Under Armour All-America Game Preview: Team Fire
Be sure to follow @lshotvb on Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter for all things volleyball! Tune into the Under Armour All-America Games on January 2nd at 3:30 EST on ESPNU – What better way to ring in the new year than watching…
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Continue ReadingBe sure to follow @lshotvb on Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter for all things volleyball!
Tune into the Under Armour All-America Games on January 2nd at 3:30 EST on ESPNU
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What better way to ring in the new year than watching 28 of the top senior volleyball players in the country take center stage?
It’s one of the most prestigious honors a player can have throughout their prep careers… To be named an Under Armour All-American.
For nearly 20 years, some of the most talented players from across the country have been invited to partake in these games. Some notable alumni include recent Tokyo Olympic Gold Medalists such as Chiaka Ogbogu (Coppell, TX/Texas), Haleigh Washington (Colorado Springs, CO/Penn State) and Micha Hancock (Tulsa, OK/Penn State). The Under Armour All-America game prides itself on highlighting the “Who’s Who” of the current high school scene and previewing the stars of tomorrow.
In the past, these were merely matches held at the NCAA Division I Final Four sites to coordinate with the championship festivities. But, in the last several years, Under Armour has catapulted this into an all-out event! Now, this has become a week-long event that on top of the high-level training, includes top-of-the-line gear, media and a youth clinic to then accumulate in the games at the end of the week. All while in sunny Orlando, FL.
Per Under Amour – “This is the most elite high school volleyball in the country: Year-after-year the Under Amour All-America Week serves to further inspire and develop top high school talent just as they are about to embark on the next stage of the game.”
Without further ado, let’s take a look at what Team Fire is cooking up this week in Orlando!
Team Fire Roster
Charlie Fuerbringer committed to Wisconsin* | Hannah Benjamin committed to Kentucky |
Ayden Ames committed to Texas | Kendall Beshear committed to Cal Poly |
Jaela Auguste committed to Florida | Nayelis Cabello committed to Louisville |
Kaia Caffee (Castle) committed to Ohio State | Malyssa Cawa committed to Stanford |
Malu Garcia committed to Iowa | Levani Key-Powell committed to Utah |
Kennedy Osunsanmi committed to UCLA | Skyler Pierce committed to Nebraska |
Kiylah Presley Uncommitted | Lola Schumacher committed to Wisconsin |
Roster Breakdown
Thinking Outside the Box
With heavy hitters and high flyers galore, this is quite an impressive roster of pins to have at your disposal. Let’s take a look at the outside attackers. Hannah Benjamin‘s rise to success has been a really fun adventure to watch. She’s become one of the top hitters under the A5 cannon and in the nation. She’ll be joining forces with a cross-net foe in this match, Asia Thigpen, next fall at Kentucky. A battle that’ll be a lot of fun take place during the games. Benjamin will be a timely entry for Coach Skinner and the Cats next fall as they lose All-American Reagan Rutherford.
Cal Poly may have been quiet these last few years, but with Kendall Beshear coming in, I would keep an eye on the Mustangs for the next several years. I first was introduced to this player this past summer at the USAV National Championships in Chicago. After watching Beshear dismantle the heavy title favorites, TAV, in the opening round of the gold bracket, I knew she was a big deal. Not only did she go on to propel SCVC to win the 17 Open Division at USAVs, but Beshear was named MVP of the tournament. Could we see another MVP honor go her way this week?
Likewise with Cal Poly, Utah has been a little under the radar. But I’d be putting them at the top of my watch-list come the fall of 2024. Not only will they be joining the Big XII, but Utah will be getting a massive boost from the high-flying Levani Key-Powell. This player adds a lot of fun, athletic depth to the pins for Team Fire. A Utah-native, Club V standout, Key-Powell has had an illustrious career that includes a third place finish at USAVs in 2022 in the 17 Open Division. After the conclusions of the All-America Week, Key-Powell will be heading to Salt Lake City to begin her career as an early enrollee.
Nebraska does what Nebraska knows best. Year after year, restock and reload with some of the top burgeoning talent in the country. Next in their sights? UA All-American Skyler Pierce. Noted as the 2024 Class’ top recruit by multiple media outlets, Pierce will mark the second year the Huskers bring in a top-rated player in their respective class (i.e. Harper Murray, C/O 2023). Pierce comes from a really talented group from Dynasty Volleyball Club. This past summer, she was named to the USAV 17 Open All-Tournament team after leading Dynasty to a Runner-Up Finish.
Last but not least on this list, we have Kiylah Presley. Maybe a player that could do it all, I’ve been watching this player’s career for quite some time. Once, a formidable force in the middle. Now, she’s one of the nations top outside hitter prospect. Presley is dynamic as they come. Playing for Paramount out of Virginia, Presley has quickly become one of the premier players of the club. She’s the last remaining uncommitted prospects in this class. Don’t expect that to last long, especially after the conclusion of the games.
