Chris

We’re proud to be a part of an ongoing partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is sponsoring our Player of the Week award. We’ll be releasing a featured vballrecruiter.com Player of the Week, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, on Tuesdays. Below is this week’s Player of the Week: Maya Evens. *** Last year Cathedral Catholic capped a perfect season by sweeping St. Francis of Mountain View in the CIF Open Division state championship match to finish the high school season as undisputed national champions. Mira Costa was the only opponent which managed to take even a set off the Dons, with it coming a round before in the state semifinals. While Cathedral Catholic loses 10 seniors – including 5-star recruits Julia Blyashov (Stanford) and Noemie Glover (Oregon) – the cupboard is hardly empty. Part of the returning core includes Class of 2025 4-star recruit Maya Evens, who was the starting libero last fall for Cathedral Catholic and spent this past club season playing up in the same role for Wave 17 Juliana – which finished ninth in 17 Open at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships last month in Chicago. “I think that was the most surreal experience being an underclassmen playing alongside some of the biggest names in Noemie and Julia,” Evens said. “I played with them in club and in open gym, but being part of that team with them helped change my perspective on how to act and what I should be doing as a teammate. They definitely inspired me and would help me when I was feeling down on myself. They were always like ‘You got this.’ It was awesome. They felt like big sisters.” Evens’ mom – Juliana Conn – coaches at both Cathedral Catholic and Wave and is the reason her daughter started playing volleyball in the first place. With her mom coaching, Evens grew up in a gym but wasn’t exactly begging her mom to play at first. She would pepper and mess around with the ball at times, but Evens needed to be pushed to get her true start. “I know this might sound bad and it’s not meant to, but I didn’t have a super big choice if I wanted to participate,” Evens said. “I’m so happy my mom opened my horizon and had me try it. She said maybe I would love it. I did a few camps and tried it out. There was something about it where I absolutely fell in love. I’m not sure how to explain it, but it’s a different feeling than I ever had.” A parent coaching their child means not only navigating their relationship but the coach-player one as well. Evens said her and her mom have always done well being able to separate the two. “We do a really good job at keeping it separate,” Evens said. “She’s a respectable coach. I really enjoy having her as a coach. I have friends who say they could never have their mom as their coach but we have separated the two really well. If I mess up (playing) she’ll treat me like any other player during the games. After that, she’s my mom and she does a really good job supporting me and being there for me. She’s a really good coach and has 100 percent made me into the player I am and I couldn’t do it without her.” From her first season playing club until now, Evens has always played up at least one age group. She was part of a Wave team which lost just one outing in Chicago, with it coming against Metro 17 Travel in challenge play as Wave finished No. 6 in vballrecruiter.com’s final Top 50 National Rankings. “I have no regrets. That was the most fun tournament of any of my seasons,” Evens said. “We were undefeated until the challenge match and we went undefeated after that. We just had this vibe and were playing with so much passion and effort. We played the best volleyball of the entire season. It was so much fun. Everyone would stop and watch us play. It was the most incredible feeling.” Part of Wave’s run included beating eventual fifth-place finisher Drive Nation 17 Red, 35-33, 25-20, to close out the first round of pool play. The opening set of that contest was arguably the most entertaining one of the entire 10-day tournament in Chicago. “There is no other word to describe it other than fun,” Evens said. “You live for those games. I would so much rather play a team to 35 than to beat them 25-15. Especially a team