We are winding down at AAU in Orlando. With the 14s, 15s, 17s and 18s divisions in the rearview, it’s time the 16s take stage. Thursday marked the first day of play in the age group and girls were eager to get after it and compete (scroll further down for a recap of the day). vballrecruiter.com was on the move from court to court checking for the athletes who were making us take notice. Below, we highlight our Day 1 Show Stoppers.

Allie Shondell, S, Boiler Jrs 16 Gold – Shondell – a five-star recruit – is a setting highlight reel. She has a clean release and soft touch. She hits her target almost always and can be tough for defenses to read.

Riley Resmer, MB, Boiler Jrs 16 Gold – A 6-1 middle, Resmer was a reliable scoring option. She was running 1s effectively and defenses were forced to stay close and committed to her.

Paige Wagner, MB, Northern Lights – Wagner was letting opponents feel her existence in the middle with her 6-2 frame. She was touching a lot of balls while also scoring on quicks.

Reis Baune, OH, Northern Lights – Baune was getting after it every time we saw her swing. A 6-0 outside, she’s an aggressive attacker with a quick swing to torment defenses with.

London Wijay, OH, Supernova 16 All Stars – A three-star recruit, Wijay is a wirey outside with a nice bounce and swing. She’s a six-rotation threat and the main weapon for Supernova.

Rachel Ogunleye, MB, Ilini Elite 16 Cardinal – With nice size in the middle at 6-2, there’s plenty of upside to Ogunleye and her potential to shine at the next level. A three-star recruit, she’s springy and quick, which allows her to move side to side with ease.

Kendall Beshear, OH, SCVC 16 Roxy – Beshear is relentless. She’s a bit undersized but has an explosive jump and arm and crushes balls over and over.

Taylor Deckert, L, SCVC 16 Roxy – We’ve seen Deckert throughout the year and she’s steady and consistent in the back row. She is rarely off in serve receive and makes tough digs look easy at times.

Macie Malchow, S, Kairos 16 Adidas – A 5-10 disher, Malchow showcased a consistent release and nice touch. Her location was spot on and she was playing solid defense too.

Liliana Dutcher, RS, Ka Ulukoa 16 Black – Dutcher changes the look of the offense when she checks in. A lefty, she’s a threat anytime Ka Ulukoa was in system and she will get fed the ball often in that scenario.

Allison Pilat, MB, Mich Elite 16 Mizuno – At 6-1, when Pilat is able to extend she can deliver. She sent down a couple kills of note that had to make the defense pay attention.

Katelynn Rottman, OH, Mich Elite 16 Mizuno – A bit undersized on the pin, Rottman plays with lots of energy and a high spirit. She has a good arm and is fearless, as she keeps coming at defenses time and time again.

Ava Vetter, RS, Adversity 16 Adidas – Vetter is a featured part of the attack. Adversity likes to move her around to give defenses more to think about. Vetter has nice extension on her swings as well.

Grace Busold, OH, AVC Cle Rox 16 Red – A bit undersized at 5-9, Busold was showing plenty of pop on the outside. She cracked a few that were impossible to ignore.

Annabelle Groomes, S, AVC Cle Rox 16 Red – A five-star recruit from the Class of 2025, Groomes is an unbelievable talent. She has remarkable hands and consistently sets a clean, hittable ball in guiding the offense.

Delaney Lawson, OH, Asics Munciana 16 Moana – A 6-1, three-star recruit, Lawson is lanky with a fluid swing that generates plenty of pace. She was showing great extension with a high contact point, making it difficult for blockers to slow down.

Lola Schumacher, L, Asics Munciana 16 Moana – Schumacher was showing why she’s a five-star recruit. She owns the back row with lots of range and presence. She can slide over and pass dimes on the move with little effort.

Maria Drapp, S, Tri-State Elite 16 Blue – A three-star recruit, Drapp has really good hands and hits her mark regularly. She does well varying her sets to get all her hitters involved and can be hard for defenses to get a feel for.

