.
MB: Bella Ehrlich – 6’4 MB – Absolute 16 Black
Ehrlich’s enviable combination of length and strength will help ensure that Absolute 16 Black is no longer viewed as an underdog. There are some teams that make a clear, concerted effort to set the middle whenever feasible, and 16 Black seems to have that mentality when Ehrlich is in the frontcourt. She can terminate with ease even as opponents commit two blockers on her. Ehrlich makes the task of blocking her even more difficult as she moves around so well and can hit just about every gap imaginable.
L: Keri Leimbach – 5’3 L – Nebraska ONE 16 Synergy
Leimbach is the backcourt anchor for a Nebraska ONE team that prides itself on consistent, low-error volleyball. This libero has already built a resume as a two-time high school champion and a regular participant in USA training and development programs. Her desire to win is shown in the way she defends and how she communicates with her teammates, and we’ll be seeing plenty more from Leimbach at this season’s upcoming qualifiers.
L: Olivia Foye – 5’8 L – Surfside 16 PV Legends
If anyone doubted Foye’s drive for excellence, she had to swap out her libero jersey in the 16U championship match after getting some blood on her uniform. Foye nearly lunged into the bleachers chasing down an errant contact and had the audacity to get up and say, “my bad.” But aside from her incredible displays of determination, Foye also has the quickness and instincts to be a stellar defender at the next level. If you didn’t have her on your radar before, perhaps a Triple Crown title will help.
UT: Annabelle Groomes – 6’3 S/RS – AVC CLE 16 Red
Yes, I’m putting a ‘utility’ player in my all-tournament team. I’m making the rules here!
Groomes landed on my radar almost a year ago when she competed with AVC at our Prep Dig Open in the IX Center. She is still tearing it up as both a setter and an opposite in a six-foot-three frame. Her wide array of skills had to get a shoutout on this feature as her 16 Red group made an impressive charge to the Round of 16.