like Drive Nation with so much hype and which was (the) No. 3 (seed) going in. We are an under-rated small team so it was so much fun.” With the high school season rapidly approaching, Evens’ focus has shifted. Along with her, Cathedral Catholic brings back 4-star senior middle Jenna Hanes (Michigan), 4-star senior setter Amanda Saeger (DePaul), 3-star senior outside Niki Egan (Washington beach) and 3-star junior outside Mae Kordas. While another national championship might be a stretch, together they should help Cathedral Catholic remain as one of the top programs in the country and capable of defending its California Open Division state title. The Dons are facing another challenging schedule, one that includes playing in two prestigious tournaments in Volleypalooza in Austin and the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas. “We lost 10 seniors so that is a lot of loss,” Evens said. “Still, we have a couple of freshmen who I’m super excited about plus our returning players are absolute beasts so I’m super excited about it. We won’t be as big and as physical but we are still going to be super fun to watch. We have gotten together running high school camps. We are bonding and making new friendships. We haven’t talked too much about goals or results but we all have the same goal in that we want to win.” As our featured Player

We’re proud to be a part of an ongoing partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is sponsoring our Player of the Week award. We’ll be releasing a featured vballrecruiter.com Player of the Week, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, on Tuesdays. Below is this week’s Player of the Week: Emma Parks. *** When it comes to our recent featured Player of the Week highlights sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, we have encountered athletes who have grown up either immersed in volleyball or ones who started late in the game and have blossomed quickly. What those two dynamics share in common however are all were in love with volleyball from their introduction to the sport. Emma Parks has a different tale. She didn’t grow up loving volleyball or falling in love with it at first sight. She was focused on playing basketball and determined to continue on as long and as far as she could in that sport. It’s not that she was totally opposed to volleyball. She spent her first year playing on a regional team in fourth grade. “I was definitely super into basketball growing up before I started volleyball,” Parks said. “I didn’t want (volleyball) to interfere with basketball when I first started. I transitioned to only playing volleyball in eighth grade.” Growing up participating in multiple sports brought out Parks’ competitive spirit. Having older sisters helped too, as they were also competitive and she would naturally challenge herself against them. While giving up basketball wasn’t easy, she did find herself drawn more and more to volleyball. “I think volleyball is really different than everything else,” she said. “Especially having new sets where you can win one set and then the next set is anyone’s game. That’s what’s really cool about it. You have to have team work and work as a team.” Parks started out as a middle blocker before spending this past season with Rock City 16-1 playing outside. Her position change started in high school last fall when her coach moved her to the pin and she remained on the left during club. At 6-1 and touching 10-feet, Parks is a rising 4-star recruit who is planning on suiting up for AVC Cle next club season. “I loved playing six rotations and being part of the game the whole time,” Parks said. “The biggest adjustment for me was passing. I didn’t have to pass as a middle. I stayed in to serve but came out for serve receive. So I just didn’t do that as a middle and that’s been the hardest adjustment for me.” This recent club season ended on a high note. Parks and her Rock City teammates earned the silver medal in 16 Club at the AAU Girls National Championships in Orlando. The squad went 13-1, falling to MVVC 16 Red in the gold-medal match. Rock City was the only opponent to take a set off of MVVC as Parks was selected to the AAU All-Star team for the division. “We played at Bluegrass and won the Club division,” Parks said. “Winning the tournament was really good for our team and we really started playing at a higher level.” Up next for Parks is her junior year of high school playing for Meadville. The switch from club to high school offers a different experience, one she enjoys just as much. “I think it’s different going to high school from club,” Parks said. “It’s different but really exciting. We are hoping to have a good season. We only had one senior last year so we are getting the whole team back. