Class 4A: Top Teams – Tahoma

<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><em> </em></p> <p><strong>Tahoma</strong></p> <p>Tahoma’s victory at last year’s State Championship was the coronation of an extremely talented generation of players competing for the team, most notably Player of the Year Chey Jones and All-State first-team selection McKenna Peters. The Lady Bears had, however, a senior-heavy roster in 2019 and with as many as eight players graduating after their victory in Yakima, they will need to get the most out of their younger players to remain in contention for back-to-back victories in the division.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Their three key players are:</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Rachel Davis – Outside Hitter – Senior</strong></p> <p>Rachel Davis was a very important player for Tahoma last year and she’ll need to be even more so next season. With Jones no longer in the team, the 5’9” outside hitter should immediately become the team’s go-to scoring option, a role she proved she’s absolutely ready to fulfill in 2019. Davis, an All-State team honorable mention nominee last season, has an outstanding offensive game built upon her huge leaping skills and her heavy arm, which makes her a threat even when she’s at the backcourt.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97195" first="Zoe" last="Faull"] – Middle-Blocker - Junior</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97195" first="Zoe" last="Faull"] managed to earn a starting spot on Tahoma’s State Championship-winning team last year and she’ll return next season as one of the cornerstones for the Lady Bears. At 6’1”, the middle-blocker is big enough to make an impact at the net and she certainly does so, using her impressive reading of the game to be an effective blocker and her aggressiveness to push her hitting game to another level. Faull is part of prepdig.com’s class of 2022 watch list.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97197" first="Alyssa" last="Thelen"] – Right Sider/Outside Hitter - Junior</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97197" first="Alyssa" last="Thelen"]’s 6’2” frame alone would already make of her a real threat at the net, but that’s certainly not all the Tahoma prospect has to offer. Thelen chose to refine her craft playing beach volleyball and the reps she got on the sand significantly improved her digging and setting skills, making of her a genuine all-around player. She’s also equally as efficient when hitting at the right and the left, giving the Lady Bears an interesting level of flexibility during matches. For all those reasons, she was included at prepdig.com’s class of 2022 watch list.</p>