Class 4A: The One-Woman Shows

<p><em>The next high school volleyball season won’t start in Washington until March 2021, but there’s absolutely no reason why we should wait until there to know more about the best teams in each class. In this series, we’ll dissect each of the state’s six divisions by analyzing the top teams and the most promising players and what we can expect from them when the balls are finally allowed to fly. As our series comes to an end, we’ll touch on Class 4A.</em></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>The One-Woman Shows</strong></p> <p>One of the most interesting things about high school sports is that you won’t see super teams formed as often as you do in pro sports as players pick their schools based on their locations, not on higher salaries or better playing opportunities. That spreads the talent pool in a relatively wide way, making competition more entertaining and, in some cases, allows players to stand out in such a formidable way that they become true one-woman armies for their teams.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>These are four players who were in this situation last season and will probably be again on the next one:</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Adelle Holland – Setter - Senior – Puyallup</strong></p> <p>Adelle Holland is Puyallup’s most important player and that’s not only because of her role as the team’s setter. The 5’8” prospect indeed did a great job in coordinating the Vikings offense last season with 1,110 assists, but her contributions to the team went far beyond that as she also added 44 kills, 37 aces, 40 blocks and 237 digs on last year’s campaign, which she ended as an All-State team honorable mention nominee.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="96980" first="Sadie" last="Bacon"] – Middle-Blocker – Senior – Issaquah</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="96980" first="Sadie" last="Bacon"] is arguably the best blocker in the entire division, but stops at the net is not all the 6’2” middle-blocker has offered Issaquah over the course of her high school career. The top-ranked player at prepdig.com’s class of 2021 ranking, Bacon had a stellar 2019 season with the Eagles, registering 226 kills, 31 aces and 110 digs to go with her 175 blocks. Her great performance earned her an All-State team honorable mention.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97061" first="Ellina" last="Powell"] – Setter - Junior – Jackson</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97061" first="Ellina" last="Powell"] excels at her role as a setter with Jackson, but she’s been able to impact the Timberwolves’ game in a variety of ways. Last season is a very good example as besides handing out 648 assists to her teammates, Powell used his six-foot frame to be a factor at the net too with 27 blocks. She’s also very efficient when serving, as her 64 aces show, and on defense, another area of the game in which she came up big with 171 digs. Those stats made her a no-brainer to prepdig.com’s class of 2022 watch list.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Bailey Showalter – Outside Hitter – Junior – Mount Si</strong></p> <p>Bailey Showalter’s long-term future is already set and it’s a very exciting one as she’s already committed to play beach volleyball for powerhouse University of Southern California when she graduates. Until then, however, she’ll continue leading Mount Si’s efforts as the well-round prospect she is. The 6’1” outside hitter can do everything well as she showed in 2019, when she had 363 kills, 89 aces, 432 digs and 531 passes on her way to receive an All-State team honorable mention.</p>