USAV Nationals Day 2 Recap and Standouts

Day 2 is in the book and we have a lot of team vying for that elusive chance to make the gold bracket at USAV Nationals. Day 2 also saw a bunch of teams still in the running to make it plus multiple standouts from AZ teams. We will detail the teams still in the running to make the gold bracket plus some standouts from day 2!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Still in the running to make Gold bracket after Day 2:</h2>   Aspire 14 Alpha (14 Freedom)   Atomic 14 Smack Premier (14 Liberty)   Omni 14N1 (14 National)   EVJ 14 Elite (14 National)   AZ Sky 14 Gold (14 Open)   AZ Storm 14 Thunder (14 Open)   Livewire 14 Prime (14 USA)   AZ Sky 15 Gold (15 American)   AZ Storm 15 Lightning (15 American)   AZ EVJ 15 Elite (15 Freedom)   AZ Sky 15 Blue (15 Freedom)   Aspire 15 Alpha (15 National)   Omni 15N1 (15 USA)   Starting day 3 with 12 teams still having a chance to make the Gold bracket is a testament to the talent of AZ! Can't wait to see how many of these teams give it a run for a Natty on the last day!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Standouts through 2 days:</h2>    Gloria has been one of the top players on Aspire at Nationals to this point and really seems to be coming into her own as one of the top middles in her class and in AZ. She really can do it all from a middle stand point and has shown a lot of growth especially in the offensive category. She is a force at the net and is scoring a ton of point with her offensive game. The setters are really utilizing her and running her with different tempos and locations that causes fits on the other team.   As for her defense, not a lot to say that we haven't already, however she should be getting some national recognition with her ability to block other middles and get a ton of touches on pin hitters by closing her block. She is a big presence at the net and can take a lot of angles and shots away from some big time hitters. It has been a great showing at nationals for Aspire and Gloria, and we look for that to continue the next two days!     EVJ is having a great tournament to this point and one of the reasons why is their passing in serve receive and defense and that would start with Emma as their libero. Emma is all over the place as a libero and moves from serve receive to coverage to defense with such ease. She seems to be one of the faster players on the floor and that really helps her cover a ton of ground. This helps her in serve receive as she will take all the seam balls and will react quick enough to take any short serves or get her feet deep enough on the serves deep. Footwork is key, and Emma does a wonderful job with her footwork and technique.   On top of her fast play she is also a great server who will routinely keep other teams out of system or scores from the service line with her own aces. A libero who can pass well in serve receive, play defense, and score for the service line is really the trifecta we loves to see as coaches and scouts. Her play this weekend has really demonstrated she has a lot of potential to be a top level libero and we can't wait to see how well the next two days goes for her.     Elliot has been one of the cogs in the 14 Gold system to this point and has kept that machine rolling with how well she is doing in multiple parts of her game. First with her defense she seems to be covering 1/2 to 2/3s of the court with her play. Any ball that is coming near her she is taking and making it look easy with her passing. She does well on hard driven balls always creating the proper angle to the setter and has her feet set in a great position to react to anything strange off the block or an off speed shot. She is constantly keeping her team in system and doing a great job running the backrow throughout the match.   Most team have realized to not serve her to this point as she is passing at a very high clip. However when she is served she is doing a great job keeping her team in system by passing at a high clip. She moves to the ball with ease and with her great platform will pass dimes constantly to her setter. She is a libero who is really coming into her own this season and especially at the end of the season is really hitting her peak. She has done well the first two days and we look for that to continue the next two!     Laela has done well these two days and is one of the focal points in offense for Omni as they are making a run for the gold bracket. She really does well with her all around game and is someone who can help a team out from multiple areas. On offense she does a great job with both the in system and most importantly the out of system sets. She is able to put the ball in a good location and with some pace for both types of sets and doesn't shy away from being aggressive in both situations. She can score in high volumes when called upon and doesn't shy away from a big moment.   She is also aggressive with her blocking and ability to take way space at the net from other teams hitters. She doesn't shy away from any type of hitter and will press well over the net to get her fair share of blocks. Her explosiveness helps in so many areas including her offense and defensive and it is a tool that is going to serve well and she progresses through the next fear years. Overall Laela has had a great club season and is really doing well at nationals. She is one of the big reasons Omni has done so well to this point and she will look to keep that up in their fight for the gold bracket.     A libero who has helped Atomic get to be in the running on day 3, Paisley has all the parts you look for in a libero. She moves well and effortlessly to the ball and in transition. She creates great angles on the ball and always seems to have great form with her platform. Most importantly she is loud and communicates really well for someone in the14s age group. On top of that she does well with her serving which really just gives Paisley the whole package when you are looking for a top end libero at 14's.   Now if you haven't watched her play she has that great footwork and will take a lot of balls that some liberos might not take just because her footwork and form is always in the right spot. She isn't afraid to be challenged and anticipates well to get in the proper position to pass a ball and keep her team in system. She is someone who is firmly on our radar because of her performance at nationals and we will look for that to continue over the next two days!     Playing for Armor Elite, Rilynn has been running and setting a great offense for them these past two days. When you watch her play you see a girl who moves with purpose and does a good job on ball distribution to her hitters. She moves well to always get her feet tot he ball and doesn't rely on the easy set when she is going for a ball. She is very deliberate with who she sets and tempo that is used and seems to always make the right decision when it comes to exploiting match ups. Seems like her court IQ is through the roof, and having a setter who has that type of awareness really helps out at this age.   One of my favorite things about a young setter is their ability to use an run their middles and Rilynn does not shy away from running her middles. She does a great job setting them and with tempo so they get a lot of one on one opportunities. She also does well with her defense, and making good contact on the ball and creating angles to help keep rallies alive. Overall Rilynn has done well these last two days and has been a standout at USAV Nationals to this point.     Kendall has been doing great for Club One up to this point and really seems to be one of the best passers in her division so far. She is constantly passing the ball to the setter and keeping her team in system whether that is out of serve receive, defense, or those long rallies that require constant good passes to win those. She just seems to always get her arms on the ball and in the right angle to pass it.   As for her defense, my recommendation is to avoid her but some teams have not gotten the memo as she will dig, dig, and dig these teams into submission. She seems to see the game at a slower pace over others and anticipates so well to get her feet to the proper spot to pass. This also shows up in her serve receive as she gets her feet and platform to the ball to pass 2's and 3's throughout a match. Has great footwork, ball knowledge, and great technique. All the ingredients needed for a great libero and Kendall has really shown that at Nationals so far!    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   We have a lot more content coming from this incredible event! If you missed this one, be sure to tag us in your schedules for NIT, Nationals, and Festival! If you want more exposure, be sure to attend one of the Prep Dig AZ showcases in August! Use code MarissaMorah10 or AnthonyJones10 for a discount.   <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> <a href="https://prepdig.com/all-events/">All Events</a> </blockquote>

Day 2 is in the book and we have a lot of team vying for that elusive chance to make the gold bracket at USAV Nationals. Day 2 also saw a bunch of teams still in the running to make it plus multiple standouts from AZ teams. We will detail the teams still in the running to make the gold bracket plus some standouts from day 2!