How did we already arrive at the gold bracket? Time flies when you’re volleyballing it up with the best the country has to offer. Trust us, it was coming from everywhere on Day 3 of the 14s and 15s of the USAV GJNC in Indy. There’s plenty to tell and share. But we aren’t quite there yet. Keep scrolling downward for that info. First, we would be remiss not to share our Day 3 Show Stoppers highlighting the players who were impossible to ignore during Wednesday’s action.

Riley Malloy, OH, Austin Skyline 14 Royal – Malloy is a name you’ll be hearing plenty about in the coming years. She’s 6-3 with unbelievable potential. She’s only going to continue to add power and strength. She’s already hitting over blocks with ease and scoring on sharp angles.

Lexi Shondell, S, Boiler Jrs 14 Gold – Boiler Jrs’ hopes of doubling-up on gold medals ended in challenge play, but Shondell was her usual calming, steadying presence. She has one of the smoothest deliveries in the division and one of the best commands of her offense.

Cali Foster, OH, Boiler Jrs 14 Gold – Boiler Jrs lost for only the fourth time this season since Foster returned from her earlier injury. She’s a six-rotation, five-tool talent who impacts the game in every facet.

Sydney Geselbracht, MB, Elevation 14 Molly – Defenses need to be on guard when Elevation is in system and Geselbracht is up front. She’s a major scoring threat with her arm and ability to find the gaps in the defense.

Makenna Kirlin, S, Elevation 14 Molly – The offense is in good hands with Kirlin at the helm. She’s smooth and consistent. She goes behind her well with accuracy and rarely misses her mark.

Kennedy Crayton, OH, Flyers 14 Anthony – The attack can come from just about everywhere when it comes to Flyers, including Crayton. She gets up well and whips it down with ease.

Taylor Clarke, RS, Flyers 14 Anthony – Clarke is similar to Crayton, only a lefty and attacking on the right side. She’s an easy jumper with a whippy swing to menace defenders with.

Mya Capistrano, L, Forza1 North 14 UA – Capistrano was holding down the back row with authority. Her passing and defending were sharp and she was stepping in front of taking balls overhead with confidence.

Westley Matavao, OH, Forza1 North 14 UA – A seventh-grader playing up, Matavao has a bright future in front of her. She’s a physical hitter who brings power to the lineup and is capable of overwhelming blockers and defenders.

Addyson Bianchini, S/RS, NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami – A two-way contributor for NKYVC, Bianchini plays a vital role setting and hitting. She’s able to locate consistently when setting. She also has a knack for scoring to help balance out the offense.

Kirsten Kemper, S, NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami – Kemper can set and hit too, though she was mainly used as a back row setter on Day 3. She has good hands and a consistent deliver.

Shayne Zammiello, L, Alamo 14 Premier – Zammiello was showing her defensive skills. She was defending and covering well, keeping Alamo in rallies.

Kinsley Young, MB, TAV 14 Black – Young is a physical presence. She has a big arm and was pounding winners and proving hard to dig.

Finley Krystkowiak, OH, Wave 14 Brennan – A 6-2 outside, Krystkowiak has a great arm and can punish defenses over and over. She goes over the block and hits with plenty of pace.

Alicia Beers, MB, MKE Sting 14 Gold – Beers commands a defense’s attention. When she gets out on the slide she was virtually impossible to stop as Sting went to her over and over.

Dawn Moore, RS, Madfrog 14 Green – A wirey, springy right side, Moore is just one piece of the attack that makes Madfrog so dangerous. She can get up and put it down on a regular basis.

Mary Schirpik, L, AJV 15 Adidas – A three-star recruit, Schirpik’s passing was on point. She was also picking off cross court shots without much effort and putting the ball on target.

Morgan Madison, L, Hou Skyline 15 Royal – Madison – a four-star recruit – is a smooth back row defender. She is nails and hardly ever misses her mark.

