Notes App Still Going - Day Three USAV 15 Open Standouts

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=PrepDig&set=a.831679385296599" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Day 3 - USAV 15 Open and National Gold Pools</a>   At big time events likes this, I'm looking for new athletes to put on the radar. There are ones I've seen time and time again stand out. There's Gaby DiVita who is one of the top players in the entire 15 Open field from Legacy. The same can be said about a player like Halle Thompson, the outside hitter from Houston Skyline who is always a human highlight. Who are the new ones? Who are the ones on the rise? Here are a few from day three of the 15 Open field at USAV who were very impressive.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/06/DSC03332.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-411408"/></figure>   Caroline Ward - Boiler Juniors 15 Gold   I saw Caroline Ward way back in January when Boiler Juniors played at Central Zone in Indy. I try not to cover grad classes that aren't in high school just to keep the range tight. but hey - it's summer and Ward will be more than high school ready this fall. As a right side for Boilers she plays extremely high with great hand contact. She puts a hurt on the ball. She is also a very physical blocker. As she develops a back court game where she can play six rotations her upside for the international level will be very appealing.    Layla Hoying and Mallory Matheny - Mintonette m.51   Mintonette is on a tear. After winning the AAU 15 Open title, they've come in and kept it going. Mallory Matheny is so solid in the setter position. She has great feet, clean release, and is on the money with her tempos. She has great physicality at the net and total command is the court. Outside hitter Layla Hoying has a violent swing. She packs a punch and can do so with a sharp angle. This is a really consistent group who knows how to win. They've had quite a past two years. They are the defending champions in this age group.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/06/DSC03337.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-411409"/></figure>   DaMya Mann - Alamo 15 Premier   Alamo setter she can play outside too - an extremely well rounded player, DaMya Mann does plenty of positive things for her Alamo squad. I saw her set, where she can always get her feet and hands to the ball, but I later saw her swing from the pin. Alamo always seems to be in the running when it comes to big national events. They control the ball and play smart which is exactly what Mann does for the squad out or San Antonio.    Madison Crnjac - Arizona Storm 15 Thunder   Madison Crnjac was essentially a tutorial on how to pass to attack with how she controls the ball, transitions, and scores points. All of these Arizona Storm athletes are so fundamentally sound and well trained. Crnjac was key for this squad in scoring points and being able to provide a consistent touch to keep them in system.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/06/DSC03348.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-411410"/></figure>   Genevieve Harris - NC Academy 15 Diamond   The entire North Carolina staff was at the NC Academy match vs AZ Storm. There are some athletes on this squad who will be a high priority to keep in state. Setter Genevieve Harris is one of the top setters in this entire tournament. She moves extremely well, always looking to jump set and push tempo, and the fire she plays with on the court is tough to match. She has a ton of intensity that is contagious on her side of the court. She had some key connections with outside hitter 15 against Storm, ultimately leading them to the Gold challenge match. One of her top targets is a powerful outside hitter named Natalie Langston. Langston puts a hurt on the ball and can take it a variety of angles.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1674776540025090049?s=20 </div></figure>   Kalli Lipo - Arizona Storm 15 Thunder   She lights up the court, she celebrates just as hard as she competes. I feel like this is consistent all throughout Arizona Storm and all of their liberos where they are so aware on the court, making their presence known. Lipo was able to take pace off the ball, command the first contact, and serve receive threes.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/06/DSC03316.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-411411"/></figure>   Westley Matavao - Forza1 North 15 One   What an athlete and exciting play maker for Forza1. She has a big swing where it's a heavy ball for the defense to receive cleanly. She also made some huge defensive plays throughout the day.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/06/DSC03330.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-411412"/></figure>   Blaire Bowers and Jaidyn Hartsfield - MadFrog 15N Green   Madfrog fell short in their match against Skyline to advance to the final eight but their outside hitter duo of Bowers and Hartsfieldwere a big reason why they made the sweet sixteen. They swung big every time, they weren't afraid to go against a big, physical block of Skyline. They were tooling the block, hitting all the shots to keep them competitive.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/06/DSC03396.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-411414"/></figure>   Blair Thiebaud - Houston Skyline 15 Royal   I'd put Thiebaud in the category of being one of the top setters in this event. Her command and communication is top tier along with all of her top notch fundamentals. When she jumps in the front row she is always a threat to score or push a quick tempo to any of her attackers. She can block, swing, and defend. Houston Skyline has a ton of firepower offensively, but they need someone like Thiebaud to be the orchestrator. Houston Skyline dropped a gold pool match to Forza 1, but came back with a vengeance in their challenge match to defeat NC Academy and secure a spot in the final eight.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/06/DSC03340.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-411415"/></figure>   Willow Weninger and Julia Anisimova - Pohaku 15-1   Such an exciting athlete. Weninger had a big game against SCVC to punch their ticket to the gold bracket. SCVC has a really talented outside duo and Weninger was able to contain them with her block and found ways to score points as well. Another athlete who was playing big even though she was one of the smaller ones on the court was libero, Julia Anisimova. Not only was she getting touches on the attacks from SCVC, she was keeping her team in system. This team's brand is scrappy defense and who knows what happens come gold bracket play.  Their momentum is super high right now.

Day 3 - USAV 15 Open and National Gold Pools