Three outsides on top of their games

Guilherme Torres October 23, 2021 @ 03:00 PM

A fair chunk of the 2021 high school volleyball season in the state of Washington is already behind us as teams and players have been battling it out all across the Evergreen State for more than a month now. Some of the state’s most popular names in the high school volleyball scene have confirmed the high expectations about themselves, producing another season of elite-level performances while some freshmen have also started their careers in the best possible way. There’s also a third category which is absolutely worth following, which is the one with players who are having career years. These prospects have been with their teams for a season or two but have never produced at the level they are this time around. In the final article of the series, let’s look at some outside hitters who are producing at a really high level:   [player_tooltip player_id="97075" first="Emily" last="Mekelburg"] – HS: Arlington – Club: Seattle Jrs. – 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="97075" first="Emily" last="Mekelburg"] has long been a key player for Arlington and that remains true this season, but the 6’1” outside hitter has tremendously improved her offensive game. An Abilene Christian commit, Mekelburg reached 219 kills in just 45 sets, almost matching her last year’s total of 228, which took her 80 sets to achieve. Her kills per set average and kill rate have also leaped accordingly, from 2.9 to 4.9 and from 46.3% to 56.3% respectively.   [player_tooltip player_id="97262" first="Lindsey" last="Short"] – HS: Republic – 2023 With [player_tooltip player_id="97262" first="Lindsey" last="Short"], her progress this season can be seen in every area of her game. The six-foot outside hitter has nearly doubled her offensive production, having registered 178 kills in 30 sets – the same amount she needed to have 99 last season. Her kills per set average skyrocketed from 3.3 to 5.9 this year. Short also improved her averages in aces (from 0.7 to 1.1 per set) and digs (from 1.7 to 2.9), becoming an even more important player for Republic.   [player_tooltip player_id="97118" first="Jenna" last="Legault"] – HS: Bothell – Club: Sudden Impact – 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="97118" first="Jenna" last="Legault"] is another senior who’s finding the best game of her high school career in her last season with Bothell. The 5’11” outside hitter managed to get better in everything she already did very well and is having a career year in kills, with 295 (4.5 per set), aces, with 41 (0.6), blocks, with 21 (0.3), digs, with 240 (3.6), and passes, with 265 (4).