Elena Fisher, OH, Absolute Black 15 – You can see Fisher’s beach skills on display with her attacking. A three-star recruit, has a wide variety of shots in her bag and carries a significant load on offense.

Sarah Mendoza, L, Drive Nation 15 Red – A four-star recruit, Mendoza is a back row anchor for Drive Nation. She doesn’t rattle easy and is strong out of serve receive.

Lauren Lopez, OH, Dynasty 15 Black – Lopez – a three-star recruit – is a difficult attacker to time up and block. She gets up quickly and punishes blocks that set up late.

Hadley Porter, L, Dynasty 15 Black – Porter – also a three-star recruit – is a scrappy defender. She makes lots of hustle plays and is steady out of serve receive.

Natalie Wardlow, MB, Nebraska One 15 Synergy – The 6-4 Wardlow impacts both sides of the ball. A four-star recruit, she’s a tough cover offensively with her height. Defensively, she gets her hands on plenty of shots coming her way.

Sydnee Peterson, OH, TAV 15 Black – Peterson – a four-star recruit – jumps well. She swings hard and she comes with it over and over putting tons of pressure on defenses to make plays.

Taryn Morris, MB, TAV 15 Black – Defenses cannot take their attention off of Morris. She’s a huge threat when TAV is in system with her arm. She can also deliver her fair share of blocks to score points that way.

Mae Kordas, OH, Wave 15 Scott – Kordas is the go-to hitter in the lineup. She’s 6-2, which makes her a difficult cover no matter the opponent. She’s capable of unleashing and pounding down winners.

Yuri Park, L, Wave 15 Scott – Park had one of the better saves we witnessed. She made a beautiful one-arm stabby near the sideline to keep the ball in play.

Victoria Hill, OH, GP 15 Rox – Game Point did well advancing to the challenge round with a shot at the top eight. Hill carries a giant load on offense and gets set all over the place.

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The 15 Open gold bracket sets up exactly as planned. And by exactly as planned, of course we mean like no one could have predicted it would look like. Here it is:

Arizona Storm v OT Randy
Coast v TAV
Drive Nation v Hou Skyline
Alamo v 1st Alliance

In terms of our 15s National Rankings, we are faring well. Five of the eight quarterfinalists appear in our Top 7 – No. 1 AZ Storm, No. 2 Hou Skyline, No. 3 TAV, No. 6 1st Alliance and No. 7 OT Randy. That’s strong. Coast checks in at No. 14, Alamo at No. 19 and Drive Nation the lowest at No. 21. Of course, Alamo is the lone at-large team in the field and has more than justified its selection.

As for how the final eight compare to their initial seedings, here’s how it looks. Storm began No. 1, followed by No. 4 TAV, No. 5 1st Alliance, No. 6 Hou Skyline, No. 7 OT Randy, No. 18 Drive Nation, No. 23 Coast and No. 28 Alamo. Like our National Rankings, five of the top seven seeds are in the quarterfinals.

In case you were wondering, yes, there were definite shockers on Day 3. Second-seeded Dynasty 15 Black, No. 3 seed Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar and No. 8 seed Circle City 15 Purple all failed to reach the challenge rounds after not breaking their three-team pools. We have Dynasty ranked No. 4 nationally, followed by No. 5 Circle City and No. 11 Long Beach.

Dynasty lost both its pool matches to TAV and Drive Nation. Circle City was surprised by both Absolute Black 15 and Nebraska One 15 Synergy. Long Beach was upended by Mich Elite 15 Mizuno and OT Randy.

In the challenge rounds, Northern Lights 15-1 gave Storm a legitimate scare, taking the top seed to three before going down. After finishing tied for ninth in 15 Open at AAU, it was a strong showing for the club in Indy.

1st Alliance shook off a slow start in the first round of pool play, where it lost twice, to find its groove at the right time. 1st Alliance lost to Storm in its three-team pool, but advanced to the challenge round after topping Austin Skyline 15 Royal. 1st Alliance swept Surfside 15 PV Legends to reach the top eight.

