Girls club volleyball Dream Team: Mottola, Harris, Miller, Vander Wal, Thompson, Andrews, Tarnow, Leimbach

Every Wednesday during the club season, VolleyballMag recgnizes a Dream Team of eight girls volleyball players (15s to 18s age groups) who were standouts the weekend before.

Players are selected EXCLUSIVELY from nominations. To nominate, coaches will need to get on our bulk email list (info at bottom).

The team, most weeks, consists of the following:

Setter or S/RS
Setter, S/RS or RS
OH
OH
MB
MB
Libero
DS

We include our eight-player Dream Team below, as well as others we considered, based exclusively upon nominations received. This week, our team includes two setters, because no defensive specialists were nominated.

Note to coaches and directors: while there is no science to how we choose members of our Dream Team, performing on bigger stages will give players an edge, as will nomination forms that describe with specificity how well a player performed the previous weekend.

VolleyballMag.com DREAM TEAM for April 3:
S: Elle Mottola, 5-11 Soph., WPVC 16 Under Armour (FL) – Mottola battled through a fracture in her right wrist midway through Big South to help her team qualify in 16 Open, the first team from the Winter Park club ever to do so. “Known amongst the team as our ‘fearless leader,’ she played a fantastic tournament and was spectacular across the board with everything asked of her to do,” said coach Matt Jackson.

S: Genevieve Harris, 5-11 Soph., NC Academy 16 Diamond (NC) – Harris, one of the nation’s elite setters, led her team to first place in 16 Open at Big South. She averaged a whopping 12 assists per set, attacked at a .456 clip when hitting and helped her hitters score at ridiculously efficient levels.

RS: Lindley Miller, 6-4 Soph., Triangle 17 Black (NC) – Miller was an absolute force both attacking and blocking, despite playing one year up and battling illness, for Triangle, which qualified in 17 Open at Big South. More than one rival coach mentioned what an absolute beast was when they played Triangle.

OH: Abby Vander Wal, 6-3 Jr., 1st Alliance 17 Gold (IL) – Vander Wal dominated play at Windy City and helped her team win the 17 Open division. The Texas recruit had 102 kills and 15 aces on the offensive end and passed a 2.5 with 52 digs while focused on back row play. “When an aggressive play needed to be made, Abby was often a part of that success,” observed coach Danielle Mikos.

OH: Nia Thompson, 5-9 Jr., WAVE 16 Juliana (CA) – “If Red Rock gave out MVP awards, she would be the overwhelming favorite,” said assistant coach Cody Rose. Thompson never left the court for the Red Rock Rave 17 Open champions. “She does everything; every single skill, very, very well and has the most positive composed body language of anyone I’ve seen at this age group,” Rose said. “She is the best teammate you could ask for; selfless and always celebrating the successes of her teammates, giving credit when it’s due, and being the calm presence when you’re next to her, always accountable and always reliable. She is our workhorse and performed at the highest level all weekend long.”

MB: Ella Andrews, 6-4 Soph., Legacy 16-1 Adidas (MI) – Legacy director Jen Cottrill called Andrews “the most dominant middle in the country in the 2026 class.” Andrews played like it this past weekend in Windy City, leading her highly-ranked team, which qualified in 16 Open; in kills and blocks while hitting .540 for the entire weekend.

MB: Lynney Tarnow, 6-6 Soph., 1st Alliance 16 Gold (IL) – Playing without her starting setters, Tarnow added to last week’s impressive performance at MEQ with another this past weekend at Windy City. She had 66 kills (hitting .448) with 15 blocks and six aces as 1st Alliance registed its second consecutive T-5 finish in 16 Open. “While Lynney clearly was a force on the court, what you could not see was equally, if not more impressive,” noted coach Trish Samolinski. “She was a true team leader- motivating the team, getting in extra to work with our new setter, stepping up in team meetings and huddles and keeping the team positive and competitive. Lynney really is a true winner in all that she does.”

Libero: Keri Leimbach, 5-4 Jr., Nebraska ONE 17 Gold (NE) – One of the nation’s elite defenders was on her game this past weekend, helping Nebraks ONE qualify in 17 Open at Windy City. She led the team with 94 digs and did a fantastic job of getting her team in system on serve receive. She also made several jaw-dropping defensive plays.

Also considered (by position, in order of consideration):
S: Hannah Kenny, 5-8 Jr., 1st Alliance 17 Gold (IL) – The glue that keeps this star-laden team together, Kenny, a Louisville recruit, was on her game this weekend at Windy City, helping her team go 10-0 and pull out matches extended to three sets several times. She finished the tournament with 175 assists, 43 digs, 10 aces and nine blocks, and passed a 2.6. “No matter what skill was needed, Hannah executed and kept the fire in 17 Gold burning,” said coach Danielle Mikos.

S: Malorie Boesiger, 5-9 Fr., Nebraska ONE 17 Gold (NE) – Boesiger excelled, despite being two years younger than her teammates, at Windy City and helped her team to an Open bid. She finished with 217 assists, averaging more than 10 per set. “She can turn an out-of-system ball into an in-system ball for our hitters,” notes coach Christina Boesiger.

S: Eva Long, 5-11 Soph., Legacy 16-1 Adidas (MI) – Long led Legacy to an 8-1 record in 16 Open at Windy City and to an Open bid. “Eva ran the offense precisely, led our team in aces and was a disciplined and scrappy defender,” said Legacy director Jen Cottrill. “Eva is a natural athlete with a high volleyball IQ.”

