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Determining the Senior Player of the Year was a difficult decision given the depth and talent of this year’s 18 finalists. Every one of them contributed majorly for programs which captured state championships. It was a season where multiple award winners could be named. However, as grueling of a process as it was we eventually picked a single winner. Marian entered the season as the two-time defending Michigan Division 1 state champion and with key pieces returning was part of the national championship conversation. The biggest reason for that was senior setter Ava Sarafa was among those back. The 4-star Kentucky recruit had guided Marian to two consecutive state titles, including a one-loss season a year ago. An undefeated campaign this past fall wasn’t unrealistic but that possibility ended with a loss to Northville in mid-October. When the Division 1 state final rolled around, it was Northville standing in the way of Marian’s three-peat. Behind 43 assists from Sarafa, the Mustangs avenged their prior loss, downing Northville in four sets and keeping their state streak alive. There’s no questioning Sarafa was as essential to her team’s success this fall as anyone. She’s a deceptive setter with the ability to dish from pin-to-pin effortlessly. She totaled 1,359 assists on the year, averaging 11.0 per set. With Marian finishing No. 5 in our final Top 50 national rankings, Sarafa beat out an incredible field of finalists to earn vballrecruiter.com’s 2022 High School Senior Player of the Year award.

There is the type of seasons turned in by the likes of Cathedral Catholic CA, Cornerstone Christian TX and Prestonwood Christian TX. Highly-ranked schools from the get go which end the year as highly-ranked schools after successful campaigns. Their accomplishments caught no one off guard as they were on everyone’s radar from the beginning. Then there are seasons like the one experienced by Dripping Springs TX. The Tigers spent nearly the entire fall unnoticed. But they made sure everyone paid attention by ending the year with the Texas 6A state championship. It was one of the most unpredictable storylines from the high school schedule. The run was made even more improbable considering Dripping Springs had just moved up from 5A to 6A for this season. The Tigers had routinely found themselves going deep in the 5A playoffs, including winning it all in 2015 and finishing runner up in 2014. They reached the semifinals in 2018 and 2020 and were a victory away from the semis in both 2019 and 2021. The best-of-the-best have long ruled 6A though so expecting immediate success in the state’s top division didn’t seem realistic from an outside perspective. “To the rest of the state, people might think it was crazy and ask where did you come from,” Dripping Springs coach Michael Kane said. “Moving up from 5A to 6A and what that jump was going to look like was the biggest question early on. But, if you look at our program the last decade we have been going to the same three 6A tournaments every preseason. We don’t pad our schedule. We challenge our kids.” The success of the season is undeniable. So is the impact Henley Anderson had on it. Dripping Springs was a young team overall, with freshman Sydney Lund setting in the back row and sophomores Riley Certain and Ashley Euston occupying the middle. Still, it was the 6-2 freshman outside imposing herself on opponents in commanding fashion. She racked up 540 kills. That was only 12 behind team leader and senior outside Mackenzie Plante, who finished with 552 and is committed to Tennessee. Anderson averaged 3.4 kills per set while hitting .303. She was also third in digs with 369, averaging 2.3 per set, and fourth in blocks with 74. Combined with the 6A state title, Anderson thrusted herself into perfect position to be named vballrecruiter.com’s 2022 High School Freshman Player of the Year. “I knew Henley is a once-in-a-generation type of player,” Kane said. “I’ve had a couple of those in my career. All you have to do is be near her to know she has the tools. She doesn’t move like a freshman. For her height, she’s agile and athletic. Sometimes you are taken back by it. I knew she would be able to handle the net. The one question mark was how she would handle six-rotations and serve receive in high-level 6A volleyball. It’s different going from 14 Open to varsity kids. She far exceeded what I thought she could do. If anything, I owe her an apology for even questioning if she could handle it or not. To go into 6A volleyball with the schedule I put together and run the gamut like we did, I think she far exceeded anybody’s expectations.” As amazing