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully winning district.” As our featured Player of the Week sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, we recently spoke with Parks about volleyball and more. Who is your role model or icon you look up to? Parks: I would say I look up to my sisters (Maddie and Hannah) the most. I spent a lot of time watching them play when I was younger. They are the ones who got me interested in the game. I learned a lot from them how hard they worked, how they played and how they responded when things got hard. They are my biggest supporters and they are really important to me. What is your favorite food(s)? Parks: My favorite food is mac and cheese. Specifically, my grandma’s mac and cheese. I love cooking with her. It’s super important to spend time with her. I feel like we have a family recipe in that nobody else makes it the same way. What is your favorite tournament of the season? Parks: My favorite tournament was AAUs. Going into it we were really excited. We got a house all together as a team. That was super fun to be with everyone. Competing at a high level against teams which are really good was fun. We finished pretty well. It was also our last tournament so I think that was fun. What is your favorite team bonding event? Parks: My favorite was when we were in Florida at AAUs. We got ice cream and then we came back to the house and went swimming. It was really fun. The water was really warm. What is your favorite quote? Parks: My favorite quote is by Simone Biles. It’s ‘I’d rather risk that it didn’t work out than the chances that I didn’t take at all.’ What is your go to song to warm up to? Parks: I don’t usually listen to music before games. In high school, we play music before games from our team playlist. If you could have any super power what would it be and why? Parks: I would want telekinesis like in Stranger Things. The main character El (Eleven) has it and it’s useful. I would like to use it in volleyball I guess or really anything. Life would be simpler and it would be really cool. What do you like to do outside of volleyball? Parks: I’d say I

After spending much of June and the early portion of July covering the AAU and USAV national championships, it’s once again time to update our Player Rankings ahead of the new high school season set to kick off in August. We opened with the Class of 2024. Next we released the Class of 2025, then the Class of 2026. Last up is the Class of 2027! Below, we highlight the players who moved up in our star rankings as well as those players who are being ranked for the first time. In determining our Player Rankings, we use our own observations as well as feedback from our panel. These rankings are based on how we see these athletes projecting on the next (collegiate) level. Please email chris@vballrecruiter.com for questions or club/college corrections/updates. CLASS OF 2027 Players Moving From 4 To 5-Stars: Peyton Kubik S/RS Dynasty  Olivia Henry OH ASEVC Allie Hudgins OH Austin Skyline Booklyn Sippio MB Gamepoint Naomi Livings OH TAV Nafanua Alofipo L/DS/S Club V *** Players Moving From 3 To 4-Stars: Kaitlyn Herweg L/DS SCVC Landri Trice OH Drive Nation Jaycee Mack MB Wave Camille Presley MB Austin Skyline Cedra Talaga L/DS Mizuno Long Beach Reagan Wallraff MB AZ Storm Mia Diouf RS Gamepoint Ryan Spencer OH Skyline Blake Cussen RS Absolute Mollie Vandeusen S JJVA Jenny Glushakov RS Top Select Mesa Jameson MB Kokoro Westley Matavao OH Forza1 North Carson Caraway OH Infinity Carsyn Comer MB Munciana Ryah Brock OH Forza1 North Addison Otto RS Northern Lights Kaelyn Bjorklund S/RS Northern Lights Clara Christ L Northern Lights Ava Burgess OH Club V Sophia