Top Libero/Defensive Specialists from the High School Season

<p>It’s time to transition to the backrow. For these girls we’re about to mention, it is all about being able to make plays defensively and help their team transition to offense. They fly all over the court and seamlessly make plays where many doubt they can. Let’s take a look at the top libero/defensive specialists from the high school season. </p> <p><em>Alexandra Calello (Wayne Valley)</em></p> <p>Calello ended up not playing in Wayne Valley’s first game and then she went on an absolute tear this season. She finished with 230 digs and helped lead Wayne Valley to a sectional semifinal. For Calello, it’s about her anticipation as it seems like she would know where the ball was going to go. It set herself up to be extremely effective. </p> <p><em>Allie Gesek (Jefferson)</em></p> <p>Gesek took her game to another level this season. Even though she played in less games, she ended up beating her output from 2019 by 50 digs! In each match, she at minimum recorded double-digits in digs. Her court position was immaculate and she has a quick first step to make go make a play. She finished with 234 digs and led Jefferson to a sectional semifinal. </p> <p><em>Connie Yu (Demarest)</em></p> <p>The player and team that took out Gesek and Jefferson was Yu and Demarest. Yu had some monster individual performances as she had 5 matches with 20+ digs including a high of 34. For Yu, she makes her passing look effortless and always has the pass in a good position for the setter to pick-and-choose where to go with the ball. She was the catalyst for Demarest and helped lead them to sectional final. </p> <p><em>Nicole Florey (Morris Knolls)</em></p> <p>Florey is another who ended up beating her numbers from 2019 even though it was a shortened season. Her athleticism was what stood out as she never gave up on a ball and continuously made the opposing team have to try one more time for a kill. She finished with 177 digs and was a huge component why Morris Knolls made to a sectional semifinal. </p> <p><em>Melanie Lloyd (North Hunterdon)</em></p> <p>Lastly, we have Lloyd from North Hunterdon. Lloyd was one many expected to have a great year and she did finishing with 185 digs. Many forget about her solid serve as well where she had 21 aces. Lloyd helped lead North Hunterdon to a sectional title and she is a phenomenal passer on a dig. She quickly turned defense into offense with one-pass. </p> <p><strong>Honorable Mentions</strong></p> <p><em>Pemba Lama (Lyndhurst)</em></p> <p><em>Isabella Chan (Roxbury)</em></p> <p><em>[player_tooltip player_id="128495" first="Jessica" last="Balala"] (Midland Park)</em></p> <p><em>Carly Brunke (Pinelands)</em></p> <p><em>Jessie Loudon (Verona)</em></p>