as it is, without Anderson’s best performance of the season the state championship and ensuing accolades wouldn’t be so. It was the opening round of the playoffs and Dripping Springs found itself in an 0-2 hole against Vandegrift. However, with Anderson delivering a season-high 25 kills – and hitting .320 – Dripping Springs rallied and eventually prevailed in five. Anderson had nine kills in a sweep of Johnson in the next round before closing out her season with five consecutive matches in double digits, including 10 kills and hitting .400 in a sweep against Tompkins in the state final. It matched her best streak of the season when she also had five straight matches of double-digit kills from Sept. 13-27. During her performance against Tompkins in the final it was easy to see Anderson’s next-level potential on display. By then, she had undoubtedly found her role and had established herself as one of the go-to hitters. That wasn’t exactly the case at the beginning of the season as she was figuring out how to mix in with her teammates. “Coming in as a freshman it is intimidating,” Anderson said. “The team has been so good the past couple of years. My role was to encourage everyone and help build the team. At the first tournament I was rooming with three seniors and they were the main leaders. That helped me bond with them. Going to team dinners and those type of things and we started clicking. “Coach K was always telling me not to play like a freshman. He would tell me not to be scared of upperclassmen. The first day of tryouts I was so nervous about the older kids and stuff. He kept telling me to lead by example. Once I started playing and getting into the season he said it would get a lot easier with time obviously.” Kane said Anderson is “one of the most competitive kids you’ll ever meet” and also shared a story about her work ethic and attention to detail. During a morning practice while working on blocking he pointed out a specific thing he wanted Anderson to be aware of. “It’s midday and I’m in class and get a text from Henley,” Kane said. “She said she had been thinking about what I said and she sent a screen shot of what she was doing wrong. It led to this back and forth we had and I finally said we need to stop because she’s in class. Who is doing that? As a coach, I can see who is watching the most film and she’s leading the team in watching film.” It was all part of a dream season. One made all the more

(Updated 12/22) This is a running list of the Class of 2023 Early Signings. Who are we missing? And we know some colleges have not “officially” announced yet too. Email christi@vballrecruiter.com or DM on Social Media @vballphil   501 Volley   608 Juniors   1st Alliance   1United   A5   Absolute   Adversity   Alamo   Alabama Performance   Alliance VBC   Apex NW   Arete   Arizona East Valley   Arizona Storm   Aspire   Austin Juniors   Austin Performance   Austin Skyline   AVC Cleveland   AZ Club One   Bakersfield VBC   Balboa Bay   Ballyhoo VBC   Baymeadows Volleyball Academy   Boilers   Capital Volleyball Academy   Carolina Juniors   Carolina Union   Carolina Rogue   Chicago Elite   Circle City   Club Fusion   Club Ignit Select   Club Iowa   Club Savannah   Club V   Coast   Colorado Juniors   Cville Area Volleyball Club   DaKine VBC   Dallas Summit   Desert Sports VBC   Drive Nation   Dynasty   East Coast Power   Eastside Cleveland   East Texas Juniors   Elevation   Elite VBA   Empowered VBA   Excel   Excel NW   FaR Out Volleyball   FC Elite   Flight Volleyball Club   Florida Gulfside   Fox Valley Heat   Front Range   Gainesville Juniors   Gamepoint   Grand Strand Juniors   High Tide VBC   Houston Juniors   HPSTL   Houston Skyline   Houston Stellar   Idaho Crush   Illini Elite   Impact Sports Academy   Impact VBC   Infinity VBA   Invasion   Iowa Rockets   Jacksonville Juniors   Kandi Elite   Kairos Elite   Ka Ulukoa   KC Power   KIVA   Kokoro   Ku’ikahi Volleyball Club   L2   LAVA West   Legacy   Legacy CA   Louisiana VBC   M1   Madfrog   Madison Volleyball   Marin Juniors   MAVS KC   Memphis VBA   Metro VBC   Metro Elite   Miami Elite   Michigan Elite   Milwaukee Sting   Minnesota North   Mintonette Sports   Mississippi Matrix   Mizuno Long Beach   MN Select   Mountain Peak Munciana   NC Academy     NASA Volleyball   Nebraska Elite   Net Force   New Mexico Cactus   New Wave   Niagara Frontier   NKYVC   No Name VBC   NorCal VBC   Norco   Northern Lights   NPJ   NRG   NYC Juniors   Ocala Power United   Ohio Valley VBC   Ohio Valley Volleyball Company   OTVA Jacksonville   OTVA Orlando   Ozark Juniors   P3R Volleyball   Pagan Vallejo   Paradigm   Paramount VBC   Pittsburgh Elite   Premier Nebraska   PVA   Red