Weekly preview: Cedar Run and Potomac Districts

<p>The long awaited Virginia High School League Volleyball season heads into a wide open play-offs in this unique pandemic season with a few regular season matches to close out a maximum of 12 matches in their regular seasons and with the overlap of high school and travel ball, many teams have new faces in new places while some familiar faces continue exceptional play. Northern Virginia generally has several powerhouse programs and elite prospects ready for the big lights of play-off volleyball and end of the regular season matches. </p> <p><img class="size-medium wp-image-138226 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/04/10-Meghan-Scholz-Ice-16-Purple-crop-4395x2886-1617820868-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" />On Monday, April 5, Lightridge travels to play Independence for a regular season match-up. Independence swept Lightridge in the previous match-up March 23. Junior Middle Blocker Amanda Tokam is a prospect to watch on Independence. The dynamic middle is a force offensively and defensively. She has strong footwork and makes great moves in transition to attack on in system and out of system plays. She hits with power and range and has an infectious energy on the court.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Play-offs kick off for the Cedar Run and Potomac districts. Freedom takes on the top seeded Riverside Rams. Riverside is 8-1 on the season and is loaded with upper class talent. Middle Hitter Zoe Thomas is a solid Division 1 prospect with great range and is a force at the net. Senior Outside Hitter [player_tooltip player_id="111367" first="Lauren" last="Sanden"] is a solid 6 rotation Outside Hitter with great first contact skills in reception and defense and a potent attacker. After graduation, Lauren will join an immensely talented Georgia Tech team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Senior Setter [player_tooltip player_id="111432" first="Claire" last="Rossi"] is one of the top setters in the state and runs a high level offense and a definite NCAA Division 1 prospect. </p> <p>Potomac Falls takes on Woodgrove as the season winds down. Potomac Falls is loaded with senior talent and leadership. Setter Haley Koch runs a great offense and is a high IQ player and extremely competitive. She will continue her playing career at Penn State Abingdon next Fall. Undersized Outside Hitter Heather Kim is a low level Division 1 player as a defensive specialist but could play 6 rotations at some D2 and many D3 schools. She is extremely athletic and <span style="font-size: 1rem;">an intelligent player with great instincts. She has a good serve and excellent defensively. She hits with great range and has good ball control. She could be a beach prospect if she chose to pursue that avenue. </span></p> [caption id="attachment_138313" align="alignright" width="291"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-138313" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/04/Heather-Kim-291x300.jpeg" alt="" width="291" height="300" /> Photo: Heather Kim, Heather Kim[/caption] <p>On Thursday Stone Bridge vs Briar Woods: Stone Bridge has a balanced attack led by an upper class trio with Junior Outside Hitters Karis Gordon and Sophia Denayer and Senior Middle Hitter [player_tooltip player_id="111376" first="Mahalia" last="Amazigo"]. Mahalia is coming off a First T<span style="font-size: 1rem;">eam All Region season in 2019 and wants to finish strong her senior campaign. She can attack from multiple zones </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">along the net with range and power. She sees the court well and is strong in exploiting defensive openings. Briar Woods is a powerhouse with a lot of senior leadership. Briar Woods is a perennial powerhouse in the area with depth and talent at all levels. Despite losing Middle Hitter Vicki Van Dyke, who transferred to Randolph-Macon Academy, the team should make a deep run in the playoffs in 2021.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>