My Fave Team From Bluegrass: Part 2
In the thousands of steps I took this past weekend, I happened upon a team that I haven’t written about before, and now I’m kicking myself for not mentioning them sooner. Metro’s 15-1 caught my eye Saturday morning for not…
Access all of Prep Dig
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingIn the thousands of steps I took this past weekend, I happened upon a team that I haven’t written about before, and now I’m kicking myself for not mentioning them sooner. Metro’s 15-1 caught my eye Saturday morning for not only their athleticism, but for their ability to stay in matches with their effort. Here are six athletes that made an impact on me, and should start to take notice any day now.
’25, Delaney Steers, 5-8 OH, Evansville Central
By far, the heaviest hammer of them all was Delaney. She hits with a pace that is just not seen at either this age group or in southwest Indiana, for that matter. Her relentlessness on the attack and her mastery of serve receive led me to believe she was the captain, in both word and deed. She was responsible for much-needed side outs regularly, and was pretty lethal behind the service line as well. Look out for this one, she’s only going to get stronger and better.
’25, Kennedy Huff, 5-0 DS/L, Barr-Reeve
All that talent in such a small package. Taking roughly half of the court in serve receive, this is another relentless athlete, and her pursuit of getting to every free ball and chasing down errant first contacts was not lost on this author. She played bigger than her frame, contacting a ton of balls on defense that kids a few inches taller don’t have the anticipation or wingspan to get. I would not be surprised if she became the plug-and-play libero next fall for Barr-Reeve, she’s THAT good.
’25, Kaitlyn Oakley, 5-11 MB, North Posey
A defense-first middle, Kaitlyn looks the part of an M2 at the next level. Her length gets her from pin to pin easily, and she always seems to be slowing the ball down for her defenders. She doesn’t guess where the ball is; she’s a read-blocker through and through, and is rarely wrong. I’d like to see her get the ball a bit more in transition, but for now, Miss Oakley’s natural defensive skills are hard to teach, let alone learn.
’25, Halle McDurmon, 5-10 MB, Evansville Mater Dei
A pin attacker as well, Miss McDurmon is currently projected to be an M2, with the opportunity to make someone happy on either pin in the fall of ’25. She uses all of her length to put balls away, and can sometimes make blocks irrelevant with her attack touch height.
’25, Ava Kissel, 5-8 RS, Tecumseh
The kid that stood out to me the most physically was Ava. Her jumping ability, coupled with her whip of an arm, are difference makers for this group. Here’s a few examples of her athleticism; MVP of the JV team this past fall, current conference record holder in the 100m dash, tied the conference record for the high jump, and also won conference in the long jump this past fall. She has springs for days, and might be an M1 for smaller schools (like her high school) or a pin attacker once her volleyball training catches up to her athleticism.
’25, Estella Nestrick, 5-8 S, Castle
Playing for the defending state runner up program is hard to do. What’s more is that Miss Nestrick could be the heir apparent to that squad, and is already showing solid signs of running a 5-1 at the open level. She locates the ball well, plays defense for her age and position at an above-average level, and can change a game from behind the service line.