Storm   Renaissance VBC   REV   Revolution Volleyball Club   Revolution Volleyball Academy (AZ)   Richmond VBC   Ridgetop VBC   Rio VBC   Rockwood Thunder   SA Empire   SA Force   SA Juniors   SA Magic   SA Warriors   Seal Beach   Shockwave VBC   Sky Elite   Sky High   Skyline Juniors   SoCal VBC   Spike and Serve   Sports Performance   ST7 Volleyball   Sudden Impact   Sunshine   Surfside   SW Minnesota   T3   TAV   TAV Houston   TAV West   Team Colorado   Team Kiwi   Team Momentum   Team One   Team Pineapple   Tennessee Performance   Texas Fury   Texas Image   Texas Regulators   The Academy   The Diff   Topeka Impact   Top Select   Triangle   Tribe   Tri-State Elite   Tstreet   Tstreet IE   Tstreet LV   Tsunami   Twin City VBA   Union   Untouchables EPA   Upward Stars   USA South   VCNebraska   VC United   Viper   Virginia Elite   Vital VBC   Wave   West Florida Waves   Wildfire (Florida)   Willowbrook   Non/Unknown Club   INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES       Beach   Beach South   Elite Beach   Carolina Union   Madsand   Mizuno Long Beach   Optimum Beach   Team One   TRANSFERS Louisiana Monroe Beach: GR Taylor Shelton (Indiana State)     Boy’s 949 Volleyball   Aspire   Balboa Bay   MB Surf   Team Kiwi   Triangle

(Editor’s note: We have to release our Player of the Years differently than planned because of scheduling issues. Therefore, we are releasing our Junior and Sophomore Player of the Years on Wed. and Thu. respectively as planned. Senior POY will be released next week. Freshman is TBD.) It didn’t take long to see what type of impact Cari Spears could make for her new Prestonwood Christian team. The 6-3 outside moved back to Texas from Virginia for her sophomore year and right from the start was a difference maker. In fact, she didn’t arrive back in Texas until late on a Friday night. Prestonwood had scrimmages scheduled for Saturday and though Coach Ryan Mitchell knew she wouldn’t be playing in them, he invited Spears to come meet the team and watch from the bench. ““That was the first time I met her in person,” Mitchell said. “She’s sitting with her teammates and when the scrimmages start she’s cheering for everyone. She’s asking me questions about what we are doing. She was breaking down the game from Day 1. The first scrimmage she was matching me in intensity. She’s wired differently. She’s just special. She’s going to get a lot of accolades.” In a season-opening victory against Grapevine Spears delivered 15 kills and hit .737. The next day Prestonwood defeated both Highland Park and Prosper in five sets. Spears dropped 20 kills against each while hitting .400 and .486 respectively. This on a roster that didn’t necessarily need the offensive help. As sophomores a season ago, Jadyn Livings and Mikala Young each had over 500 kills. It’s one thing to come in and lead a new team in three of the first four contests like Spears did but a whole other level to do it on a team like this one. She finished the season with a team-high 544 kills, averaging 4.9 per set and hitting .477. It included a season-high 23 kills in the TAPPS 5A state championship match, a sweep over Bishop Lynch in which Spears hit .588. “It was a great team,” Spears said. “They were so welcoming. They made me feel right at home.” Put it all together and it makes for Spears being vballrecruiter.com’s 2022 High School Sophomore Player of the Year. Spears was among 13 finalists. The cases for others were strong and in most seasons one of them would have been enough to earn the award. Yet, this fall Spears rose above all others, starring for a Prestonwood Christian squad which proved itself as one of the top programs in the country. “She’s very deserving,” Mitchell said. “She’s a great kid. I think her physicality jumps off the page. When you first watch her you can see she’s tall, she’s athletic, she’s strong. Even if you don’t know anything about volleyball I think you can see that when she plays. “What you don’t see is the coachability and her willingness to learn. Her goal is to play in the Olympics. A lot of girls say that but rarely do they have the work ethic and attention to detail that Cari has.” Not all would handle transitioning to a new team and being an underclassman the way Spears did. It did help she was in familiar territory, having attended Prestonwood before moving to Virginia and knowing some of her teammates already. Another adjustment was learning a role that was still undefined at first but she did know she had to be prepared to play both pins. “Coming in Coach Mitchell talked about how all the pins need to play both the way we were going to run our system,” Spears said. “I was excited about getting to work