Rankings Update: 2021 Prospect Movement

<p>Rankings updates have been posted. Big thanks to Prep Dig contributors and club coaches for contributing to the effort. Below are five athletes that recently saw some good movement up the class of 2021 list.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="72060" first="Emma" last="VanHeel"]</strong> - 6’0 | MB | Synergy 17-1 | Prep Dig #26<br /> One of the better two-way players when considering offensive and defensive contributions, VanHeel is emerging as a high quality prospect in this class. She is athletic, quick, and does not waste much energy or movement in her play through both pins. Additionally, she has good versatility to score from the middle and either pin. One of her best offensive qualities is her understanding of space and time in the middle relative to the pace of the pass and setter location. She has great court awareness and can swing with authority through a variety of zones. Defensively, she elevates and penetrates across the tape as well as anyone in this class. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="72078" first="Claire" last="Walsh"]</strong> - 5’11 | OH | MN North 17-1 | Prep Dig #29<br /> A true six-rotation athlete, Walsh makes big contributions for her team through her ball control, defense, and hitting from both the front and back row. Her patience passing leads to simple footwork and good angles, while defensively she has good balance and eyework to make big plays in any direction. Offensively, she has good arm speed and torque that allows her to move the ball around well. She builds good momentum in her approach patterns that is appropriate for both higher or quicker tempo options. She is a great competitor as well and is not afraid to challenge a big block with her arm.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="58044" first="Maddie" last="DeMars"]</strong> - 6’1 | MB | Kokoro 17-1 | Prep Dig #36<br /> DeMars has some good physical qualities to her play. She is a big presence at the net in size and in her play on both sides of the ball. Offensively, she has good footwork to get to the ball in front and behind the setter with the ability to hit with pace through good arm strength. Defensively, she prepares well with good patience and balance and is quick to get up on a middle attacker and dynamic through her swing block to get to either pin. She will continue to be a major factor for her Forest Lake team this next high school season.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="84909" first="Sylvia" last="Koenig"]</strong> - 6’1 | MB | Northern Lights 17-Black | Prep Dig #43<br /> Koenig has great tools at the net. Her primary position is at middle and she excels in this role on both sides of the ball. She is long and rangy physically and has good quickness. She can score from multiple locations but looks most comfortable and effective through a slide option overhead. She builds momentum well and can generate good power through her arm off of one foot. As she was a big factor at Northfield during the 2019 high school season, she should see her impact increase during the fall high school season. She is fun to watch as she makes contributions in a variety of ways but also because she brings energy and excitement to her team throughout a match.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="71966" first="Riley" last="Walsh"]</strong> - 6’0 | OH | M1 17-2 | Prep Dig #54<br /> Walsh has been featured a few times throughout her prep and club career and rightfully so. She is dynamic and continues to improve in her skills and quality of play overall. At 6’0, she is long and has good reach on the left pin. She also brings an aggressive mentality as an attacker. Combined with her quick arm speed, she provides a lot of offensive production because of it. She is equally aggressive and effective at the net on the defensive side as her vision helps her close down hitters at the pin or in helping out against a middle attack. She gets off the floor fast with hands up and over quickly to seal the net.</p>