Puleo OH OTVA Jaylynn Carter RS CJV 14 Kim *** Players New To The Rankings: Kristen Sheehy MB AZ REV Natalie Norton OH Tejas Saniya Reynolds MB HJV Corina Barrera OH STVA Hope Erdman MB Tejas Lucy Ripley MB FC Elite Camille Csernik OH TX LEGACY Mackenzie Ratcliff MB Madfrog Sanai Severloh MB Forza1 North Samantha Chavis OH NC Academy Kherynton Chinnis MB Drive Nation McKenna McIntosh OH Rage Brianna Napoles S/RS Miami Hype Sophia Azevedo S Tribe Liliana Tripi S Mich Elite Andie Bowron S Top Select Addison Thompson-Stepp L/DS Legacy Emerson Dorr S/RS IVBA Ryah Cotton S Northern Lights Elsa Matherly OH 303 VBA Karys Campos L/DS Actyve Karleigh Larson S/RS Legacy (CA) Sophia Cotter RS Sunshine Ava Perrin OH Flyers Eva Jeffries MB/OH City Caitlin Crino S Tribe Isabella Borgia OH Mintonette Sports Kacie Schulte OH MN Select Bradee Boyd OH Tribe Kennedi Boomsma MB Kairos Rory Oleksik L/DS A5 Chattanooga McKenzie Burrell OH A5 Layla Dunn MB A5 Elleora Utecht OH Northern Lights Danielle Lewis L/DS CJV London Evans S/RS Munciana Shelby Fuller L/DS Triangle Kennedy Shockley L/DS Munciana Indy Londyn Sommerville MB CI Elite Jenna Brooks L/DS Top Select Dannah Kerberg L/DS KiVA Joanna Cen OH Top Select Kendyl Strack L Munciana Milana Mays MB Munciana Sophia Smith RS Legacy McKenzie Wilkie L/DS A5 Ella Horvick L/DS OTVA Isabella Howard MB Madfrog Kaylie Davis RS Skyline Emily Redwine L/DS Tejas Jordan Morrow OH Hou Skyline Sitoafa Tausinga MB Club V Emmeline Sandgren S Absolute Mya Capistrano L Forza1 North

With the end of the club season concluding with the recent AAU and USAV national championships and the next high school season around the corner, it’s a perfect time to update our Player Rankings. We have already released the updates for the Class of 2024 and 2025. Up next is the Class of 2026. Below, we highlight the players who moved up in our star rankings as well as those players who are being ranked for the first time. In determining our Player Rankings, we use our own observations as well as feedback from our panel. These rankings are based on how we see these athletes projecting on the next (collegiate) level. Please email chris@vballrecruiter.com for questions or club/college corrections/updates. CLASS OF 2026 Players Moving From 4 to 5-Stars: Gigi Artiles OH Tribe Halle Thompson OH Hou Skyline Genevieve Harris S Academy Diamond Elena Hoecke MB MN Select Emma Cugino L/DS Mintonette Sports *** Players Moving From 3 to 4-Stars: Sydni Vice OH Memphis Jrs Taylor Stanley RS Dynasty Ryea Jackson MB Drive Nation Blair Thiebaud S Hou Skyline Jayden Robinson OH Hou Skyline Leilani Lawrence OH OTVA   Katherine Byergo MB HPSTL Lydia Stahley OH Team Indiana Sophia Stallworth MB WPVC Elle Mottola S WPVC   Cassidy Bruns L MKE Sting Abby Zimmerman RS SCVC Natalie Carr OH Pitt Elite Isabelle Hoppe S Pitt Elite Lacy Tinnell MB Hou Skyline Lily Bosworth MB Illini Elite Jessica Smallwood OH EVA Nadiya Johnson RS Metro Bella Lopez RS Madfrog Elle Vandeweghe MB Mizuno Long Beach Avery Poulton OH Club V Morgan Williams OH Metro Ryan Sadler OH A5 *** Players New To The Rankings: Madison Victoriano S Skyline Julia Anisimova L/DS Pohaku Simone Heard RS Madfrog Brooke Christoffersen RS Club V Natalie Langston OH Academy Diamond Aubree Deshetsky OH Legacy Aviya Russo OH Academy HP Vivian Hickman S AZ Sky Natalie Monroe OH Vision Hayden Conner MB Aspire Madison Wehr S Gamepoint Brooklynne Brass OH SPVB Macy McAmis L/DS Jupiter Elite Jenna Hunt MB NorCal Megan Ingersoll OH Alabama Performance Emily Miller L/DS Black Swamp Gracie Miller L/DS Black Swamp Saylor Parker RS OTVA Merritt Sliwa OH Rev Colbie McKenna OH EC Power Darby Felts OH K2 Norah Busch MB Club Integrity Taytum Nelson MB Elevate Camden Rahn S/RS OTVA Abby Conklin MB MN Select Elena Estudillo L/DS NE Elite Meena Kasirajan OH Nor Cal Abigail Lesagonicz RS Wave Henlee Moszkowicz L Hou Skyline Adriana Dorn S/RS Rage Emily Pruett RS VVA Lauryn Lewis MB Sunshine Frankie Jones MB Sunshine Cami Huff MB LAV Cydnee Bryant MB Pipeline Ally Fausett S Tstreet Riley Bethea MB A5 Jaedyn Riley S Rage

