Girls Dream Team of the Week: Haggard, Misipeka, Vaughn, Laurendine, Bultema, Burke, Holloman, Simon

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

The team, most weeks, will consist 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’s Dream Team will include standouts from the past two weeks, since we did not produce a Dream Team last week. It also will include a third middle to take the place of a DS, since we received no DS nominees.

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 March 22
S/RS: Bela Haggard, 5-11 Soph., Adidas KiVA 16 Red (KY) – Haggard set and blocked like a champ in leading KiVA to the 16 Open title this past weekend at MEQ.

RS: Nela Misipeka, 5-5 Jr., Pohaku 17-1 (KS) – Misipeka is the heartbeat of her Pohaku team despite being one of the smallest pin players in 17 Open. Last weekend at MEQ, in leading Pohaku to sixth place out of 48 teams in 17 Open, she consistently won her matchups. “Opposing coaches and college coaches rave about her IQ and all-around play,” said Conan Salanoa. “She’s also one of the hardest hitters out there. She makes plays whether it’s hitting, blocking, passing or defending. She can do it all.”

OH: Hailie Vaughn, 5-11 Fr., Pohaku 15-1 (KS) —  Vaughn was a consistent six-rotation force throughout power league play, where Pohaku went 15-0. The team went 5-0 two weekends ago. Vaughn led the team in kills while hitting .415. She passed a 2.10 for the day. “There is nothing she can’t do on the volleyball court,” noted director Conan Salanoa. “She is sure to turn some heads during the qualifier season”

OH: Lakin Laurendine, 6-2 Sr., Infinity 18 Open Lexie (MS) – Laurendine, an Auburn signee and the best HS player in Mississippi, led her cub team to the title at Bama Beast, where she was named MVP of the 17/18 Division. “Lakin has the ability to change the outcome of the game in every aspect,” noted Infinity recruiting director Mel Denson. “She is unstoppable at the net and a true leader on the…