on both pins. I need the work so I can be well-rounded and versatile.” While it remained to be seen where Spears would line up on the court, she was aware of the circumstances she was stepping into. After all, she was a new player on a successful team which finished runner up in the state championships last fall. Would she feel comfortable exerting her dominance or feel like she needed to take more of a secondary role? “The beginning of the season I was kind of sitting back and trying to see how the team was,” Spears said. “I was learning each player and how each player responds in different ways. They were all wanting to step into the role coach wanted them to. He really talked to me about being a leader and wanting the role to be filled. It wasn’t me thinking about being a sophomore or who’s a junior. It was me thinking about being a leader.” For Mitchell, he knew what he had with Spears from an Xs and Os standpoint. He calls Spears a “scouting nightmare” and planned on using her accordingly.  “Naturally, she’s an outside who plays six rotations, has great touch on the ball, is an above average defender and a plus passer,” Mitchell said. “She makes sense as a six-rotation outside but the great thing about her is she’s a utility belt. She’s a hybrid who brings so many mismatches on the court. As a coach, you are putting your greatest athlete in your best matchup. She hit left side, right side. She would come through the middle. There were times I would slide her in the middle just to block and create different looks. Cari understands the game. She would slide in and do her job and she loved it.” At the same time Mitchell was working with Spears on expanding her leadership abilities. While her play spoke for itself, he was wanting her to have more of a voice and vocal role too.   “It’s no easy task,” Mitchell said. “She made something that is really hard look easy. It was really neat to see that. Obviously, it helps that all the girls want to win and are high competitors who want to be on the best team possible. But, they recognize what she brings

(Editor’s note: We have to release our Player of the Years differently than planned because of scheduling issues. Therefore, we are releasing our Junior and Sophomore Player of the Years on Wed. and Thu. respectively as planned. Senior POY will be released next week. Freshman is TBD.) It wasn’t long ago in 2016 when Mother McAuley went 40-1 and finished the high school season as national champions. The lone loss that season? It came against St. Joseph’s Academy MO on Day 2 of the Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament. The Macs went on to capture the Asics Challenge title – a tournament they host – and the Illinois 4A state championship to complete a memorable season. Imagine the excitement and possibilities that started building this September when the Macs captured the LIVT trophy. Not only was it the first time Mother McAuley achieved that feat, the school also remained undefeated at the time. It elevated Mother McAuley into the national championship picture once more as the chance of a perfect season was still in tack. The hope of a fairytale season didn’t last long however, as the Macs were topped by rival Marist less than two weeks later. Mother McAuley would lose twice more after that. Once to Assumption – which the Macs defeated in the final of the LIVT – and once to Barrington in tournament play. While the losses knocked Mother McAuley from the national championship picture, it was hardly a deterrent from winning the Asics Challenge once more and bringing home another 4A state championship – avenging a loss to Marist along the way. It was one of the best seasons in program history – with Mother McAuley finishing No. 9 in our final Top 50 national rankings – and at the center of it all was junior outside Ellie White. The 4-star recruit committed to Michigan as a setter but has spent her time in high school hitting. Her stats are easy to comprehend. She led her team with 542 kills, averaging 5.9 per set and hitting .348. She was also third in digs with 289, averaging 3.1 per set, and third in blocks with 103, averaging 1.1 per set. What’s harder to understand is the manner in which the 6-0 White does it. For those who were fortunate to witness White play this fall, you know the power and ferocity she attacks with. To say White was a dominating force is an understatement. It’s all reason why White is vballrecruiter.com’s 2022 High School Junior Player of the Year. “She’s a humble person,” Mother McAuley coach Jen DeJarld said. “So many people admire her and really aspire to be like her. I’m always using her as an example. Usually I use former players like