Small School Sensations: Indiana’s Top ’23s From Small Schools
We wrap up our small school review by highlighting five kids from the class of 2023 from schools in Indiana that have less than 400 kids in total enrollment. Grace Purichia Grace Purichia 5'7" | S Providence | 2023 State…
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Continue ReadingWe wrap up our small school review by highlighting five kids from the class of 2023 from schools in Indiana that have less than 400 kids in total enrollment.
Grace Purichia Grace Purichia 5'7" | S Providence | 2023 State #149 Nation IN , 5-7, S, Union 15 Asics (15-1), Providence High School (enrollment: 385)
Grace is THE top setter in the ’23 class, bar none, in the state of Indiana. Her older sister is getting heavy looks for the next level on the 18-1 team at Union, and her mom is a highly successful coach. This is a gym rat who hates to lose more than she loves to win. Additionally, she’s a beach volleyball stud too, and has finished in the top ten nationally in multiple beach qualifiers and beach nationals in the last two seasons. As an indoor player, her volleyball IQ is through the roof, and her location and tempo of each set is perfect. You cannot go wrong by just watching this kid work.
Reese Baker Reese Baker 5'4" | DS/L Wapahani | 2023 State IN , 5-4, DS, Munciana 15 Quora (15-1), Wapahani High School
Chloe Cook Chloe Cook 5'9" | OH Wapahani | 2023 State IN , 5-9, OH/DS, Munciana 15 Quora (15-1), Wapahani High School (enrollment: 360)
Once again, we hit up a pair of serve receive and defensive studs from Delaware County and Munciana. Wapahani is definitely one of the smaller public schools in the state, but that doesn’t limit their ability to play volleyball at a high level. Reese, a stud DS for Munciana’s top 15s team, is legit. The location of her touches are always settable, and if she gets the second ball, she’s spot on with her pin hitters. Chloe is right next to her in serve receive all season long in high school, and has furthered her talents and training at Munciana. Although undersized for an outside, she more than makes up for it in her consistency in passing and relentlessness on defense.
Alexandra Kraft Alexandra Kraft 5'2" | DS/L Providence | 2023 IN , 5-2, DS, Union 15 Asics (15-1), Providence High School (enrollment: 385)
Providence again? Yes, again. Providence is a volleyball machine, and their pipeline goes deep to multiple clubs on both sides of the Ohio River. To give you a general idea of what I think of Miss Kraft, I will recount a story of watching her play recently. In the finals of the President’s Day tournament in Saint Louis in February 2020, she took a HARD shot to the face in one long rally. Immediately, she went red-faced, but shook it off, nailed the next three serve receives, and stayed in. This is the toughness and resilience you get if Alexandra plays for you. Don’t let that sweet exterior fool you, she’s a gamer.
Danielle Newport Danielle Newport 5'9" | OH Covenant Christian | 2023 State IN , 5-9, OH, Circle City 15 Black (15-2), Covenant Christian School (enrollment: 365)
Quick feet, quick arm, quick to the ball. That’s all that needs to be said about this underrated kid from the west side of Indianapolis. She also comes from a very successful high school program, and is no stranger to winning. Personally, I like a kid that almost goes TOO fast; you don’t need to motivate her to push harder.