Premium Content

Our next focus for HS Player Spotlight series is on the Class of 2025. We highlight 17 juniors who are having amazing seasons and contributing in big ways towards the success of their respective teams. Emma Parks OH Meadville PA: A 4-star Marquette commit, Parks has carried the majority of the offensive load for the Bulldogs. The 6-2 outside has put down 546 kills to date. She’s averaging 5.5 per set and is hitting .363. She has five matches of 21 kills or more, including a season-high 26 in a five-set thriller over Warren last week. Izzy Busignani OH Marian MI: Busignani – a 4-star Cincinnati commit – has showed off her offensive prowess in leading the attack for the Mustangs. She started the week with a team-best 569 kills, averaging 4.8 per set. She’s also the dig leader, averaging 2.7 per set, and is second in aces. She powered down a season-high 31 kills in last week’s setback against St. Mary’s Catholic Central. It was the first time she had 30 or more kills, as she’s surpassed 20 or more six times. Kirra Musgrove S/RS Lutheran South Academy TX: A 6-2, 5-star Texas AM commit, Musgrove has played an integral part of the Pioneers’ lineup. She is tops in kills with 535. She’s averaging 4.5 per set and is hitting .340. She’s also second in assists with 476. She’s averaging 4.0 per set, as well as being second in digs with an average of 2.1 per set. She’s twice recorded a season-high 28 kills, both times in September. In one of those matches, she also dished out a season-best 23 assists. Teraya Sigler OH Horizon AZ: Sigler – a 5-star Nebraska commit – has over 40 percent of her squad’s total kills. To date, she’s blasted 456 kills, averaging 5.0 per set and hitting .330. She’s also second in digs and blocks. She recorded 11 matches of 19 kills or more. Her season high was 26 in a sweep over Desert Mountain earlier this month. Kennedy Vaughn OH Bob Jones AL: The Patriots, at 49-2, are having a remarkable season to date. Vaughn, a 5-11 outside, has been the go-to hitter on the left. She’s amassed a team-high 454 kills, averaging 3.7 per set. She sent down a season-high 21 kills in a five-set victory against Mountain Brook in early September. Paris McQuirter OH McGill-Toolen AL: The defending 7A state champs are back in the mix with McQuirter on the prowl. The 5-10 outside entered the week with 447 kills. She’s averaging 3.7 per set and is hitting .348. Earlier this month she recorded a season-best 18 kills in a five-set loss to St. Paul’s Episcopal. It exceeded her previous best of 17 kills in mid-September. Jordan Czajkowski S Divine Savior Holy Angels WI: Czajkowski and company are chasing another Division 1 state title after finishing on top in 2022. DHSA is having a sensational year to date with Czajkowski directing the attack. The Belmont commit began the week with 1,009 assists, averaging 9.7 per set. She set a season-high mark of 47 assists in a four-set victory over Brookfield East earlier this month. She finished with 36 assists in a sweep of Whitefish Bay to close out regionals and move onto sectionals this past Saturday. Madison Evans S Bingham UT: Evans is in the midst of a huge year as the Miners attempt to capture the Division 6A state championship. Bingham entered the week 24-3 with Evans dolling out 869 assists. She’s averaging 9.4 per set and has surpassed 40 or more assists seven times. It includes going over 50 twice, once when she totaled a season-best 58 assists in a five-set loss to nationally-ranked Lone Peak earlier this month. The match before she had 52 dimes in a four-set victory over Maple Mountain. Ella Craggs S Northville MI: The Mustangs have been rolling as they began the week 36-2. Craggs – a 3-star Illinois State commit – has been in the middle of it all. She’s put up 818 assists to date, averaging 8.9 per set. In her best outing she finished with 44 assists in a four-set victory against Clarkston in late August. She also made a season-high 