Iowa Athletes Earn AAU, USAV National Honors

Iowa had quite a month of national tournaments from the AAU National Tournament in Orlando to the USAV National Championships in Vegas. There were plenty of Iowa clubs who brought home hardware and even individual awards.   What Does it Take To Be Named All Tournament Team?   These tournaments are massive. How do they pick? In order to be on the all tournament team, teams have to advance to the "Gold" final bracket on the fourth day of competition. This typically guarantees the team a spot in the elite eight.   How Do These Divisions Work?   Teams can compete in the AAU National Tournament, the USAV National Championships, or BOTH. The AAU National Tournament does not have a qualifying process, teams can sign up for their division. USAV is a qualification system where teams can earn a bid to nationals from their region or through a national qualifier. In both tournaments there are various divisions based on competition level, but the highest overall division for both tournaments is the "Open" division.   AAU Levels of Competition   Open, Premier, Elite, Club, Aspire, Spirit, Classic   <a href="https://image.aausports.org/Volleyball/2024AAUAllTournament.pdf">AAU All Tournament List</a>   USAV Levels of Competition   Open, National, USA, Liberty, American, Freedom   <a href="https://usavolleyball.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2024-All-Tournament-GJNC-16-17-July-9.pdf">USAV All Tournament 16s and 17s</a>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/usavolleyball/status/1810501336523284872 </div></figure>    All Tournament - AAU 18 Open    Schelhaus wrapped up her club career for Iowa PowerPlex 18U Brogean at the AAU National Championships in Orlando where her squad finished third overall in 18 Open.  Schelhaus has always played with a scrappy, competitive edge where she has had big success at Plex as well as Des Moines Christian, competing in multiple state tournaments.  She will take her game to the next level at Northern Colorado located in Greeley which is always a contender in the Big Sky Conference.     All Tournament - 18 Open   One of the top pin attackers in the Iowa Class of 2024, Helming is a pure point scorer from the outside and right side. She has gathered plenty of accolades during her time at Johnston High School which has included multiple state tournament appearances. She is heading to Valparaiso in Northwest Indiana which is part of the Missouri Valley Conference. She will be making return trips to Iowa when they visit Drake and UNI.    <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/1809671586599023019 </div></figure>    All Tournament and MVP - USAV 17 National    Meester has had a huge year that started this fall where she was key in the Mount Vernon run to a state runner up finish in Class 3A, which was then followed by a state basketball and state track appearance.  At the USAV Nationals in the 17 National Division, Meester was absolutely electric where she would take over at certain moments for Adrenaline 17 Ben.  She was effective from the service line as well where she was putting a laser beam over the net.  There is one more high school season left for Meester where she will look to lead Mount Vernon to a title before she heads off to Louisville to continue her volleyball career.    <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/1809299988297707728 </div></figure>    All Tournament - USAV 17 National    When teams would key on the outside of [player_tooltip player_id='215385' first='Chloe' last='Meester'] and UNI commit, [player_tooltip player_id='215426' first='Molly' last='Shafer'] on the outside, they would have to also deal with the wrath of [player_tooltip player_id='215389' first='Sydney' last='Maue'].  The Arkansas commit has a big left handed swing on the right side where she has a really high contact point where she can go hard cross, or hammer down the line.  Maue is another athlete who had success on the track where she was one of the state's top high jumpers.  She will join Meester and Mount Vernon with some top hardware on their mind.     All Tournament - USAV 17 National    Another multisport athlete for Adrenaline is [player_tooltip player_id='216055' first='Kate' last='Shafer'], where she was a qualifier in state volleyball, basketball, and track.  She is the QB1 for whatever team she is on as she can command quite the offense as the setter for volleyball.  On the high school courts she has racked up thousands of assists where many of them going to her twin sister, [player_tooltip player_id='215426' first='Molly' last='Shafer'].  This past tournament in Vegas, Kate was able to keep the opposing side off balanced by being able to distribute to all of her attackers and was an offensive threat of her own when the opportunity presented itself.     All Tournament - USAV 17 USA   Miller is dynamite, she can score from anywhere on the court, she is a six rotation outside hitter who will be taking her game to Wayne State following her prep career.  When PowerPlex needed points, Miller was the answer.  She could score from the backrow, on a quick tempo to the outside, and was a threat out of system as well.  PowerPlex finished third overall in the USA Division.  Miller will be one of the top returning outside hitters in Class 5A where she will look to lead her Ankeny Centennial team back to the state tournament.     All Tournament - USAV 17 USA   Hanfelt is another one who has had a decorated career on the volleyball court and track as one of the top high jumpers in the Class 5A.  Her quick leaping ability translates well to the volleyball court where she is a lethal attacker and blocker out of the middle.  Hanfelt is a quick twitch middle who is able to run a fast tempo and can score points off of a one foot take off.  