Rising Juniors with Big Roles this High School Season

Austin Kingsley July 24, 2021 @ 10:30 AM

Our preliminary set of high school previews keeps rolling! We’ve already taken a peek at some senior leaders for this fall. Then, we identified five 2023s that are looking to make an impact at a new school. Sticking with the 2023s again today, here are some rising juniors who figure to be huge contributors to the success of their respective teams.   [caption id="attachment_114922" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-114922" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2020/11/2020-Lincoln-Lutheran-district-champs-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> 2020 Lincoln Lutheran[/caption] [player_tooltip player_id="59212" first="Abby" last="Wachal"] - 5’10 OH - Lincoln Lutheran Lincoln Lutheran is no stranger to having a talented left-side hitter lead them to a championship run. Wachal might be the next in line. This all-around talent made great strides with VCN during the club season, and Lutheran can expect this improvement to translate to the upcoming fall season. Wachal is a determined athlete who will have no problem being a go-to attacker.   [player_tooltip player_id="59205" first="Adison" last="Markowski"] - 5’7 S - Lincoln Pius X Lincoln Pius X is tasked with replacing the seemingly irreplaceable; among the departures from last year’s team are outside hitters Alexis Markowski and Kylen Sealock. However, the Thunderbolts will likely look to their impressive stable of returning players for guidance. Among those is the younger Markowski, who has been running the show at setter for a while now. Any new additions to the Pius X lineup can be assured that they’ll be alongside one of the best young setters in the state.   [player_tooltip player_id="59194" first="Morgan" last="Burke"] - 5’10 S/RS - Omaha Skutt Catholic Let’s continue this discussion of rising young setters. Burke is unique when you consider all the different things she does exceptionally well. I’ve seen her be both a hitter and a setter with extraordinary success. If her future in the high school game is at setter, there’s a big void to fill at that position for Skutt. Burke will find a way to make an impact regardless.   [player_tooltip player_id="122752" first="Lexi" last="Jones"] - 5’11 OH/MB - Aurora Jones knows how to leave her mark on any match she’s in. It’s a quality of her game that we saw over and over last season, and Jones is looking to bring it again this fall. Part of her impact comes from being versatile enough to play in the middle or on the outside. Just give Jones a high ball and she can find a way to score.   [player_tooltip player_id="106606" first="Annie" last="Millard"] - 5’6 OH/DS - Elkhorn South There was no shortage of clutch moments from Millard last fall as Elkhorn South made the march to a Class A championship. Put simply, she’s the kind of ball control player you want on your team. Millard can dime a pass in serve receive, go through her approach, and leap well beyond her five-foot-six frame to produce a kill. Plenty of important pieces return for a Storm team that should have aspirations of going out on top again.   [player_tooltip player_id="59195" first="Brynn" last="Carey"] - 5’8 OH/DS - Lincoln East I couldn’t resist putting another ball control outside hitter on this feature. Carey can play on the pin or put on the libero jersey, which is a testament to her ability in multiple skills. Lincoln East has plenty of big attackers at the net, so having a solid backcourt player like Carey will be huge to keep that offense flowing.   [player_tooltip player_id="59214" first="Gracie" last="Woods"] - 6’0 OH - Grand Island Central Catholic The GICC dynasty speaks for itself. It’s a team that’s used to winning. Woods is an outside hitter who will have a big say in whether her team can continue its dominance. As one of the top attackers in Nebraska’s 2023 class, Woods surely won’t back down from a challenge or give in to the pressure. GICC will simply look to her to make the big plays.