Kayla Caffey or Charlie Niego as examples. It’s not often I use current players still in the program as examples. I don’t like to put Ellie on the spot but it’s hard not to give her all the accolades and praise she deserves.” White checks off all the tangibles when it comes to selecting a Player of the Year. She’s a high-caliber player who had a tremendous impact on a state championship-winning team. Even against a talented field of finalists, White stood out in clear fashion. She also possesses the intangibles that puts her in a special category. “She loves to pushed and loves to be challenged,” DeJarld said. “If I don’t hold the best player to the highest level than who am I as a coach? She has to be better than others in the gym and ‘Okay’ is all she ever says and she just goes and does it. “She’s the most humbled player and she could not be happier for other people. She takes everything in stride. She’s one of the few players who doesn’t get impacted by outside stresses and outside anxiety. It might creep in but she doesn’t really stress much. She keeps playing and stays in the moment.” “It comes natural to me,” White said. “In those tight situations where it’s point for point I don’t tighten up. I tend to take a step back and take it all in. I try to stay calm and live in the moment.” Though White played outside during the shortened spring season in 2020, she blossomed on the left during her sophomore campaign. It was challenging taking on a new role, one that not everyone would thrive in like White has. “Playing outside is a totally different position,” White said. “I was a little nervous but it was a new opportunity. It was a new way to get better. Taking on a new position gave me a different look at the game. It’s a whole different side of it. Having the versatility of playing both positions increases my court awareness. It’s super fun.” One example White said is hitting has helped her learn to read the block better when setting. Another is having a better understanding of giving her hitters better balls in the right spots. “Both ways impact each other,” White said. “I think it’s super fun. I love it. Even playing defense and serve receive is so much fun.” It’s just one more thing to marvel at. The focal point of White’s development has been on setting. It hasn’t been centered on the intricacies of playing outside. “Skill wise, she has spent so much time setting and getting extra training sessions that she never passed and trains in that,” DeJarld said. “Still, she’s an elite passer who understands angles. I think she could be a six-rotation outside on any Big Ten team.” Last season the Macs had senior Caroline Macander setting. This fall they used seniors Tess Hayes and Olivia Klapp as backrow setters. Because of that DeJarld said there was never a question of having White set. “Never do I think about her setting,” DeJarld said. “She’s an amazing outside to me. Honestly, her back row attack is probably stronger than her front row. There were

The 16 and 18s age groups began regional play as the SCVA kicked off its schedule this past weekend at Momentous in Irvine. There was a lot of what one would expect from the first outing of a long season. While it was clear the players were excited to be starting up their club season and there was lots of energy in the gym, the volleyball was a bit hit and miss as teams looked to get their footing. We’ll check in on the teams we saw in action from both age groups as well as spotlight the teams which have the best chance at qualifying from the region for Open. 18s COAST 18-Ozhan: This group features 11 returning players who captured the 17 Open bronze medal this past summer. Coast opened in fine form, going 7-0. It included downing Sunshine 18 LA in the final, as well as picking up a pair of victories over Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar and one against rival Wave 18 Juliana. Among those back is 4-star BYU recruit and outside Claire Little and 4-star UCLA recruit and middle Brooklyn Briscoe, as well as 4-star Oregon recruit and right side Noemie Glover. One of the strengths of Coast is its depth. Coast added setter Nikki Quinn and middle/right side Ryleigh Patterson. Coast has the options of running a 5-1 with either Quinn or returner Zoe Rachow or letting them run a 6-2. Patterson adds to the mix as a fourth middle or a third right side, or even someone who can fill in at outside. Catherine Schnell and Milan Bayless are also options on the left, while Bianka Lulic and Irleynd Lorenzen are the other middles. Back defensively is the strong duo of Sydney Bold and Brooklyn Yelland. This is certainly a top team in the 18s and one capable of contending for