She preps at Ankeny High School where they dropped a five set thriller to Ankeny Centennial at the state tournament.  The Hawks return a strong core of senior athletes who will be hungry for more in 2024.     MVP and All Tournament - USAV 17 American    MVP out of the Sioux City/Dakota Dunes area in Western Iowa was back in a national championship match by finishing runner up in the 17 American Division.  Boeve was named MVP of this division where her skill set is very unique.  She is a six rotation middle blocker which has been successful for her on the high school and club courts.  In just over a month she will take the court for Hinton High School where they are looking to get back to the state tournament and then some.  They return a strong core of returners to make a big run in 2024.     All Tournament - USAV 17 American    [player_tooltip player_id='389834' first='Ava' last='Lloyd'] has a big arm swing where she is a huge point scorer on the outside. She was key for the run of MVP this club season and in Vegas.  Her ability to be aggressive is just different.  She is a 2026 playing up an age group and is able to compete against high level athletes.  With her skill set, she can score in a variety of ways where she can be sneaky to defend out of serve receive.  She can score from the outside, middle, and right side.  This should be an exciting high school season coming up for Lloyd.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/07/DSC08860.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-566824"/></figure>    All Tournament - USAV 17 American    Munch is another 2026 playing up on the 17s team for MVP.  She preps at Dakota Valley High School in South Dakota where they are a state power, finishing 5th in Class A in 2023. Her approach to the ball is fast with her arm swing and hand contact being violent.  If the other side of the net is able to get a touch, it most likely isn't staying in system.  She will be gearing up for a big junior season where she had over 350 kills as a sophomore.     All Tournament - USAV 16 American    Van Den Top is another high level 2026 athlete from MVP who preps at Sergeant Bluff-Luton outside of Sioux City.  Van Den Top brings a really physical and athletic style of play to the court as a 5'10 attacker. She can attack high and hits a heavy ball where she can score points a variety of ways.  She had over 300 kills her sophomore year at SBL, and will look to lead her team back to a deep run in the postseason with an elevated all around game for 2024.     All Tournament - USAV 15 National   Allaman might be one of the unsung heroes of the tournament where she earned All Tournament Team as a defensive specialist. She is always so steady and consistent with her serve receive and defensive play which allowed for [program_tooltip program_id='431948' first='Iowa' last='Rockets'] 15R to get in system and execute their high powered attack. Allaman preps at Pleasant Valley High School where this team will have big expectations heading into the 2024 season returning almost their entire lineup from the 2023 that resulted in a Class 5A final four appearance.     All Tournament - USAV 15 National   The top player in Iowa's Class of 2027, and she really showed out at the national tournament this past week. Austen is a six rotation player who can score from anywhere on the court. What has been really impressive to see evolve over the season is her backcourt game. She can serve receive, defend, and definitely score points. She is so smooth and efficient where she knows when to swing hard, when to roll, tip, she has all the shots in her bag. Such an exciting athlete that will be fun to see develop in what will lead to a big summer for her in 2025.    <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/1810405812327821730 </div></figure>    All Tournament - 15 National   Miller is one of the top liberos in the Class of 2027 and has capped off a huge year where she was an All State libero for Iowa City Liberty and was named to an All State team. She takes great command of the court and one of her best skills is being able to handle a high volume on serve receive and can put up a great second ball. Iowa City Liberty is going to be in the hunt to get back to the state tournament in their backyard of Coralville this fall.    <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/1719062991163826273 </div></figure>    All Tournament - 15 Open   Ellison was a top performer for RVA out of Central Iowa where the 15 Naples team was in the gold bracket of 15 Open at the AAU National Championships.  They finished 5th overall after losing to Northern Lights 15-1 in the quarterfinals.  Ellison isn't afraid to swing big as an outside hitter.  She can score points in bunches and had a breakout match in the Class 5A quarterfinals where she notched seven kills.  Not only will Ankeny be talented, but their depth is next level.     All Tournament - 15 Elite   Toft and her Iowa Select 15 Mizuno team out of the Quad Cities tied for 5th in the 15 Elite Division at the AAU National Championships. They finished with an 10-2 overall record over four days and lost in the quarterfinals COA 15 Gophers out of Indiana. Toft is a big time attacker where she can score from multiple spots along the front row, but is mostly a middle blocker. She connects extremely well on a fast tempo set from her setter [player_tooltip player_id='490009' first='Leah' last='Caffery'] and is a major problem for opponents with her block. She will be a sophomore at Durant High School this fall.

Iowa had quite a month of national tournaments from the AAU National Tournament in Orlando to the USAV National Championships in Vegas. There were plenty of Iowa clubs who brought home hardware and even individual awards.