Any time teams are playing to make a gold bracket is a big deal. When it’s at a national championship, it’s an even bigger one. That’s what Day 3 for the 14s and 18s at AAUs in Orlando had in store for us. You can read about the day’s developments below if you keep scrolling. First, we want to showcase our Day 3 Show Stoppers. These are the players who stood out to us the most while going from court to court.

Ruby McDermott, L, A5 Mizuno 14-1 Helen – McDermott showed her ability to get low and pick balls up off the floor. She was passing on target out of serve receive and was holding down the back row with confidence.

Jordin Southall, OH, GP 14 Rox – A high-flying outside, Southall is someone to keep tabs on as she moves up in age groups. She can unleash on balls at times and is a definite scoring threat when she checks in front row.

Jenness Orcutt, RS, GP 14 Rox – Orcutt brings her much-needed height to the front row. She has a good extension on her attacks and gave GP a reliable option on the right side. She was also touching balls and helping slow down attacks.

Emma Adkins, OH, Tri-State Elite 14 Blue – A six-rotation outside, Adkins is a key cog in the Tri-State lineup. She doesn’t back down, swinging well and keeps it coming at blockers.

Arielle Hepler, L, Boiler Jrs 14 Gold – Boiler is one of the better passing and ball control teams in the field. Hepler contributes to that with her play at libero. She plays with lots of energy and is sound out of serve receive and does well chasing down balls.

Lexi Shondell, S, Boiler Jrs 14 Gold – Shondell is someone we could talk about every time we see her play. She’s that talented. She already shows great command of the offense as she gets all her hitters involved. She’s also a plus defender.

Madeline Dettling, OH, Mich Elite 14 Mizuno – A lanky outside, Dettling is one of the better offensive options for Mich Elite. She was showing nice extension on most of her swings.

Ella Askin, OH, Adidas KiVA 14 Red – Asking brings a bit of physicality to the lineup. She’s a strong hitter who can unleash big kills at times.

Riley Taylor, MB, Triangle 14 Black – Taylor displayed her upside and it makes her someone to keep watch on in the years to come. She’s tall and that’s always an advantage at this age group. She also has the capability to send down loud kills when she gets a hold of one.

Lexi Kedvesh, L, Rev 14-1 – Kedvesh does a solid job patrolling the back row. She can pass overhead and she can move side to side in serve receive and still deliver on target.

Isabelle Masten, OH, Rev 14-1 – A bit undersized, Masten passes well and is a fearless attacker who can hit from the back row as well.

Jaycee Jones, MB, Rev 14-1 – Also a bit undersized, Jones is an athletic middle who moves well. She has a quick leap and nice arm that makes her a scoring threat on in-system passes.

Meredith Martin, L, Legacy 14-1 Adidas – Martin is one of the best liberos in the field. She’s smooth and consistent and rarely makes mistakes or misses on plays. She also can pass half the court in a two-person serve receive along with Jadyn Kennedy.

Zoe Ross, L, Wildfire 14 Albert – Wildfire is one of the better digging and scrambling teams in the tournament. Ross is part of the reason why with her ability to make hustle plays and passing well when served at.

Josie Noble, MB, Far Out 14 Black – Noble brings a level of physicality to the front row. She was scoring from sideline to sideline, going cross body and wrist away with equal effectiveness.

Charlotte Segard, OH, MVA 14 National Black – Segard helps keep the offense ticking across the front row. She’s also a strong contributor in the back row where she was making nice digs and covers to keep rallies alive.

Madison Hewitson, RS, Ocala Power 14 Adidas – A lanky lefty right side, Hewitson was making an impact on both sides of the ball. She was get her hands on attacks then turning around and scoring with nice shots to the deep cross court corner.

Violet Poole, L, MVP 14 Gold – Poole was performing well and working hard to hold down the defensive side. She was laying out to keep balls alive, stepping taking them overhead and passing steady out of serve receive.

Jenna Baller, L, Elevation 14 Peak – Baller was another defensive presence. She was sound in serve receive and putting passes on digs right on target consistently.

Kennedy Boatman, S, Tx Tornados 14 Adidas – Boatman was consistently setting clean balls. She showed a soft touch and was hitting her spots regularly.

Gabriella Brodner, OH, Jupiter Elite 14 – Brodner flashed her upside. She’s lanky with nice extension and is part of a solid outside duo for Jupiter.

Olivia Peterson, OH, Jupiter Elite 14 – Peterson is the other half of a standout outside duo for Jupiter. She was showcasing strong passing skills and though she’s a bit undersized she was aggressive with her swings.

Shaniya Harris, MB, HJV 14 Premier – A middle who is a bit undersized, Harris helps make up for with her bounce. She’s quick off the ground with a nice arm and delivered a few impressive kills.

Adriana Jeanpierre, OH, JJVA 14 Teal – Jeanpierre gets in the air well with her strong jump. She gives JJVA a scoring option front or back row as she’s not afraid to let it rip.

Avery MacMeccan, L, Upward Stars 14 Taylor – Taylor communicates well, encouraging teammates and letting hitters know where to swing. She was also consistently picking up swings and tips coming her way.

Olivia Siskin, S, A5 Mizuno 14-2 Allison – At 5-10, Siskin has decent size for the age group. Her delivery is consistent and her sets rarely off target.