14 digs in that contest. Four other times she’s reached 30 or more assists. Sarah Mendoza L Colleyville Heritage TX: The Panthers are the defending 5A state champs and a top contender to finish ahead of the pack once more. Mendoza – a 4-star recruit – has been a wall defensively. She leads the way with 574 digs, averaging 4.9 per set. She’s had eight matches of 20 or more digs. It includes her season-best 35 saves in a five-set victory over Argyle this month. Callie Krueger L Cedar Park TX: Krueger has shown why she is one of the best defenders in her class. The 4-star Texas commit has been lights out in the back row. She started the week with 543 digs, averaging 4.6 per set. Six times she’s reached 20 or more saves. She had a season-best 23 digs in a four-set victory against Hays in late September. Taylor Deckert L Mira Costa CA: Deckert – a 5-star USC commit – is a crucial part of the Mustangs’ success so far. Ranked No. 2 in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National HS Rankings, Deckert has excelled on the defensive end. She entered the week with 425 digs, averaging 4.8 per set. She registered a season-best 33 digs in a five-set victory over Torrey Pines in September. She’s also had four other outings of 20 or more digs, including posting 25 in last weeks’ CIF Southern Section opening victory over Los Alamitos. Sakura Codling L Seton OH: Codling is our featured Player of the Week. The 3-star UCLA commit has been another defender tearing it up for her high school squad. Nationally-ranked Seton, which is 21-2, is currently in the postseason as it aims for the Division 1 state title. Codling has anchored the defense to the

While most of the top-ranked teams held it down last week, there was one major result of note. That was previously undefeated Papillion-La Vista South NE suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of Papillion-La Vista. It was definitely surprising considering PLVS was 5-0 against PLV on the season. But as we know, the more times teams play over the course of the season the more likely it is the other side finally breaks through. Given PLVS is still 5-1 against PLV, the Titans didn’t drop very far, falling from No. 3 to No. 9 in this week’s update. That was the last conference match of the year for PLVS as the Titans head into the postseason. As we said in last week’s update, it’s that time of season when the rankings can get really shook up if there are big upsets. That’s because had PLVS lost to PLV in the postseason and the Titans’ shot at winning state was over, we would rank PLV ahead of PLVS despite going 1-5 on the season. It might not be entirely fair, but teams spend all season building toward making a charge in the state playoffs and we honor the biggest stage of the year by sorting the rankings that way. We almost had that scenario play out with Hamilton Southeastern IN, which narrowly remained undefeated after downing Homestead IN in five sets in the state regional finals. The Royals had only lost two sets all season and advanced to the state semifinals by avoiding the upset loss. Hamilton Southeastern takes on La Porte IN this week, with the winner squaring off against the winner of Roncalli IN–Castle IN on Nov. 4 for the Class 4A state championship. Meanwhile, Wayzata MN wrapped up the regular season by going 28-0 and pushing its winning streak to 38-matches as the Trojans ready for another state championship push. You can check out the full Top 50 rankings below. vballrecruiter.com’S TOP 50 NATIONAL HS RANKINGS 1. Mater Dei CA (1 – previous ranking) 2. Mira Costa CA (2) 3. Hamilton Southeastern IN (4) 4. Prestonwood Christian TX (5) 5. Grand Oaks TX (6) 6. Cathedral Catholic CA (7) 7. Wayzata MN (8) 8. McKinney Boyd TX (9) 9. Papillion-La Vista South NE (3) 10. Assumption KY (10) *** 11. Marist IL (11) 12. Benet Academy IL (12) 13. Mother McAuley IL (13) 14. Divine Savior Holy Angels WI (14) 15. O’Connor AZ (15) 16. St. Francis/Mountain