It’s time for our summer Player Rankings update focusing on the 2024-2027 classes. We spent almost all of June and the early portion of July covering the AAU and USAV national championships so it makes sense to bring a fresh round of updates before the new high school opens in August. We started our latest round of updates with the Class of 2024. We follow with the Class of 2025. Below, we highlight the players who moved up in our star rankings as well as those players who are being ranked for the first time. In determining our Player Rankings, we use our own observations as well as feedback from our panel. These rankings are based on how we see these athletes projecting on the next (collegiate) level. Please email chris@vballrecruiter.com for questions or club/college corrections/updates. CLASS OF 2025 Players Moving From 4 To 5-Stars: Marin Collins OH Niagara Frontier (Penn State) Taylor Deckert L/DS SCVC (USC) Addison Horner S/RS 1st Alliance (Wisconsin) Renee Jones RS Metro Kristen Simon L/DS Adidas KiVA (Wisconsin) Addison Gaido RS Austin Skyline (Texas) Addison Makun MB Adidas KiVA (Louisville) *** Players Moving From 3 to 4-Stars: Georgia Watson RS Mission Emma Parks OH AVC Cle Abbey Emch OH/MB Infinity (Pitt) Charlotte Kelly MB NorCal Chalei Reid OH Mauloa Hazel Alevok MB Wildfire (UCLA) Brookelyn Hatton L/DS MAVS KC Olivia Durst L/DS MKE Sting Gabriella Pitcel MB MKE Sting (Illinois) *** Players New To The Rankings: Kelly Valdez L/DS Mauloa Anna Blamires RS Co Jrs (BYU) Zoe Baliva RS HPSTL (FSU beach) Milani Lee RS Forza1 North Leimaile Lasike MB Tstreet LV Katie Camp MB Tstreet LV Kendall Timme OH Arete Mackenzi Davis OH Arete Ai-Lani Hunter RS VVA Delaney Blied MB Seal Beach Emma Rowell S/RS Actyve Tate Drageset OH Actyve (Washington) Brooklyn Washington MB VVA Tatum Sharp MB Rocky Elite Ale Romo OH/S Areté Sanaa Donaie MB AVA TX (LSU) SadieJane Hand MB TAV Charlotte Bell MB Academy (Wofford) Olivia Moffett S CoJrs Maddie Mitchell S/RS MAVS Julia Oster L AVC Cle Riley Lynch MB VA Jrs Chloe Johnson OH Madfrog Makena Rumple MB Arizona Storm Ashby Zubchevich OH City Sarahbelle Jameson OH JJVA Alanah Clemente RS Supernova Alana Bailey MB Far Out Anna Williams MB Aspire Sydney Frazier MB M2

As the recent club season took a pause in May we updated our Player Rankings for the 2024-2027 classes. After spending much of June and the early portion of July covering the AAU and USAV national championships, it’s once again time to update our Player Rankings ahead of the new high school season set to kick off in August. We begin with the Class of 2024. Below, we highlight the players who moved up in our star rankings as well as those players who are being ranked for the first time. In determining our Player Rankings, we use our own observations as well as feedback from our panel. These rankings are based on how we see these athletes projecting on the next (collegiate) level. Please email chris@vballrecruiter.com for questions or club/college corrections/updates. CLASS OF 2024 Players Moving From 4 to 5-stars: Taylor Parks S OTVA 17 Aaron (Florida) *** Players Moving From 3 to 4-stars: Alaleh Tolliver OH Academy Tsunami (Butler) Marlee Arrington RS Tstreet IE 17 Taylor (LMU) Brianna Watson RS Drive Nation (LSU) Leilia Toailoa OH Vegas Aces (Alabama) Elina Mortensen OH Club V (BYU) Peyton Petersen Six Pack (Louisville) Nora Wurtz RS/MB NE Elite (Creighton) Reese Ptacek Northern Lights (Kansas) Kamaluhia Garcia Ku’Ikahi (Iowa) Reese Animashaun Hou Skyline (Vanderbilt) Carley Piercefield L Far Out (Western Michigan) Kiernan Stamey OH K2 (Kennesaw State) Ayen Nhial MB KiVA (James Madison) *** Players New To The Rankings: Audrey Kocon S/RS Northern Lights (Providence) Taylor Byl MB Kairos (South Dakota State) Sarah Galligan L/DS NE Elite (Nebraska-Omaha) Arielle Bruk OH Academy HP Gemma Larbalestier L/DS Actyve Isabelle Marco S Academy HP (Utah) Azavia Thomas OH VA Elite Emerson Ahsmuhs OH Act Jessica Jones MB Drive Nation (LSU) Isabelle Swiercz RS Far Out (Central Michigan) Kendall Hopewell MB Far Out (Northern Kentucky) Grace Havlicek MB Tribe (Auburn) Rella Binney L/DS Ku’Ikahi (Texas) Mia Radeff OH Encore (Notre Dame) Mykayla McMillian L Hou Skyline Maeve Rehmann MB Club Ignit (Winthrop) Audrey Small L HPSTL (North Alabama) Anna Blaine S TX LEGACY (Texas State) Jenna Meitzler S/RS Sky High (Iowa) Shannon Sheehy S AZ REV (San Francisco