Playing for Gold at the USA All-Star Championships
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Saturday at the USA All-Star Championships in Ft. Lauderdale was a “move up day”, with Gold Bracket chances fading for some, while other teams pushed through to secure a berth in the top bracket. The Puget Sound Region moved ahead…
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Continue ReadingSaturday at the USA All-Star Championships in Ft. Lauderdale was a “move up day”, with Gold Bracket chances fading for some, while other teams pushed through to secure a berth in the top bracket. The Puget Sound Region moved ahead both the 15U and 17U Girls’ teams, while the Evergreen Region found the going tough, unable to break through for a victory on day three with either group. Here are some players that stood out regardless of record, and a few opposing players that caught our eye.
Karjala was dynamic on the block and as an attacker all day long her team. She looked uber confident attacking with force form the right side and swallowed up opposing attackers to register huge monster blocks.
The three libero/DS rotation for the PSR team has been working great, there is always a fresh defender ready to go. Duong is extremely solid in the serve-receive game, and with the attackers on the team, she helped to contribute to a high rate of First Ball Side Out. Delivering great tempo and height on her touches, Duong made sure her setters would have a chance to choose the best option and matchup for the team.
Makiaya Turner 5’11” | OH | Ohio Valley Region All-Stars 15U
Turner played her own game of bounce house when the Ohio Valley Region setters were able to find her in the flow of the offense. The exciting Turner has an easy explosion when she attacks, and she buried the ball on both pins, defenders standing tight on the line had to cover up a few times to avoid being rocked by a Turner blast.
Burchak cut loose on several swings against Gulf Coast in a Challenge match for the PSR 17 squad. The lefty gets everything out of her attacks, and she was bringing the heat to help the All-Stars move into the gold Bracket Sunday, The match was a 3-0 sweep for Puget Sound, with Gulf Coast only breaking the 20-point mark in one set. While Burchak was doing damage from one pin, Madi Andrews had the other handled. The standout attacker from Oregon is a young star in the making.
Migliuri played excellent defense in the right back, digging out some hard swings and giving her libero a chance to set a solid second ball to the pins. The rising sophomore setter from Gonzaga Prep has a developing kit of swings from either pin as an attacker too, she hit a nice topspin to score in the deep corner from the outside- followed by a well-placed roll shot to score over the block.
The AC Davis 2024 prospect has been playing as a six-rotation outside for the Evergreen 17 team, and Willsey has stayed gritty in serve receive while not losing her fastball from the outside as an attacker. Usually playing as a middle, she has shown quality from on the pin, adjusting to difficult sets or having to attack out of system. When Willsey has the chance to line it up, she can rip through a blockers hands and terminate points in a hurry.
Kennedy Varda | MB | Big Sky Volleyball | Evergreen 15U
The rangy Varda is a good athlete for a young middle, she cleaned up several messy situations at the net with two hands to score. Her blocking was a big factor in a second-set victory over Iowa for the Evergreen All-Stars, Montana continues to roll out high-quality “bigs” on the volleyball court.
Austen is an offensively advanced 6’1″ middle playing for the Iowa All-Stars. She kept hammering away even when the Evergreen team put up a strong block and worked hard on her defense pin to pin. When Iowa found her off a free ball, she scored with highlight reel kills.
Highlights
The setter makes the team go offensively, and McGhee has the PSR 17 team headed into the Gold bracket. She makes great choices and has found middle Lauryn Coleman consistently to keep the defense pulled in having to respect the middle attacker. McGhee is smooth setting on the move, and always seems to better the ball defensively.