View CA (16) 17. Archbishop Mitty CA (18) 18. Oconomowoc WI (19) 19. Notre Dame Academy KY (21) 20. Lake Catholic OH (22) *** 21. Blue Valley North KS (22) 22. Middle Creek NC (27) 23. Sierra Canyon CA (17) 24. St. James Academy KS (25) 25. Kings OH (24) 26. Lake Travis TX (41) 27. St. Thomas Aquinas KS (28) 28. Dripping Springs TX (20) 29. Cornerstone Christian TX (26) 30. Carrollwood Day FL (29) *** 31. Lafayette MO (30) 32. Branson CA (31) 33. Dike-New Hartford IA (32) 34. Valor Christian CO (33) 35. Hudsonville MI (34) 36. Winter Park FL (35) 37. Lewis-Palmer CO (36) 38. Seton OH (37) 39. Xavier Prep AZ (38) 40. Skyridge UT (44) *** 41. Bellmont IN (n/r) 42. Lone Peak UT (39) 43. Pace Academy GA (n/r) 44. Mercy McAuley OH (43) 45. North Branch MI (47) 46. Alpharetta GA (48) 47. Pope GA (n/r) 48. Bingham UT (42) 49. Glenbard West IL (49) 50. Maize South KS (50) *** ON THE CUSP Huntington Beach CABishop Alemany CATorrey Pines CAMarymount CAPalos Verdes CARedondo Union CALos Alamitos CAFoothill CANorthville MIViera FLPlant FLBerkeley Prep FLVenice FLCalvary Christian FLJupiter FLKamehameha HIPunahou HIBishop Gorman NVClear Creek-Amana IACorona del Sol AZLiberty AZSunrise Mountain AZMillennium AZBob Jones ALMountain Brook ALSacred Heart KYNorth Myrtle Beach SCDorman SCSt. Ursula Academy OHMount Notre Dame OHCorner Canyon UTPleasant Grove UTJenks OKMount St. Mary OKLa Cueva NMRoncalli INAngola IN

One fun part of the high school season is seeing high-level athletes playing in different positions from what they do in club and for what they committed to at the collegiate level. There are few examples below with as we check in with a dozen 5-star athletes from the Class of 2024 below. It includes a couple from highly-ranked schools like No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern and No. 6 Grand Oaks TX. Ava Falduto OH IC Catholic Prep IL: Falduto shined at libero this past season for 1st Alliance 17 Gold, which took bronze in 17 Open. She committed to Penn State in the same position but is swinging on the outside for the Knights this fall. The team, which is 26-3, is one of the top contenders for the Illinois Class 2A state title. Falduto currently leads the team in digs with 253 and averaging 4.5 per set. She’s also second in digs with 235, averaging 4.2 per set. She had a season-high 23 kills in mid-September and broke the 20 mark for the second time last week with 21 in a victory over St. Francis. Morgan Gaerte OH Angola IN: The Hornets are 33-1 and are in the midst of the Class 3A state championships and continue play with the regional semifinals Saturday. A Notre Dame commit, Gaerte has provided a big-time arm on the outside. She leads the way with 419 kills, averaging 4.3 per set and hitting .433. Her season-high 31 kills came in Angola’s only loss to date, a four-set defeat to Carroll. Izzy Starck S/RS Viera FL: The Hawks have benefitted from the arrival of Starck, a Penn State commit, this fall. They are currently in the 7A state playoffs. Starck is having a monster season setting and hitting. She leads the team in kills with 314, averaging 4.8 per set and hitting .353. She’s also recorded 318 assists, averaging 4.8 per set. Four times she’s had 20 or more kills, including a season-best 28 in a four-set victory over Merritt Island in September. She’s also twice dished out 23 assists, including adding 17 kills in an October victory over Merritt Island. Zoey Burgess MB Lone Peak UT: With Burgess, a Kansas commit, Lone Peak is among the top candidates in the upcoming 6A state playoffs. Burgess has registered a team-leading 241 kills. She’s averaging 3.0 per set and is hitting .421. She’s also the team leader in blocks and is second in aces. Burgess totaled a season-high 18 kills and hit .571 in a five-set victory over Bingham earlier this month. Lauren Harden OH Hamilton Southeastern IN: A Florida commit, Harden and company are currently 29-0 and are ranked No. 4 