the top prize. SUNSHINE 18 LA: As a 17s team, Sunshine took 21st in 17 Open at Junior Nationals. Sunshine opened this year going 5-2, with setbacks against Long Beach and Coast and a victory over Wave. There are a lot of familiar faces with one key addition in setter Lauren Brooker. She mostly ran a 5-1 for nationally-ranked Marymount this high school season and at 6-1 gives Sunshine options it didn’t have last season. The big arms are back in 5-star Pitt recruits in Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford. Sunshine will look for middle Dior Charles and pins Avery Jones, Grace Thrower and Ava-Marie Lange to fill in around them. Drew Wright is also back. She moved to libero late last season and excelled. She played outside for nationally-ranked Mira Costa this fall but was back in the libero jersey this weekend anchoring the defense. WAVE 18 JULIANA: Wave was a victory away from reaching the top eight in 17 Open this past summer. It’s mostly the same group, one that went 4-2 over the weekend. Wave won its first four matches but fell to Coast and Sunshine to end the weekend. The core is back and includes 5-star Stanford recruit and outside Julia Blyashov. She’s one of three players on the roster that was part of Cathedral Catholic’s national championship run during the high school season. Coach Juliana Conn also coached Cathedral while middle Mia Compass and L/DS Katerina Lutz were also on the Dons’ roster. Back along with Blyashov are middles Eva Rohrbach and Cayla Payne, outside Lily Dwinell, right side Auburn Tomkinson, L/DS Koko Kirsch and setter Shanelle Puetz. All played key roles last spring. Blyashov missed the final four matches of the high school season with a sprained ankle but was suited up and playing. MIZUNO LONG BEACH 18 ROCKSTAR: Long Beach didn’t qualify Open as a 17s group last season. There’s optimism that’ll change this coming spring as it’s a different roster overall than a season ago. One example is outside and 4-star Oklahoma recruit Mele Corral Blagojevich. She was part of the 18s last year and was not part of the 17s until AAUs. Another key addition is outside Eva Travis. The high-flying UCSB recruit adds much-needed offense. Also new this season is setter/right side Tanon Rosenthal. She moved from Texas and was part of Mira Costa’s high school team. With returning setter Fatimah Hall part of the roster, Beach can run a 5-1 or 6-2, as both Rosenthal and Hall can hit too. The Rest: Those are the four teams with the best shot of qualifying for 18 Open. Legacy 18 Elite technically qualified for 17 Open last summer but turned down the bid and instead attended AAUs, where it won 17 Premier. However, the roster lost two key contributors in outsides Addison Benson and Kylie Tengberg. Back is S/RS Madison Maxwell and 4-star Baylor recruit and middle Victoria Davis, as well as S/RS Milani Lee. A4 Volley 18 Joaco joined Legacy and the four other clubs we mentioned – Coast, Sunshine, Long Beach and Wave – in the power division’s top six. A4 looked to qualify open last season and attended AAUs – where it finished 21st in 17 Open – after missing out. A4 went 3-3 this weekend, beating Balboa Bay 18 Blue, Seal Beach 18 Black and Legacy while falling to Coast, Wave and Sunshine. A few of the returning players include outsides Ashlyn Beebe and Paige Buzzerio, libero Makena Lim, and setter Reese Torticill. *** 16s COAST 16-LUIS: Coast turned it on at Junior Nationals last season, making the top eight in 15 Open after struggling some during the season. It’s changed the perspective on this season as Coast has gone to a bubble Open team to one expected to qualify. The group went 5-1 over the weekend. Coast beat Wave 16 Kevin but fell to Surfside 16 PV Legends on Day 2. There are lots of returning players, including outside Ava Poinsett, setter Jolyna Salas and middles Jenny Li and Savannah Simpson. Also part of the group is Stella Dillon, who joined Coast late last season after

Last week we presented our Freshman Player of the Candidates. This week, we give you our Freshman Player of the Year Finalists. The award winner is set to be announced the following week. We began with roughly 70 candidates and it should make sense that field gets much more defined as we narrowed it down to roughly about 15 finalists. Here’s what we are looking for in selecting our finalists and ultimately Player of the Year award. It contains three parts that are subjective by nature. One part measures the overall talent of a player. The next part takes into consideration the player’s overall impact on their team. The third part centers around the team’s overall success. In terms of Player of the Year finalists, it’s not impossible