Camille Morrison, OH, SPVB 16 Elite – Morrison is 5-11 but plays taller than that. She’s wirey and springy with huge upside.

Chloe Gels, OH, Summit 16 Blue Elite – Gels – a three-star recruit, was taking aggressive rips and really challenging defenses to make a play. She’s a threat front and back row, so defenses need to be aware of her no matter what.

Carly O’Brien, OH, Upward Stars 16 Amy – At 5-9, O’Brien is a little undersized but she’s a gamer. A six-rotation outside, she can get up and attack with a passion.

Ellie Moore, S, Northeast 16 Open – Moore was showing consistent spotting with her dishes. She features a soft release and was making a few plays defensively as well.

Caroline Ellis, OH, Northeast 16 Open – A 6-1 outside from the Class of 2025, Ellis has a strong, powerful arm. She was pounding balls deep near the end line consistently.

Ryan Hunter, RS, CJV 16 Zoe – Another member of the Class of 2025, Hunter is a four-star recruit who is going to star at the next level. She’s a lefty with a big jump and arm who plays all the way around.

Taylor Treahy, RS, LAVA North 16 Adidas – A 6-0 lefty right side, Treahy completely changes the dynamic of the game when she comes across the front row. She’s long and can go over blocks. She’s also able to help slow down attackers with her ability to get her hands on shots.

Nina Mitchell, MB, Shockwave VB 16 Sean – Mitchell showed so much upside and is a someone to keep tabs on as she continues to develop. She was making herself known by getting her hands on lots of balls.

Isabelle Poehlein, RS, Team Indiana 16.1 – Poehlein is another right side who changes the look of her team when she gets in. At 6-2 and a lefty, she’s a scoring threat who can go over the block and defenses must give her attention.

Tia Traudt, OH, VCNebraska 16 Elite – A freshman playing up, Traudt has a bright future. She hits with good pace, swings well and was exploiting the holes in the block regularly.

Zora Hardison, MB, Cape Coast 16 Titan – Hardison is another name to put on the watch list. She has definite upside. She’s 6-1 and if she is able to connect when the set is there, watch out.

Chloe Smith, OH, Adidas KiVA 16 Red – A wirey, 6-1 outside, Smith can let loose on balls. She has a nice swing and put down impressive winners.

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If you haven’t been following for the prior age groups and are just now coming aboard this is a reminder that very few teams get eliminated on Day 1 based on the AAU format. There were 18 pools of four teams to start with and only the fourth-place teams in each pool don’t advance. That translates to 54 of the 72 teams still remaining in contention.

While that was the same in the other age groups, 16 Open stands alone in how tipsy-turvy the results were on Day 1. OT 16 Roberto – the No. 7 overall seed and No. 24 in our National Rankings – was the highest-rated team to fall. SCVC 16 Roxy took down OT in the 1 v 2 match in Pool 7, 25-20, 17-25, 15-9.

Pohaku 16-1 – the No. 9 seed and No. 32 in our National Rankings – was the next-highest squad to end up on the wrong side of it. Pohaku was stung by K2 16 Adidas, 25-20, 25-19, in the 1 v 2 contest as well.

Far Out 16 Black had the roughest day of any No. 1 team in its pool. The No. 14 overall seed finished 1-2 with losses to Supernova 16 All Star and Northern Lights. Supernova was the lowest seed which fared the best. Supernova finished 3-0 and takes over the No. 14 seed after starting off at No. 59. Not far behind was No. 56 Adversity 16 Adidas, which went 3-0 in Pool 17 as the No. 14 team.

Three No. 4 teams in their respective pools finished 2-1, including PR Evolution in Pool 2. Evolution came in as the No. 71 seed. In Pool 13, Summit 16 Blue Elite rose up as the No. 4 team to go 2-1 and take second behind NE Elite 16 Lokahi. And in Pool 15, it was VVA 16-1 posting a 2-1 mark to grab second behind 3-0 Rev 16-1.

The highest-seeded team which was unable to advance was MN Select 16-1 in Pool 17. The No. 20 overall seed finished 0-3 as the No. 2 team.