in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National HS Rankings. The Royals continue the 4A state playoffs in Saturday’s regional semifinals. Harden is leading the charge with 319 kills, averaging 3.8 per set and hitting .333. She’s twice reached a season-high 17 kills, with both matches happening in September. Avery Jackson OH The Hockaday School TX: Jackson – a Stanford beach commit – has played an instrumental role for the Daisies this fall. Hockaday wraps up the regular season next week. Jackson currently leads the team with 587 kills and is averaging 5.4 per set. She’s also second in digs with 450, averaging 4.1 per set, as well as leading in aces too. Twelve times she’s eclipsed 20 or more kills, including twice surpassing 30 or more. It featured a season-best 33 kills in a five-set loss to Plano West in August. Taylor Parks S Calvary Christian FL: Parks and the Warriors have a big 3A showdown against Berkeley Prep on Thursday for the right to continue on in the state playoffs. The result won’t be known as of publication, but the Warriors entered the match 23-3 with Parks guiding the attack. The Florida commit has put up 537 assists, averaging 8.4 per set. She’s also been a threat offensively, as she’s second in kills with 178. She’s also second in digs with 183. She registered a season-high 46 assists in a September victory over Cardinal Mooney. Kiarrah Horne OH Millbrook NC: The Wildcats are aiming to finish on top of the 4A state playoffs and were 19-4 heading into Saturday’s clash against Panther Creek. Horne, a UCLA commit, has been a force on the outside. She’s powering the offense with 354 kills, averaging 4.7 per set and hitting .340. She posted a season-best 30 kills in a five-set loss to Apex in early September. She also had an outing where she hit .800 in a victory against Sanderson, recording 12 kills on 15 swings without an error. Alec Rothe OH Dublin Scioto OH: The Irish are 23-0 heading into Thursday’s contest against South as they chase the Division 1 state title. Rothe – a Florida commit – has been holding it down in the middle. She leads the way with 225 kills. She’s averaging 4.2 per set and is hitting .373. Emerson Sellman OH The Academy of the Holy Cross MD: An Ohio State commit, Sellman has carried the Tartans to a 23-0 mark to date. The 6-4 outside has amassed 234 kills. She’s averaging 4.7 per set and is hitting .377. She’s also first in both blocks and digs as well. She put down a season-high 25 kills in a four-set victory over Bullis in September. She also had a season-best 15 digs in that match too. Ayden Ames OH Prosper TX: Ames committed to Nebraska as a middle but plays on the left for the Eagles. With it, she’s put up big numbers this fall. She’s sent down a team-best 404 kills, averaging 4.6 per set and hitting .380. She’s also second in both blocks and digs despite missing time. Her two top outings have both come against nationally-ranked McKinney Boyd when each time she recorded a season-best 24 kills. Jaela Auguste MB Grand Oaks TX: We finish up with yet another big-time player from the Lone Star state and another Florida

It’s time for another round of our HS Player Spotlight. This time we are back to the Class of 2026 and checking in on sophomores who are making big-time contributions to their respective teams. Below, we highlight 15 players who fit that description. Halle Dolliver OH Malcolm NE: With Dolliver leading the charge, Malcolm is a Class C1 state contender. The Clippers started the week 23-4. Dolliver has put up 531 kills, which is more than half of the team’s total. She is averaging 6.6 per set and is also second in both digs and aces. She’s had a couple monster performances so far this month. One featured a season-best 42 kills in a five-set loss to Platteview. Another was dropping 33 kills in a five-set thriller over Beatrice. Ava Brown OH Lexington OH: A 6-2, 3-star recruit, Brown has starred in her role. She set and hit in