Live Eye Top Performances and Newcomers To Know
Finally. The season has started. After weeks of writing previews, watching countdowns, and reminders of getting paperwork in for all athletes to be eligible, the season has finally started. This past week I was able to watch plenty of teams at the FVA Fall Classic and the Sun Prairie Invite. There were matches that were definitely preludes to potential postseason matchups as well as matches where the energy and intensity was something all teams aspire to have (and of course plays that remind you it’s week one of the season :). Here are some top performances as well as new names to know after week one.
Top Performers
Brianna Cantrell – Appleton North – FVA Fall Classic
Cantrell completely took over the match in the championship match of the FVA Fall Classic where North defeated Kimberly 2-0. Both teams will be seeing each other multiples times this season (they had to play each other this past weekend at the Joust where North won 2-1). Cantrell is a high flying outside hitter where she explodes when she attacks with a high contact point and can take the ball left or right to score points.
Big night for Sophomore Brianna Cantrell of @anorth_vb – 11 kills in two sets over a win against Kimberly passing a 2.2 (that’s really good 😎) – top ten in the Class of 2022 in @PrepDigWI latest rankings pic.twitter.com/6264N5pC3H
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) August 28, 2019
Watch out for Watertown
Clean volleyball and consistent body language. One pattern throughout the week was at times it was pretty easy to tell the score of the game just by reading the body language of the team. Not for Watertown. They were down big in set two against Sun Prairie, they had blow out wins, and points where it was pretty tight, but their composure stayed the same. Led by Belmont commit, Izzy Schauer at setter, the Senior led team really has this cool, calm, collected vibe about them where they come up in big moments.
Great day of volleyball at the @SUNPRAIRIEVB Invite- a lot of teams here who could make a big postseason run. The three captains of the championship squad from @WHSGoslingVball Allie Stair, Dani Weissenrieder, and Izzy Schauer pic.twitter.com/kW8NHyahrF
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) August 30, 2019
Ella Foti is Back! And Edgewood is Legit!
Ella Foti was out for her Sophomore year at Edgewood with an injury and was just getting back into the swing of things during the club season last spring. She’s back. The Marquette commit was a deadly point-scoring threat in the front row swinging on the right side with Caroline Craig running a really clean offense. In the backrow, Foti would set where she receives the ball high, neutral, and is able to get a relatively young Crusader offense rolling.
Ella Foti kill for @EdgewoodGVB sends this match into a third. pic.twitter.com/z2PyaoAXMx
— Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) August 30, 2019
Middles Emerge For Sun Prairie
Maggie AllamanKJ McNabb and Payton Addink have been on the radar the past couple years and rightfully so. They are some of the top outside hitters in their class. This past weekend it was really fun to watch setter Josie Halbleib run her middles of Maggie Allaman and Kirsten Anderson. Allaman and Anderson can do a little bit of everything offensively where they can swing, tip, or throw to the open spot. And Josie Halbleib. Wow. She’s 6’2, left handed, swinging on second contact when she needs to and receives the ball so high that she can really create a lot of options for herself. The evolution of her game has been something special to watch.
What New Players Are On The Radar
Summer Salettel – Beaver Dam
Committed to MSU-Moorhead
This was a big miss by us on Prep Dig to let an athlete of this caliber go this long off of our radar. She is one of the key cogs to the emergence of Beaver Dam who finished in the top four of the tournament. Salettel is a dynamic middle blocker who can hit a variety of tempos and is able to really frustrate an opposing outside hitter.
Dani Weissenrieder – Watertown
This athlete needs to be on the list of college coaches around the state now. Extremely solid in serve receive and does the little things that all teams need such as reading tips, covering hitters, and making the routine plays look easy. Weissenrieder was key in the Gosling win against Sun Prairie being able to track the powerful attack of the Cardinals.
Kellyn Kennedy – Appleton East
Kennedy was at the FVA Fall Classic where she was one of the setters for Appleton East. Quick, moves well around the court, and can put a really hittable ball up, and a solid defender in the backcourt as well.
Jessica Dray – Beaver Dam
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but Beaver Dam has really improved. This starts with their ball control and being able to have a solid first contact from libero Jessica Dray. She sets the tone from the service line and is always under control in the backrow to get the offense rolling. The Beavers will be sure to turn some heads this year.
Annabel Lewis – Edgewood
Edgewood is filled with offensive weapons, two setters, and a really solid libero in Lewis. The Senior leader is able to provide a sense of security for the Crusaders, who made a statement as a top Division 2 team to contend with. Lewis is able to get the first contact in system for Craig and Foti to start dishing to their top attackers.