Six Middle-Blockers Who Can Play Defense

<p>Middle-blockers are typically the tallest players in a volleyball team and, therefore, the less suited to stand out on defense. Truth be said, they are normally the ones who are replaced by liberos or defensive specialists any time they are in the backcourt.</p> <p>These six Washington middle-blockers are exceptions to the norm, though, and, as they showed in 2019, they can be effective both at the net and in the back.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong> Jasett Smith and [player_tooltip player_id="96987" first="MacKenzie" last="Whyte"] – Snohomish</strong></p> <p>Snohomish ranked seventh in the state in digs per set (21.1) last season and their middle-blocker duo had a lot to do with it. 5’ 11” sophomore Jasett Smith and 6’2” junior [player_tooltip player_id="96987" first="MacKenzie" last="Whyte"] combined for almost half of the Panthers’ 1,158 digs in the season, upping balls 276 and 261 times, respectively. They placed second and third in the team’s defensive ranking.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Maggie Meyer - Colton</strong></p> <p>Colton ranked in the top-five in digs per set (23.1) in 2019 and Maggie Meyer’s helped it to happen. The 5’6” sophomore middle-blocker was a key piece in the team’s defensive system. Meyer was the second most effective digger in the entire roster of the Wildcats as her 267 defensive actions placed her only behind junior outside hitter Josie Schultheis, who dug 357 balls in 2019.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Elsa Helmes – Firm Foundation Christian</strong></p> <p>In her freshman year, Elsa Helmes was an awesome sidekick to star junior middle-blocker Katie Kogler with the Firm Foundation Christian. The two ranked one and two for the Eagles in kills, blocks, passes and digs, the only category in which Helmes outshone her junior with a team-high 250 defenses.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Jessica Mitchell – Walla Walla Valley Academy </strong></p> <p>Jessica Mitchell had a solid junior season with the Walla Walla Valley Academy filling up the stat sheets in several different ways. One of her main contributions happened in the defensive side of the game as despite her 5’9” frame the middle-blocker was the team’s top defender with 267 digs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Madison Nichols – Capital</strong></p> <p>Capital had the 12^th-best defense in the entire state in 2019 with 1,419 successful digs. Junior middle-blocker Madison Nichols, the team’s third-best scorer in the season, also prevented opponents from scoring on the Cougars numerous times as she registered a team-high 238 digs over the course of the season. The 5’8” player didn’t feel the pressure as well as her best defensive performance, a 19-dig game, happened in the State Championship match against Mt. Spokane. </p>