club this past season for Blackswamp but has mainly hit for the Minutemen. She’s registered a team-leading 464 kills, averaging 6.2 per set and hitting .385. She’s also racked up 172 assists, averaging 2.3 per set. She’s also third in blocks, digs and aces. She’s reached double-digit kills in every outing to date, including twice having 30 or more kills. She had a season-best 32 kills earlier this month in a four-set victory against New Philadelphia. Ayanna Watson OH Bishop Gorman NV: Watson – 6-4, 5-star recruit – was our featured Player of the Week this week. She’s having a remarkable season for the Gaels. She leads the roster with 427 kills, averaging 5.2 per set and hitting .389. She’s also second in blocks and aces and third in digs. She’s been hot of late, turning in her top three performances this month, including two last week. She recorded a season-high 29 kills and hit .481 in a four-set victory over Faith Lutheran on Oct. 9. She also hit an astonishing .952 in sweeping Basic on Oct. 2. In that contest, she had 20 kills on 21 attempts. Megan Ingersoll OH Spain Park AL: Ingersoll – a 3-star recruit – is turning in a strong season for the Jaguars. She entered the week having sent down 415 kills. She’s averaging 4.2 per set and is also tops in digs at 2.2 per set. She had a season-high 22 kills in a tough five-set loss to Hoover in mid-September. She also had 12 digs in that contest, two off her season-high of 14. Leilani Lawrence OH Tampa Prep FL: A 4-star recruit, Lawrence is contributing in plenty of ways for the Terrapins. She leads the way in both kills (282, 3.8 per set) and blocks (100, 1.3) and is third in digs (3.0 per set). She’s also second in aces. She broke out for a season-high 25 kills in a five-set victory over Academy of the Holy Names in late September. She also had a season-best 18 digs and season-high 13 blocks in that one. Brooke Harwood RS/MB Eastmark AZ: The Firebirds are among the Division 4 state contenders with Harwood a big reason why. The 6-3, 5-star recruit is turning in a giant season. She entered the week with 411 kills, averaging 5.1 per set and hitting .350. She’s also the block and ace leader and is third in digs. She has six matches of at least 20 kills. Twice she’s recorded a season-high 24 kills, including last week in a four-set loss to American Leadership Academy – Gilbert. Madison Brown S Noblesville IN: The season is over for Brown and Noblesville, which fell to national No. 4 Hamilton-Southeastern this past Saturday. A 3-star recruit, Brown dished out 1,075 on the year, averaging 9.8 per set. She had plenty of huge efforts. She registered 40 or more assists 10 times. It included 50 or more twice, and her season-best 61 dimes in a five-set victory over Fishers last week. Anna Flores S Keller TX: Flores – a 4-star recruit who hit and set for TAV 15 Black this past club season – is running a 5-1 for the Indians this fall. She’s amassed 804 assists to date, averaging 8.3 per set. She’s also the team’s leader in aces, as well as second in digs. Four times she’s had 43 assists or more, including a season-best 51 in a five-set victory against Northwest in mid-August. Elena Ruble St. Pius X MO: Ruble and company are among the top contenders for the Class 4 state title. The 3-star recruit started the week with 701 assists, averaging 10.8 per set. Her 47 aces also lead the team. She’s reached at least 40 assists six times. Among them was a season-high 44 dimes in a sweep of Farmington in mid-September. Ella Florez S Mill Valley KS: A 5-star recruit who sets and hits in club, Florez’s responsibility for the Jaguars has been just setting. She’s totaled 698 assists to date, averaging 8.9 per set. She’s had big outings of late, including a season-best 46 assists in a five-set loss to Olathe West on Oct. 5. She also recorded a season-high 17 digs in the loss. She dished out 38 assists in a sweep over Shawnee Mission South last week. Gabi Rodriguez L McKinney