District 2A/3A Wesco – The Stars

<p>Over the last few months, we’ve provided you a lot of information about who are the players you won’t want to miss when the high school volleyball season starts in Washington next March. First we broke the players down by division and then we switched gears to analyze who are expected to be the most outstanding athletes in the top teams of each of those divisions.</p> <p>For the next several weeks, we’ll dive even deeper, taking a closer look at each of the 46 district leagues in the state of Washington and pointing out the players we believe will be worth your attention in the near future.</p> <p>The Wesco district reunites as many as 16 high schools from the 2A and 3A classes and their three best players are:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97075" first="Emily" last="Mekelburg"] – Outside Hitter – Junior - Arlington</strong></p> <p>Arlington had an outstanding season in 2019, winning all of its 13 district matches and finishing sixth at the 3A class State Championship. [player_tooltip player_id="97075" first="Emily" last="Mekelburg"] was an integral part of the Lady Eagles’ success as the six-footer provided her team with all you can expect from an elite outside hitter. Mekelburg was unstoppable at the net, ending the season with impressive 228 kills, but also registered strong numbers in aces (87), digs (117) and passes (172). Her impressive and consistent showing all-season long secured her an All-State team honorable mention and a spot in the All-League first team. She’s also part of prepdig.com’s class of 2022 watchlist.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="96987" first="MacKenzie" last="Whyte"] – Outside Hitter/Middle-Blocker – Senior – Snohomish</strong></p> <p>Few players are able to play equally well at both the outside hitter and middle-blocker positions and [player_tooltip player_id="96987" first="MacKenzie" last="Whyte"] is one of them. Her 6’2” frame certainly doesn’t hurt, but the Snohomish prospect’s impact in the game goes well beyond her size. It definitely helped her registering a team-high 240 kills for the Panthers in 2019, but it was her great technique that made it possible for her to end the season with 58 aces and 261 digs, stats that cemented her spot as an All-League first-team selection. Whyte ranks eighth at prepdig.com’s class of 2021 ranking.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Surina Soumpholphakdy – Libero/Defensive Specialist – Senior – Lynnwood</strong></p> <p>Not a lot of positives emerged from Lynwood’s 5-8 campaign in the district last season, but Surina Soumpholphakdy’s play was certainly among the few of them. The 5’3” libero was a digging machine for the Royals, keeping them alive in matches against much-stronger opposition. Soumpholphakdy’s great positioning in the backcourt and her outstanding technique made Lynwood one of the toughest teams in the entire district to score at and earned her an All-State team nomination as an honorable mention and a selection for the All-League first team.</p>