The Under Armour All-America Experience: A Week With UA Next
Be sure to follow @lshotvb on Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter for all things volleyball! – And with that, the 2023 season comes to an end. Putting a cap onto, yet, another amazing year of volleyball, on Tuesday, we saw some of…
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And with that, the 2023 season comes to an end.
Putting a cap onto, yet, another amazing year of volleyball, on Tuesday, we saw some of the best that the 2024 class had to offer go head to head. 28 of the top senior volleyball players in the country were named All-Americans, traveling all the way to Orlando to put on one of the best shows in the country. The Under Armour All-America match served as a great holdover in between seasons. Right after the college and high school season come to a close, right before the madness that is club volleyball and the premiere of the Profession Volleyball Federation later this month.
It’s a lot to take in, all the fun that was had in Orlando with UA Next. But here’s a peak at what the Under Armour All-America Week entails. From the fun on-court, off-the court and everything in between.
One of the Best Practice Gyms in the Country
Thank god for air conditioning. Between the Florida sun and all the heat going on in the practice gym, it was almost too much. The competition in this practice gym rivaled those of some of the top collegiate programs. One would think, despite all this talent, there may be a logjam in terms of connection and chemisty. For both Team Ice and Team Fire, it did not take long to establish either! The energy, the scrappiness, the athleticism, it was all in abundance at Game Point Volleyball Center.
Team Ice
For Team Ice, there were a few standouts early on in the practice gym. A preview to what was to come. That included the play of Emerson Sellman (Ohio State) and Izzy Starck (Penn State). Sellman has been a personal favorite to catch in action throughout her prep career. She puts serious pace on her swings that come at her apex every time. Aside from her physicality and offensive ways, Sellman is stellar on first contact. For Starck, I have also been a long time fan, but she managed to impress me even more. She plays the setter position in such an athletic, dynamic way. It’s a show every time she steps onto the court.
Some other standouts from Ice’s practice gym included Mia Tvrdy (Oregon), Amanda Mack (Cincinnati), and Ava Falduto (Penn State). Tvrdy has this round house swing that proves a huge problem to defenders. It’s so fast and brings so much power, she has the ability to slice and dice the ball into a lot of scoring situations. Mack, while took a minute to find her feet, once she did, was fantastic. A player that I always thought had all of the shots. Even against the best of defenders, at the net and the back court, she was scoring big time. Mack also made herself a huge contributor with her first contact, a skill that got her big playing time during the games too. I haven’t seen much of Falduto prior to this week. However, upon the first practice, I am very confident that Penn State is in good hands with her arrival in Happy Valley.
Team Fire
For about the entire roster, Team Fire was the most appropriate name for the team. They all bring it. With some of the best attackers in the gym, Kiylah Presley, Kennedy Osunsanmi, and Malu Garcia (Iowa) made some serious impressions. First and foremost, whoever ends up with either Presley or Osunsanmi has gotten themselves a gold mine. The two have recently decommitted from their original schools, their recruitment is wide open. Presley is this high-flying dynamo that can terminate in just about every positon on the court. Despite her terminal nature, she showcased some nice composure defensively too. Osunsami and Garcia are a pair of powerhouse opposites. Osunsanmi is a tower at 6’4, add in her wingspan, and she’s hard to touch. Garcia was the wicked lefty with a nasty top spin serve. I can see her making a huge impact at Iowa right away.
Other key players included Kaia Caffee (Castle)(Ohio State) and Levani Key-Powell (Utah). Caffee is an absolute monster blocker at the net. Her length and mobility along the net left NO room for an avenue to swing through. Her offense got impressively better throughout the week as her connections grew too. Caffee will be a great addition to the Buckeye crew next fall. Key-Powell is a dawg! No other way to put it. I see a lot in this player reminiscent of former Utah greats, Dani Drews and Adora Anae. Smaller in stature, sure. But off the ground, she can get down with some of the biggest, strongest bodies in the gym. Key-Powell is as much a crafty player as she is a power player, a beautiful combo for the Utes next year.
Off The Court Fun
While these 28 athletes were invited down due to their talents on the court. The UA Next All-America week was much more than just volleyball. From the practice gym to gear hauls, challenges and everything else; it was a packed itinerary for these ladies.
Did Somebody Say “Gear Haul”?
Arriving to the Marriott World Center in Orlando, the players were welcomed with some serious swag. These hotel rooms were packed wall-to-wall with UA gear. From shorts, shirts, shoes, slides, jerseys, etc. There was not much that the girls needed to pack with all that Under Armour provided. And you would think that the gear stopped here.
Not too long after walking in to a room full of gear that included at least 3-4 pair of shoes, playing shoes and casual, they would add to that collection throughout the week. At the conclusion of the first practice, the girls got to meet none other than the creator of Under Armour, Kevin Plank. After welcoming the athletes to Orlando, Plank surprised each of them with custom made, brand new SlipSpeed Training series shoes. Bring the heel down to make it a slip on, or keep the heel up for “sport mode” if you will. That wasn’t all though.
At the end of the training sessions, both teams were surprised by more gifts from Under Armour. This time, another pair of playing shoes and the original shirt that started the company. Shoes made from state of the art material and only offered through the UA Next Program according to the rep. A sleek, diamond-esque crested shoe made perfectly for an All-American.
All this gear haul would come to conclusion later that night with the unveiling of the jerseys for both teams.
