Potential Breakout 2021s

Let’s look forward to a day when we can enter a gym and see our favorite players back in action. I love making predictions, and I have a few for the 2020 season. First, I’d like to look at which seniors-to-be might be having some pretty big seasons. [player_tooltip player_id="33734" first="Lakyn" last="Graves"] – 6’1 – Middle Blocker – Hamilton – Milwaukee Sting 17 Black Graves helped lead Hamilton to a 31-14 record in 2019 as a junior. She hit an efficient .414 while recording 254 kills and 78 blocks. She led her team in these categories, and I would expect her to be even more dominant in 2020. [caption id="attachment_64730" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="80756" first="Maggie" last="Craker"][/caption] [player_tooltip player_id="80756" first="Maggie" last="Craker"] – 5’8 – Setter – McDonell Central – Eau Claire Air 18s Craker has been on our radar for a while, but going into her senior year, the Mack’s are returning her top target in Destiny Baughman (2022 – 5’6 – Outside Hitter), as well as returning a lot of key players. She led her team to a 37-12 record while recording 119 aces and 1,034 assists. After her junior season, Craker has already reached the 3,000 assists milestone. Craker commands the court, and if the Macks have the personnel to fill the defensive weapons they lose to graduation, you could definitely see them taking Sectional 1 in Division 4 for a run to the Resch Center. [player_tooltip player_id="56451" first="Kady" last="Stigler"] – 5’7 – Libero – Menomonee Falls – Wisconsin Premier 17 Lisa Stigler is seriously underrated, but I’m hoping with a lot of returners, the Indians will be able to turn some heads and Stigler can show off her skills. She is solid in serve-receive and is really good at reading the other side of the court. Stigler recorded a whopping 800 digs and 39 aces in 2019. Menomonee Falls is definitely lucky to have her taking the first contact. [player_tooltip player_id="80738" first="Lily" last="Behrendt"] – 5’6 – Setter – Whitefish Bay – Wisconsin Premier 17 Lisa Behrendt is a three-sport athlete, competing in volleyball, basketball, and soccer at a Division 1 high school. That is a demanding schedule in itself, but then add add the fact that she’s playing club and wow! Behrendt is athletic, and she led her team to a 24-11 record while racking up 832 assists. She has some young power hitters to work with in 2020, and I’d love to see her hit the 3,000 assists milestone in her senior campaign. [caption id="attachment_71035" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="80742" first="Jade" last="Stefan"][/caption] [player_tooltip player_id="80742" first="Jade" last="Stefan"] – 5’8 – Setter – Arrowhead We all saw the big debut of Stefan as she ran the offense of the powerful Arrowhead Warhawks when they took the Division 1 State Title. Arrowhead had just 3 losses during a very tough competition schedule. This group was battle-tested, and it showed. Stefan stayed cool, calm, and ran the show like a boss. I would expect to see her really blossom this season with the experience and confidence to run the show after recording 69 aces and 1,197 assists in 2019. McKenna Armstrong – 5’10 – Pin Hitter/Middle Blocker – Random Lake Armstrong and the Rams should be a squad to look out for in 2020. They had a young group in 2019 and will be graduating a couple of tough defenders and a big middle. As long as they have personnel to give them a solid first contact, they could be dangerous. Armstrong led her squad with 577 kills, hit a .349, 90 aces, and 80 blocks, while also recording 263 digs. She has already passed the 1,000 kill mark, and I can’t wait to see what she does next! [caption id="attachment_92401" align="alignright" width="300"] Sydney Lilienthal[/caption] Sydney Lilienthal – 5’11 – Outside Hitter – Wisconsin Valley Lutheran – Wisconsin Ice 17 Purple Lilienthal has a heavy arm and physical presence at the net. The Wolves were young in 2019 but managed a 16-9 record. Lilienthal led her squad with 302 digs, 276 kills, 114 aces, and 20 blocks as a six-rotation outside hitter. She is just as lethal from the back row and endline as she is at the net. With all positions returning and Lilienthal leading, watch out! [player_tooltip player_id="80845" first="Olivia" last="Burcaw"] – 5’10 – Outside Hitter – Prentice Burcaw is a hidden gem in Northern Wisconsin and extremely underrated. She led her team to a 29-8 record, and while they will lose some key pieces, they have some young talent coming up. The Buccaneers will rely heavily on Burcaw’s swing and leadership again in 2020 after recording almost half of their kills in 2019. She led her squad with 475 kills (averaging over 5 kills per set), and hit a .313 while taking over 1,000 swings. Burcaw also contributed 54 aces, 25 blocks, and 211 digs as a crucial six-rotation player. Anna Ruhland – 5’10 – Middle Blocker – Dodgeville Ruhland and the Dodgers will be bringing back a majority of the squad in 2020. They will have to fill the big shoes of Grace Borne (2020 – 5’8 – Setter) who ran a 5-1 in 2019, but they have plenty of experienced weapons returning. Ruhland led her squad to a 23-10 record while hitting a .339, tallying 190 kills, and 105 blocks. She’s grown a great deal from 2018, and I think she will be a force in 2020. Chloe Larsen – 6’0 – Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter – Waunakee The Warriors went 41-8 in 2019 with 3 big weapons in [player_tooltip player_id="56006" first="Milla" last="Malik"] (2020 – University of Buffalo Commit), [player_tooltip player_id="80280" first="Jocelyn" last="Meinholz"] (2020 – 6’0 – Outside Hitter), and Chloe Larsen. Larsen will most likely take a big leadership position and drive the offensive charge in 2020. While Larsen makes an impact offensively, she was a force defensively while recording 142 blocks in 2019. She is versatile across the net and will be one to watch out for in 2020. Olivia Gamoke – Defensive Specialist – Onalaska Onalaska is going to be losing quite a bit of senior experience, and I think Gamoke will be stepping up in a big way. She will provide a solid first contact, but more importantly, a leadership role. In her junior season, she reached the 1,000 dig milestone. Gamoke helped her team to a 24-10 record while contributing 573 digs and 51 aces. I will be interested to what the Hilltoppers do in 2020!