S: Kiersten Moore, 5-10 Fr., Forza1 15 One (CA) – Moore led her team to a fourth-place finish in 15 Open at Red Rock Race over the weekend. “She ran her offense and impacted her team with her blocking, serving, defense and attacking,” said coach Aaron Flores. “She is a presence at the net and makes sets rarely a setter her age can physically make.”

S/RS: Victoria Turner, 5-7 Sr., Tstreet 18 Chandler (CA) – With Tstreet down two players who are out with ACL injuries, Turner stepped up and played her very best, including in critical moments, to help her team qualify in 18 Open at Red Rock Rave.

S: Lucky Fasavalu, 5-6 Fr., Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar (CA) – A right side until this year, Fasavalu has made a successful transition to setter , as evidenced by her team’s first-place finish in 15 Open this past weekend at Red Rock Rave.

***
RS: Taylor Bruce, 5-9 Soph., NC Academy 16 Diamond (NC) – PrepVolleyball picked Bruce as tournament MVP. She had 50 kills and hit .462 for the Big South 16 Open champions.

RS: Taylor Stanley, 6-2 Soph., Dynasty 16 Black (KS) – An elite athlete, Stanley excelled for Dynasty at Windy City on the weekend. She led the team in kills, played six rotations and was terminal from everywhere on the floor. She also scored many points from the service line with her lethal salvos.

***

OH: Bridget Malone, 6-0 Jr., Colorado Juniors 17 Kevin (CO) – A North Carolina commit, Malone was instrumental to helping this Juniors team qualify in Open for the first time. Demonstrating a complete game, Malone attacked at 30 percent, passed a 2.1, and had 10 blocks and 31 digs to help CJ claim the 17 Open title. “She was a true difference maker this past weekend,” said coach Kevin Marquis.

OH: Natalie Langston, 5-11 Soph., NC Academy 16 Diamond (NC) – Langston had herself a weekend for the Big South 16 Open champions. She had a team-high 77 kills and hit an efficient .395 while doing it.

OH: Alyssa Todd, 6-1 Soph., TAV 15 Black Fifer (TX) –Todd had a team-high 94 kills and hit .317 for TAV’s second Black team, which won 15 Open at Windy City.

OH: Hanna McGinest, 5-11 Fr., Mizuno Long Beach 15 Rockstar (CA) – A go-to hitter on any team she’s on. McGinest was a force for 15 Rockstar at Red Rock Rave, leading her team to first place in 15 Open. She just dominated from the left side.

OH: Karsyn Fetzer, 5-8 Jr., NORCO 17 Black (CO) – Coach Kristen Karlik described Fetzer as a stable force throughout PNQ. She was a big reason her team qualified in 17 Open.

OH: Paisley Gillespie, 5-11 Jr., A5 16-2 Stephen (GA) – Gillespie helped lead A5 to a 10-0 record and first place in 16 USA at Big South this past weekend. A5 has now finished among the top two in three straight qualifiers. At Big South, the junior hit .335 on the left with 67 kills, demonstrating her ability to score in a variety of ways. She added 55 digs, seven aces and passed a 2.04.

OH: Brynn Minter, 5-11 Soph., Mizuno Long Beach 16 Rockstar (CA) – Minter led her team in kills and also contributed a team-high 18 aces for the 16 Open champions at Red Rock Rave.

OH: Mattie Dalton, 5-9 Jr., Nebraska ONE 17 Gold (NE) — Phenomenal all weekend long at Windy City, Dalton led Nebraska ONE with 87 kills and hit .300 for a team that qualified in 17 Open. “She is fun to watch,” noted coach Christina Boesiger. “She is way smaller than most outside hitters, but she makes up for it with her explosiveness and 34 inch vertical jump.”

OH: Isabella Lopez, 6-0 Soph., JJVA 16 Teal (FL) – Lopez played her heart out this weekend for 16 Teal, said recruiting coordinator CJ Sherman. She had 85 kills, 34 digs, six blocks and five aces as her Jacksonville team placed inside the top 10 in a full 16 Open field. “She is cool and calm under pressure and has become a scoring machine in crunch time,” Sherman concluded.

OH: Zoe Janda, 5-7 Fr., Roots 151 Green (TX) – A six-rotation asset with extreme competitiveness and a knack for stepping up in crucial moments, Janda was at her best this weekend, helping Roots go 6-2 and tying for fifth in 15 Liberty at Windy City. “Her ability to not only read and react defensively, but execute offensively as one of the shorter kids on our team is what makes Zoe so fun to watch,” said coach Rylee Davis. “There were moments where she came out of nowhere to save a play and then turned around and terminated the very next rally. She generated energy regardless of where she was on or off the court, and was a great teammate to others as she cheered them on for their success as well. She listened to her defense as she was attacking, and her serve receive was consistent all weekend.”

OH: Laila Amos, 5-1o Soph., A5 16-2 Stephen (GA) – Amos helped lead A5 to a 10-0 record and first place in 16 USA at Big South this past weekend. A5 has now finished among the top two in three straight qualifiers. At Big South, the sophomore amassed 68 kills, 23 digs, 10 blocks and six aces. “She takes big swings, but has all the shots as well,” said coach Stephen Sansing.

***

Libero: Aubrey Burns, 5-3 Fr., AZ Sky 15 Gold – Burns helped Sky qualify at Big South. “Burns was an incredible defender and brought calm confidence to her teammates,” said coach Jen Lenhart.

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