Team Challenges
Of the first team challenges, we had Team Fire taking part in a “blind serve challenge”. While quite comical to say the least, it was even more impressive to see how many of these athletes could be quite effective servers with no vision. We even had a few take swing at some blind-folded top spin serves. (Highly recommend NOT trying at home) The winner of this challenge was Malyssa Cawa (Stanford). Cawa went on to take home a Team Fire decked-out boombox for her serving.
For Team Ice, their challenge came at the conclusion of Day 2 of training. This one wasn’t blind-folded, but was still quite comical. A ball control challenge where each player gives themselves a bounce off the ground and had to pass into a ball cart placed along the net. With each round that passed, the further away you were placed from the target. Oh, and if you didn’t hit your target, you BECAME the target. The winner of this challenge, going home with an iced out boombox was Mia Tvrdy (Oregon). Leave it to the middle to win the ball control challenge!
Out on the Town
It wasn’t all just volleyball and Under Armour. On top of it being New Years Eve and Day during the week, these players got to have a little fun outside of the gym. On Day 2, the fun included dinner and fun with the football All-Americans at PopStroke in Orlando. Day 3 included post-practice Puppy Yoga right off the water and the jersey ceremony shortly thereafter. And of course, on day 4, match day, included pre-match festivities including a youth clinic and enjoying the state of the art facilities of UCF.
All-America Game Highlights
When you put the 28 best players in the nation in one gym and throw them head to head, you got yourself a show. And that’s exactly what this year’s All-America match gave us. For the second year in a row, the UA All-America match had come down to the wire in the fifth set. Team Fire would ultimately come out on top with an explosive fifth set. With set scores of 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 27-25, and 15-9, Fire managed to dig themselves out of a late game deficit to propel themselves to the win. Skyler Pierce (Nebraska) was named the 2023 UA Next MVP.
Team Fire
Offense
For Team Fire, Pierce was named the match MVP. On a 17 kill (.536 hit %) performance, Pierce was critical in the high-powered offense in the deciding set. Alongside Pierce, Ayden Ames (Texas) and Hannah Benjamin (Kentucky) were two big time performers at the net for Fire. For Ames, as the match went on, the better she got. While the stat sheet only shows 6 kills and a block, Ames was so much more impactful than one would read. For Benjamin, an 11 kill and 6 dig night, she was always involved on the clutch plays. Whether it was with her booming arm, or sneaky defensive grabs, Benjamin was on it. Alongside those attackers, Kendall Beshear (Cal Poly) and Jaela Auguste (Florida) rounded out the group. For Beshear, while used situationally, she was clutch when her number was called. With 2 kills down the stretch of set 2 that secured Fire the victory, her serves were also timely as well. Auguste also had some pretty high-octane play throughout the match.
Defense and Setting
While this team surely had the fire power, it was the defense and setting that truly made the difference. Firstly, Lola Schumacher (Wisocnsin) and Cawa are a match made in heaven. These two gelled so well together on the court. They were a tandem. Switching in and out of the ‘bro jersey, it didn’t matter who was in it. In each role they found themselves in, they stepped up the level of play.
The same can be said for the pair of setters on this side of the net. Charlie Fuerbringer (Wisconsin) and Nayelis Cabello (Louisville) were super stars. Fuerbringer and her versatility on the court left the crowd with a lot of “oohs and aahs”. While dishing butter all night, it was the full-blown rips on two and straight down roofs that were jaw dropping. Cabello can get down in a very similar way herself. On top of her setting, she was used a little bit for her blocking at times, and then some for her defense. Wherever on the court you put her, she thrived. In the final stretch of the match, it was Cabello that paced fire to victory.
Team Ice
Offense
Offensively, Ice had the most-balanced offense of the two teams. While plenty of go-to options, the spread of wealth was what had them winning over fire for a bit of the match. One of the top dogs, however, was Payton Petersen (Louisville). I would argue one of the heaviest arms of the 28 players invited, this girl can hang and bang. Petersen had one of my favorite moments of the night. After a long-run from Fire, Petersen comes storming up the middle to have a 1 on none opportunity and demolished the ball. I couldn’t get enough! Petersen led Ice with 13 kills.
Of the other pins included Kiki Horne (UCLA), Layni Smith (Illinois) and Bailey Higgins (Florida State-Beach). Horne split some time between playing on the left and right. She proved to be a threat on both pins however. Horne would throw down 10 kills throughout four sets played. As for the two primary opposites, Smith and Higgins, these two were scoring machines. In the 6-2 system ran by Ice, it was constant threat on the right pin. From Smith’s 6’4 frame to Higgins high-flying left handed chopper, these two complimented each other very well and combined for 15 kills.
In the middle, we had the tandem of Alec Rothe (Florida) and Favor Anyanwu (USC) for the bulk of the machine. These two were the definition of terminal. Both hitting over .500, the two combined for 14 kills hitting .560. With as much production as Ice got out of their middles, it’s quite surprising to see they didn’t pull out the win in hindsight. Both Rothe and Anyanwu were incredible forces to watch throughout the match.
Defense and Setting
Rounding out the Ice, we have Asia Thigpen (Kentucky) and Taylor Parks (Florida). Thigpen used as the dynamic DS in middle black, she was clutch throughout the games. Including the set 1 winner on the pipe, Thigpen showed off her versatility. Surprisingly, we didn’t see her swing more given the absence of Carlie Cisneros (Arizona) due to injury. Parks was another highlight. Creating a 1-2 punch with Starck in Ice’s 6-2 offense, the duo were top notch in all facets of the game. I could easily see Parks challenging for playing time right away at Florida this coming fall.