Christine Phillips

The ESPN Volleyball Showcase brought together four of the top volleyball high school squads in the nation. First up was St. James Academy from Kansas who took on Cornerstone Christian out of San Antonio. And that’s not all—following that match was Cathedral Catholic, hailing out of San Diego, California, who went head-to-head with the host school, Prestonwood Christian in Plano, Texas. Friday’s showdowns in the Lone Star state had an unforgettable display of skill, athleticism and pure excitement. AND we hope you witnessed it on ESPN+ and ESPNU! *** Match one: St. James Academy d Cornerstone Christian (25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 25-13) ​​In Game 1 of the match between St. James Academy and Cornerstone Christian it was clear from the get-go that St. James meant business. Junior Reese Messer took charge with her impeccable finesse, cleverly orchestrating offensive plays to open up her teammates for some explosive kills. However, Cornerstone refused to back down, responding with big swings from Megan Fitch, Grace Carroll and Aniya Hall. St. James, undeterred, unleashed its own firepower, with Leah Robinson launching continuously powerful hits that left the opposition scrambling to defend. Meanwhile, Mya Bolton showcased exceptional defensive prowess, defying gravity with breathtaking digs. In Game 2, Fitch came out swinging. For Cornerstone the senior trio of libero Maria Avendano and defensive specialists Giselle Ojeda and Grace Alvarez came in clutch in serve receive and defensively. Middle blocker Olivia Parker and right side Amaya Tolentino also provided great defense at the net. In Game 4, it literally became the Messer show. She did it all. From attacking to defense to dishing she was on fire in all areas which helped her squad really dominate. Show Stoppers Reese Messer JR S St. James Academy KS: Messer, a 5-star recruit committed to USC, was a game changer. She can literally do it all. From dishing butter sets to shutting down the opposition defensively to splitting the opposition with ease Messer owned the court. Leah Robinson SO OH/RS St. James Academy KS: Robinson, a 3-star recruit, was a key component to her squad. She is a six rotation right side who stays on both pins in the front row. Messer also dished a ton of balls to her in the back row in which she cracked on the ball consistently. Julia Headley SR MB St. James Academy: Headley, a Colgate commit, was a wall at the net. She also had some great swings in the middle throughout the match. Mya Bolton SR L St. James Academy KS: Bolton, a 3-star recruit committed to Michigan State, was a defensive gem in the backcourt. She reads the offensive attack well. Heidi Devers SR DS St. James Academy: Dever, a 4-star recruit committed to Kansas, was part of a two part DS tandem that provided great serve reception. Devers also is a scrappy defensive athlete who gets a ton of touches. Katelynn Blaesing SR DS St. James Academy KS: Blaesing, a Creighton commit, was the other part of a great defensive specialist squad that bolstered the back row both in serve receive and defensively. And like Devers, she was able to get some amazing touches defensively. Ava Spachek SR OH St. James Academy KS: Spachek, a 3-star recruit, was another huge contributor offensively for SJA. She packed a punch on the pins consistently. Megan Fitch JR OH Cornerstone Christian: Fitch, a 5-star recruit committed to Texas A&M, is a high-flying scoring machine anywhere on the court. She has a high volleyball IQ which also helps her score at will. PS she is always a ton of fun to watch in all aspects of the game. Grace Carroll SR RS Cornerstone Christian: Carroll, a 4-star recruit committed to Baylor, is a wall on the pin. And when she connects with the ball she literally hits over the block on the reg. Maria Avendano SR L Cornerstone Christian: Avendano, a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi commit, was a silent leader on the court who passed nails and provided her squad great defensive tenacity. *** Match two: Prestonwood Christian d