Rowdy Right Sides
Here comes the wicked lefty! Making the trek all the way from the islands of Hawaii, Malu Garcia is going to be a real treat to catch in action at the All-America games. This is a player that I have yet to catch live. But Garcia is equipped with live-wire for an arm and fluid approach. She’s recently announced her commitment to the University of Iowa. A huge jump from the island life, Garcia will be joining many of these athletes in playing in the Big Ten next fall.
Rounding out the dynamic duo on the right side, Kennedy Osunsanmi joins the party. This duo just oozes of some really fun and athletic volleyball. Osunsanmi is a 6’2 attacker out of CITY, a club out of southern California. A cannon for an arm and a stout blocker, Osunsanmi presents another fun match-up. We have another future teammate cross-net battle. The UCLA bound Osunsanmi will go toe-to-toe with Kiki Horne from Team Ice. We have a probable situation where we see the two battle at the net. I can’t wait to see it.
The Mighty, Mighty Middles
Moving on from the pins, let’s take a look at the big guns of the show. They’re the first line of defense at the net and always good for a good bounce ball every now and then. Up first, we have a kid heading off to play for the 2x defending National Champions, Texas. Ayden Ames may be one of the most dynamic middles in the field here. A player that has all of the shots along the net, Ames is an impeccable blocker as well. Just this past fall, Ames was critical in helping the U19 National Team earn the Gold Medal at the U19 World Championships in Croatia.
I think we’ve seen this film before. Right alongside Ames, Jaela Auguste was also a part of the USA U19 NT that took home Gold in Croatia. A main stay throughout the tournament, Auguste was huge off the bench in the gold medal match versus Turkiye. Fast forward to now, Auguste will be taking center stage in Orlando. Not far from her future digs, this is a future Florida Gator that we will be hearing from for years to come.
Completing the trio of middle blockers for Team Fire, we have Kaia Caffee (Castle). This is one stout trio of blockers I would not want to see across the net from me. Regardless of which middle is in front of you at the net, the blocking is going to be top tier. Caffee has been a starlet in this class for years, playing up for almost her entire career with MN Select. This future Buckeye is a dominating player in her own right and has really come into her own in the last year or so.
Pick Up Duty
From the ones putting the ball away to the ones picking it all up, let’s take a look at the ‘bros joining the party this week in Orlando. It wouldn’t be an All-America match without a player from one of the most prestigious clubs in the country. This future Badger, Lola Schumacher, will be on full-display representing Munciana Volleyball this week in Orlando. Coming off of an AAU 18 Open Championship in June, Schumacher is one of the top defensive prospects in the country. It’ll be fun to see Schumacher go toe-to-toe with some of the top attackers in the country.
Right alongside Schumacher, we have Malyssa Cawa, a future Stanford Cardinal. Another top defensive prospect, Cawa brings a really rich background of her own to the UA Games. Coming out of the historic Mater Dei HS Volleyball cannon, Cawa comes from a long line of elite players. This includes a laundry list of past UA All-Americans. It’ll be a fun watch to see Cawa and Schumacher duke it out with each other in the libero jersey.
Who’s Running the Show?
Last, but most certainly not least. You can’t get this show going if it weren’t for these setters. And they’re the best of the best. Team Captain for Team Fire, we have another Wisconsin Badger, Charlie Fuerbringer. This is another player that got to experience that golden performance at the U19 World Championships this summer. With an already developed connection with some of these players, this gives Team Fire a nice leg up. Not to mention, we’ll get a sneak peak of what’s to come from Wisconsin next year with Schumacher and Fuerbringer on the same side of the net.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Cabello in the UA All-America Games. Following in the footsteps of big sister, Naomi Cabello (NC State), Nayelis Cabello will be running the show this week in Orlando. A great bookend to an incredible career for Cabello. Just six months ago, Cabello was in Orlando battling for a National Championship in the AAU 17 Open with Top Select. Now, before she heads to Louisville in early January, she’ll wrap things up in Orlando as an All-American.
Coaching Committee
Every year the Under Armour Next committee brings in not only the best talent on the court, but off the court as well. This year, the games bring in some big names to lead these players. Serving as head coach for Team Fire, we have Coach Tanya Starrett. Coach Starrett has been running one of the most prestigious high school programs in Florida for over 15 years at Bishop Moore Catholic. With a record of 351-89, Starrett has won 4 State Titles during this time. Starrett was also club director and coach at OTVA for 5+ years.
Assisting Starrett with Team Fire, we have 2017 UA All-American and Nebraska’s Career Assists leader, Nicklin Hames. Now, the intro simply speaks for itself here. Going down in history as an All-Time great at Nebraska is no easy feat. While her playing days are quite admirable, her coaching days are starting off just as successful. In her first year on the bench with Nebraska, the Huskers won their first Big Ten title in over 5 years. After that, they marched all the way to the National Championship match in Tampa, just a mere 2 weeks ago. After the conclusion of the 2023 college season, Hames was named Full-Time Assistant Director for VC Nebraska.
Tune In!
The Under Armour All-America Games will be televised live this year on ESPNU. If you want to watch some of the most elite volleyball in the country, be sure to tune in on January 2nd at 3:30 PM EST!