The best from each class – District 3A/4A N. Puget Sound -Olympic

<p>The start of the high school volleyball season in Washington is closer than ever and at this point, you should already be very familiar with the best teams and the most impressive players from each district as we analyzed them in detail for the last few months in our several different series.</p> <p>However, we know one of the reasons why many of you follow high school volleyball is to try and anticipate which prospects have what it takes to succeed at the collegiate level and beyond. So, in this series, we’ll share our best guesses and list the top student-athletes from each of the next three graduating classes in each State district.</p> <p>As February comes to an end, it’s time we address the Cascade are of the North Puget Sound district, which features high schools from the 3A and 4A classes. Here are our picks:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Class of 2021</strong></p> <p><strong>Rachel Davis – Outside Hitter – Tahoma</strong></p> <p>Rachel Davis was a key player on Tahoma’s march to secure the State Championship title last season. The 5’9” outside hitter was awarded as the district’s Player of the Year and earned an All-State team honorable mention in the back of a strong season, where she was able to show each and every skill of her great all-around game. Davis is lethal at the net for the Lady Bears thanks to her impressive leaping ability and superior shot selection, but she’s also an above-average blocker and has the technique to play great defense, making of her a truly complete player.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VRENkPEiVYQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Class of 2022</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97197" first="Alyssa" last="Thelen"] – Right Sider/Outside Hitter – Tahoma</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97197" first="Alyssa" last="Thelen"] is a force at the net for Tahoma. At 6’2”, that’s certainly no surprise, but she combines her great size with power and good decision-making ability, avoiding unforced errors which are somewhat common in taller players. It also helps that Thelen is equally effective from the left and right sides, giving some flexibility to the Lady Bears’ State Championship-winning offense. There’s still considerable room for improvement on her defensive game but the fact that she also refines her craft at the sand should speed that process up for her. She’s part of prepdig.com’s class of 2022 watchlist.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/djV3-i_W58o" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Class of 2023</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97295" first="Sophie" last="Caoili"] – Opposite/Outside Hitter – Kentridge</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97295" first="Sophie" last="Caoili"] is another promising opposite in the district even if her playing style completely differs from Thelen’s. The Kentridge prospect is ‘only’ 5’6”, so her offense is more predicated on speed and fining the open space instead of pure power. Caoili was a lot more than only a hitter for the Chargers in her first year of high school volleyball, though, offering significant contributions on passing and defense besides showing a somewhat unexpected blocking ability. Her strong freshman campaign has put Caoili on prepdig.com’s class of 2023 watchlist.</p> <p><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/430793073" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>