Drive Nation – which needed tiebreaker love to break the first round of pool play – took advantage of its fortune and swept GP 15 Rox in the challenge round and is one victory away from medaling.

TAV – which beat both Drive Nation and Dynasty in its three-team pool – downed AAU 15 Open champion Legacy 15-1 Adidas in its challenge match. Legacy was upset by GP in its three-team pool and needed to beat Wave 15 Scott to make the challenge round.

Coast kept its unexpected run going by sweeping Nebraska One in challenge play. Coast didn’t earn its Open bid until the final qualifier of the season at Far Western. It beat Nor Cal 15 Black in its three-team pool before falling to Hou Skyline to get a crack at Nebraska One in the challenge round.

Hou Skyline is gearing up at the right time and was dominant in sweeping past Absolute in its challenge match.

In one of the more surprising challenge matchups, Alamo was able to take down Mich Elite in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals. Alamo downed AJV 15 Adidas in its three-team pool before losing to AZ Sky 15 Gold.

AZ Sky couldn’t keep it going however, and was topped by OT Randy in three games in the last challenge round. OT Randy – which was upset by Mich Elite in its three-team pool – had to fend off Long Beach in three games just to reach the challenge round. OT Randy finished runner-up in 15 Open in Orlando.

***

Not to be outdone, the path to the 14 Open gold bracket was full of plot twists as well. Here’s how is looks for Day 4:

TAV v Elevation
Mintonette v Wave
Madfrog v SG Elite
Alamo v Flyers

Here’s how the final eight compares to our 14s National Rankings. Madfrog is ranked No. 1, followed by No. 3 TAV, No. 4 Wave, No. 5 Flyers, No. 6 Mintonette, No. 9 Elevation, No. 16 Alamo and No. 20 SG Elite. That means we have six of the final eight in our Top 9. That’s strong.

In terms of initial seedings in Indy, here’s how the final eight stacks up. Madfrog was the top seed to start, followed by No. 4 Wave, No. 6 Flyers, No. 7 Mintonette, No. 8 Elevation, No. 9 TAV, No. 16 Alamo and No. 19 SG Elite.

AAU 14 Open champ and original No. 2 seed Boiler Jrs 14 Gold was bumped from contention after falling to TAV in three games in challenge play. Boiler Jrs started the day off with a loss to Flyers in its three-team pool but bounced back to defeat GP – which it beat in the gold medal match in Orlando – to reach the challenge round.

MKE Sting 14 Gold – ranked No. 2 nationally and seeded No. 3 overall – was beaten out in three games by Wave in challenge play. Sting beat Drive Nation 14 Red in its three-team pool but fell to Madfrog to set up the showdown with Wave.

Flyers had a strong showing in its challenge outing, sweeping Pohaku 14-1 handily. Likewise, Madfrog had no issue with HPSTL 14 Royal in its challenge contest.

Mintonette had a challenge thriller, outlasting NKYVC 14-1 Tsunami in three, 25-18, 21-25, 15-13, to make the final eight. Mintonette went 1-1 in its three-team pool, sneaking past SCVC 14 Roxy before going down to Forza1 14 North UA in three. It was actually a tough day for SCVC, which lost 15-12 in Game 3 to Mintonette and 15-13 in Game 3 to Forza North in pool play.

Forza North was 3-1 on the season against SG Elite entering their challenge encounter. However, SG Elite took that one in straight sets, 25-22, 26-24, to continue its impressive run. SG Elite went 5-0 in the first round of pool play, then opened Day 3 by sweeping Skyline 14 Royal before going down to NKYVC in three.

Alamo made the final eight by getting past Hou Skyline 14 Royal in two in its challenge match. Lastly, Elevation turned in a nail-biting victory over Austin Skyline 14 Royal in its challenge clash. Elevation prevailed in three, 25-16, 19-25, 15-13.