Cathedral Catholic (25-23, 25-21, 25-16) Cathedral Catholic came out on fire. The Dons were led by senior 4-star Michigan commit Jenna Hanes in the middle who was hitting over the block and through the block at will. Also senior right side Tiana Owens was firing through the block at will for Cathedral Catholic. Prestonwood fired back with its arsenal of power led by recent Texas commit and 5-star junior Macaria Spears. And let’s not forget to mention senior 5-star USC commit Jadyn Livings and senior 4-star TCU commit Mikala Young provided big-time kills too. Game 2, like the opening set, had Cathedral neck-and-neck with Prestonwood thanks to amazing defense from junior libero and 4-star Maryland commit Maya Evens and the freshman on the squad setter Kale’a Lee and outside hitter Jojo Wilson owning the court. And outside hitter 3-star Hawaii beach commit Ayva Moi also provided big-time swings on the pins. But Prestonwood would not be silenced. Middle blockers senior 4-star San Diego commit Kennedy Washington and freshman 5-star recruit Nyla Livings came through with huge blocks. Also junior libero and 5-star Houston commit Gillian Pitts provided so much stability in the back court. She was nails in passing and was great defensively consistently. And side note, can we just say it was fun to see a few sister sister blocks by Jadyn and Nyla Livings in this game. In the final set Prestonwood took no prisoners and came out swinging. Junior right side 4-star recruit Taylor Clarke has impressive kills, while both setters senior 5-star Michigan commit Camille Edwards and junior 4-star Kansas commit Taylor Cook dished with authority. Cathedral did a lineup change with Mae Kordas, who started the match in the middle and ended up finishing the match on the outside with some good swings. Show Stoppers Macaria Spears JR OH Prestonwood Christian: Spears, a 5-star recruit recently committed to Texas, is next-level talent everywhere. She hits at such a high contact with

It was a fun two days in Chicago this past weekend watching so many of the top Midwest teams square off against each other at the Asics Challenge hosted by Mother McAuley! We wrote about the Day 1 Show Stoppers and Day 2 Show Stoppers already and now present the Asics Challenge Red Hat Team. Congrats to Mother McAuley for winning the 2023 title and congrats to all the athletes who balled out this weekend! OUTSIDES Ellie White SR Mother McAuley IL Sydney Buchanan JR Mother McAuley IL Bella Bullington JR Marist IL Madison Quest JR DSHA WI Sophia Wendlick SR DSHA WI Lauren Salata SR Nazareth Academy IL Addison West SO Skutt Catholic NE Abbie Hagehorn SO Skutt Catholic NE Morgan Jones SR Huntley IL Charlotte Moriarty SR Assumption KY Chloe Smith SR Assumption KY Ana Vetter SR New Trier IL Ava Tilden JR Notre Dame Academy KY Aubree Deshetsky SO North Branch MI Whitney Mall JR Barrington IL Kelley Crowley SO Downers Grove North IL Brooklynne Brass SO Minooka IL Eva Finnessy JR Hamilton WI *** MIDDLE BLOCKERS Ellery Rees SR Mother McAuley IL Keira Ohse SR Mother McAuley IL Maddie Brown SO DSHA WI Bailey Blair JR Assumption KY Audrey Dyas SO Notre Dame Academy KY Elise Sterling SR Sandburg IL Berkeley Ploder SR Barrington IL Cassidy Cage SO Marist IL *** RIGHT SIDES Georgia Watson JR Huntley IL Riley McCloseky JR Notre Dame Academy KY Jessica Kurpeikis SR Marist IL Emma Barnett JR Assumption KY Eleanor Dorritie SR Penfield NY Mary Claire Deacy JR Mother McAuley IL *** SETTERS Jenna Meitzler SR Barrington IL Gwen Adler SR Barrington IL Peyton Heatherly S Mother McAuley IL Addy Horner JR St. Francis/Wheaton IL Brooke Baldwin SO Hamilton WI Jordan Czajkowski JR DSHA WI Maddie Berry JR Marist IL Sarah Musial SR St. Charles East IL Emilee Fuller JR Assumption KY Adrienne Greschaw SR North Branch MI Jessica Horn SR Joliet Catholic IL *** LIBEROS Julia Grace JR Notre Dame Academy KY Samantha Falk SR Mother McAuley IL Paisley Douglas SR Skutt Catholic NE Olivia Durst JR DSHA WI Kristen Simon JR Assumption KY Reilly Chausse SR Sandburg IL Elayna Davidson SO Marist IL Emily Zgonc SO Hamilton WI