to make the list unless the player’s team won a state championship but it certainly helps. It’s a big country with lots of talented players and at the same time we wanted to introduce a factor that includes the team element. Winning a state title is prestigious accomplishment that is the pinnacle of every program around the country. A player’s impact on their team can be subjective but it’s a big bonus if a player led their team in their respective category – i.e. assists for setters, kills for setters or blocks for middles. It’s difficult to do as a freshman. Lastly, when it comes to a player’s overall talent, while it’s subjective as well, most can agree on who the top players are. Add all three together and these are what we are looking for in our Player of the Year winner. At last, we present our Freshman Player of the Year Finalists. Anna Flores FR MB Keller TX: Flores is a great story, as she wasn’t even on any radar when the season started. That’s because Flores’ main position is setting and with senior Taylor Polivka on the roster there didn’t seem to be much of a role for Flores. However, that changed when she was asked to fill in at middle blocker. All she did was finish second in kills with 298, averaging 2.3 per set. On top of that, she led the team in blocks! She posted a team-high 77. Now consider Keller made the 6A state semifinals and while she might not be a leading finalist she’s certainly worthy of making the cut. Aubree Deshetsky FR OH North Branch MI: The Broncos (53-7) captured Michigan’s Division 2 state championship. There’s no doubt Deshetsky played a vital role in that, as she chipped in across the board. She had 281 kills, averaging 1.8 per set. She was third in digs with 352, averaging 2.3 per set. She finished second in assists with 71; fourth in blocks with 52; and second in aces with 69. Ayanna Watson FR OH Bishop Gorman NV: Watson missed a bit of time – she played in 93 of the team’s 113 sets – but not enough to keep her from making the final cut. The 6-2 outside was a big-time factor in the Gaels reaching the 5A state semifinals. She had a big year, delivering 317 kills and averaging 3.4 per set. She also hit .387 and was third in digs with 324, averaging 3.5 per set. She was also third in blocks (64) and aces (48). Catherine Palmi FR OH Osceola FL: Palmi put together an incredible year and has to be considered among the top finalists. Her case is that strong. Osceola (26-5) reached Florida’s 7A state semifinals riding the arm of their freshman talent. Palmi was instrumental, carrying the offense with a team-high 591 kills. She averaged 5.6 per set and she hit .340. She was also second in digs with 302 and led the team in aces with 58. D’aira Whitner FR MB Gilmour Academy OH: Gilmour Academy (21-9) was the Ohio Division 2 state runner up and what a year Whitner put together for the Lancers. The freshman middle finished third in kills with 247, but was only less than 40 kills from being the leader. She averaged 2.6 per set. She made an even bigger impact on the other side of the ball. She posted a team-leading 79 blocks, averaging 0.8 per set. She was also fourth in aces with 37. Elena Hoecke FR MB Centennial MN: Hoecke – a 6-2, 3-star recruit – definitely left her mark on the season as Centennial reached Minnesota’s Class 4A state quarterfinals. She was close to be the kill leader, finishing second with 283. She averaged 3.0 kills per set and was second in hitting percentage at .296. She was even better defensively, racking up a team-high 79 blocks. If that wasn’t enough, she was also the ace leader with 62. Elena Ruble FR S St. Pius MO: The Lancers (23-5) made a run to the Missouri Class 4 state quarterfinals with a young roster that included Ruble – a 3-star recruit who moves and dishes well – running the offense. She piled up 839 assists and averaged 9.5 per set. Ella Florez FR S/RS Mill Valley KS: Florez deserves to be in the finalist conversation with the season she turned in for Mill Valley, which made the Kansas 6A state semifinals. She played a dual role for the Jaguars. She led the team in assists with 450, averaging 4.8 per set. She also carried a load on offense, chipping in with 210 kills and averaging 2.3 per set. Both were second on the team. She was also second in digs with 236 and third in blocks with 72. Her 34 aces were second on the roster, showing her contributions came in every facet. Erin Clark FR L Corona del Sol AZ: It’s rare for a freshman to play such a key role on such a successful team as Clark did for the Aztecs this fall. Corona del Sol captured Arizona’s 6A state championship. It was Clark taking a leadership role on the defensive side, as she earned the