Kalamaku Crabbe, OH, 808 Athletic Club 14 Sheri – A smart hitter who utilizes tips and rolls to keep defenses off balance, Crabbe is also of value in the backrow. She was passing and defending at a high level.

Makayla Credit, MB, Mich Elite 14 Elite – Though Credit is a bit undersized, she cannot be disregarded. She has a great jump and nice swing and is a capable scorer when she gets the opportunity to contribute offensively.

Bergen Reilly, S, Kairos 18 Adidas – A five-star Class of 2023 recruit committed to Nebraska, Reilly is smooth and flawless. She seemingly never mishandles the ball or misses her spots. She’s great at getting her attackers one-on-one looks and has great court sense and presence.

Taylor Pagan, OH, High Voltage 18/17s – A Colorado State commit, this 6-1 junior outside is another high flyer on High Voltage’s roster. She gets up and can crush it with her big swing.

Ella Wrobel, OH, SPVB 18 Elite – A five-star recruit signed with Wisconsin, Wrobel is a physical presence and a dynamic attacker. She can score well from the front and back with smarts to match a powerful arm.

Eva Hudson, OH, Munciana 18 Samurai – Hudson is the heartbeat that makes Muncie tick. She’s a Purdue commit and brings tons of fire and passion to the court. She’s also a reliable and clutch scorer who doesn’t back down and comes straight at blockers and defenders.

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Let’s fast forward to Day 4’s 14 Open gold bracket. Eight teams from our 14s National Rankings make up the 10-team modified bracket – No. 8 Boiler Jrs 14 Gold, No. 11 GP 14 Rox, No. 24 A5 Mizuno 14 Helen, No. 30 Legacy 14-1 Adidas, No. 31 Rev 14-1, No. 34 Top Select 14 Elite, No. 39 WPVC 14 Armour Black and No. 49 Adidas KiVA 14 Red. The field started off with 12 teams ranked in our Top 50.

One ranked team that wasn’t so fortunate Friday was No. 19 Dynasty 14 Black, which became our highest-ranked team to be eliminated. Dynasty lost both pool matches, falling to WPVC and Vaqueras Freddy. Dynasty then had a crossover match to stay alive and advance to the gold pool but lost a heartbreaker to Mauloa 14 Green, going down 16-14 in the third set.

Not to be outdone, Rev held off Vaqueras in three as well in another crossover, taking the third set by the identical 16-14 score.

Yikes! That’s what the national championships are about, pure drama!

Mauloa’s three-team pool was full of it. Mauloa defeated A5 in three sets then fell to Rev in three, losing Game 15-13. A5 followed by sweeping Rev. That created a three-way tie at 1-1. A5 took first place thanks to having the best set percentage. That pushed Rev and Mauloa into the crossovers to remain in the hunt.

GP continued its dominant run so far. The Florida club – which is also qualified for 14 Open at USAV – still hasn’t dropped a set in moving to 9-0. Top-seeded Boiler Jrs cannot say the same, not after needing three sets to sneak past Tribe 14 Elite, winning Game 15-13 in the 1 v 2 outing. Tribe was trying to create a three-way tie at 2-1, but instead finished 1-2 and was eliminated as Top Select advanced from the pool along with Boiler Jrs.

Those results kept Boiler Jrs and GP on a collision course to meet in the final as they are on opposite sides of the bracket.

A loss on Day 1 and another on Day 2 bumped original No. 5 seed Legacy down to the No. 4 team in Pool 3 on Day 3. However, the Michigan club was up for the challenge and went 3-0 in beating MN Select 14-1, Northern Lights 14-1 and Madfrog 14 Black. Northern Lights, the No. 3 team in the pool, finished 2-1 to move on to the gold bracket as well.

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Looking at the 14 Premier gold bracket, the top half features Jupiter Elite 14–MVA 14 National Black and Elevation 14 Peak–JJVA 14 Teal. The lower half is made up of 808 Athletic 14 Sheri–Tx Tornados 14 Adidas and Far Out 14 Black–305 14 Chris.

Tx Tornados knocked out top-seeded OT 14 Laura in challenge play Friday afternoon, winning in straight sets. Tornados started as the No. 5 overall seed. A few of the original seeds are doing well. 305 was the No. 2 seed when things kicked off and is still alive. As are No. 4 JJVA, No. 7 Jupiter Elite and No. 9 Far Out. Original No. 3 seed MVP 14 Gold had a tough run Friday and went 0-3 in Pool 6. The other teams in the final eight made their way up the seedings nicely, as they all started off in the 30s. MVA began at No. 32, Elevation at No. 35 and 808 at No. 36.

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The 18 Open gold bracket is also set after Day 3 action. The top half contains Munciana 18 Samurai–Kokoro Volleyball 18-1 and Kairos 18 Adidas–Coast 17-1 while the lower half features Sports Performance 18 Elite–USANY Fortitude and WVBA 18 Adidas–High Voltage 17/18.

Muncie took over the top seed after pulling out an entertaining win over SPVB in challenge play, 25-21, 28-30, 15-13. It was one of the highest-level matches of the season and had everything one would want in a rivalry match.

High Voltage swept Coast, 25-21, 25-22, in another challenge match but wound up in the same half as SPVB when Muncie won. Coast defeated Muncie in pool play, while SPVB downed High Voltage in pool. Rematches could take place in the semis.