North TX: Rodriguez – a 4-star recruit – has held it down defensively for the Bulldogs. She entered the week with 611 digs, averaging 8.0 per set. She’s also the leader in aces. She had her best two matches earlier this month. In one she registered 42 digs in a sweep of Greenville. She posted a season-best 50 digs in a four-set victory over Sherman as well. Ruby McDermott L Blessed Trinity GA: A 3-star recruit, McDermott has been another standout defender and playing a big role defensively. She’s put up 431 saves and is averaging 4.3 per set. She’s another who also leads the squad in aces. McDermott totaled a season-best 28 digs in a four-set loss to Pope in early September. It was one of five times she’s had

It’s officially playoff time! At least for many of the teams in our Top 50 the postseason has arrived. A few states wrap up their regular seasons this week while one school has already completed its season in Cornerstone Christian TX. The top three schools in our rankings – Mater Dei CA, Mira Costa CA and Papillion-LaVista South NE – are set to kick off their respective playoffs this week. Hamilton Southeastern IN – ranked No. 4 – started its postseason over the weekend. It’s a significant moment when it comes to the rankings, because postseason results change everything. Teams have spent all year building up in hopes of capturing a state title and the way we treat those results heavily impact the Top 50. Should Team A lose to Team B and have its season ended during the chase for a state title, Team B is going to be ranked ahead of Team A no matter any other circumstance. Any major upset is going to lead to a big rankings shake up. There wasn’t a ton of movement this week, but we did see one of the unbeatens fall when Skyridge UT went down to Lone Peak UT. It leaves Papillion-LaVista South, Hamilton Southeastern, Wayzata MN, Lake Catholic OH, Dike-New Hartford IA, Valor Christian CO and Lewis-Palmer CO as the remaining undefeated schools left. You can view the full Top 50 rankings below. vballrecruiter.com’S TOP 50 NATIONAL HS RANKINGS 1. Mater Dei CA (1 – previous ranking) 2. Mira Costa CA (2) 3. Papillion-La Vista South NE (3) 4. Hamilton Southeastern IN (4) 5. Prestonwood Catholic TX (5) 6. Grand Oaks TX (6) 7. Cathedral Catholic CA (7) 8. Wayzata MN (8) 9. McKinney Boyd TX (9) 10. Assumption KY (13) *** 11. Marist IL (14) 12. Benet Academy IL (16) 13. Mother McAuley IL (11) 14. Divine Savior Holy Angels WI (12) 15. O’Connor AZ (19) 16. St. Francis/Mountain View CA (21) 17. Sierra Canyon CA (22) 18. Archbishop Mitty CA (24) 19. Oconomowoc WI (25) 20. Dripping Springs TX (17) *** 21. Notre Dame Academy KY (15) 22. Lake Catholic OH (27) 23. Blue Valley North KS (20) 24. Kings OH (28) 25. St. James Academy KS (23) 26. Cornerstone Christian TX (26) 27. Middle Creek NC (n/r) 28. St. Thomas Aquinas KS (34) 29. Carrollwood Day FL (18) 30. Lafayette MO (35) *** 31. Branson CA (29) 32. Dike-New Hartford IA (30) 33. Valor Christian CO (31) 34. Hudsonville MI (33) 35. Winter Park FL (37) 36. Lewis-Palmer CO (40) 37. Seton OH (49) 38. Xavier Prep AZ (32) 39. Lone Peak UT (38) 40. Angola IN (42) *** 41. Lake Travis TX (n/r) 42. Bingham UT (n/r) 43. Mercy McAuley OH (36) 44. Skyridge UT (10) 45. Bishop Alemany CA (45) 46. Torrey Pines CA (48) 47. North Branch MI (39) 48. Alpharetta GA (41) 49. Glenbard West IL (n/r) 50. Maize South KS (46) ON THE CUSPNorthville MIViera FLPunahou HIHuntington Beach CAClear Creek Amana IALos Alamitos CAFoothill CAMarymount CARedondo Union CAPlant FLCalvary Christian FLBerkeley Prep FLPope GAPace Academy GABob Jones ALMountain Brook ALCorona del Sol AZMillennium AZSunrise Mountain AZLiberty AZBellmont INSacred Heart Academy KYBishop Gorman NVKamehameha HIDorman SCNorth Myrtle Beach SCNixa MOByron Nelson TXSt. Ursula Academy OHMount Notre Dame OHLiberty North MOCorner Canyon UTPleasant Grove UTRoncalli INYorktown INWashburn Rural KSJenks OKMount St. Mary OKLa Cueva NM