High Desert Preseason Games Begin: Last Week

A great third week of high school volleyball has come to an end. Non-conference, preseason games are on the schedule until the league starts for many schools on September 13th. I watched four schools in different leagues, so preseason is the only time they meet up. It's been fun keeping an eye on high school teams because they are a balance between club players and non-club players. Barstow high school plays in the Desert Sky league and is coached by Dorothy Ili. Hesperia high school is in the Mojave River League and is coached by Nicole Reisor. A.B. Miller plays in the Mountain Valley league and is coached by Elizabeth Guzman and Julie Thounskane. Etiwanda high school plays in the Baseline League and is coached by Savannah Flores. Here are a few players that deserve recognition from this week of gameplay.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/HS-Barstow-Aliitasi-Lealofi1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-224374"/></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='160995' first='Aliitasi' last='Lealofi'] (2024) | 5'6 OH | Barstow HS (C) / Koafa VBC   [player_tooltip player_id='160995' first='Aliitasi' last='Lealofi'] is a very smart OH which was seen when she would place the ball in different areas of the court. She would find her placement right back or middle back and push it over to score. She is also a very powerful hitter whose ball carries speed and force. Lealofi is a six-rotation player who can defend the back row with a solid pass or a dig from an attack. Front row she can score by placing the ball down line or cross court.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/HS-Barstow-Emersyn-Ebel-1-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1662608005.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-224381"/></figure>   Emersyn Ebel (2025) | 5'7 S | Barstow HS (C)/ Koafa VBC   Emersyn Ebel has such great energy on the court. Her talking on the court was one thing that stood out while watching her play. She ran the offense with great communication. Her hands are smooth and steady, being able to deliver a hittable ball to her pins. Ebel runs an efficient offense and was all over the court getting passes and making clean sets. Her energy was great to see.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/HS-Barstow-Eris-Blaine-crop-947x622-1662608417.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-224385"/></figure>   Eris Blaine (2023) | 6'0 MB | Barstow HS/ Koafa VBC   Eris Blaine is a powerful player who has great jumping ability. She can get blocks at the net and kill a short set to score. Her quick approach and high hands made it easy for her to block the opponents. She was able to deliver attacks and score from middle sets. If she wasn't able to get a solid block, Blaine was able to take off momentum by deflecting the ball and still making it playable.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/HS-Hesperia-Dayne-Ponce-scaled-crop-2160x1419-1662608562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-224387"/></figure>   Dayne Ponce (2023) | 5'0 S | Hesperia HS (C) / High Desert Starlings   Dayne Ponce is a specialist in reception and defense. She handled the back row with serve receive and does not hesitate to get on the floor to dig a ball. She is quick on her feet and covered the zones for attacks. She stayed alert on the court, saving balls that were expected to hit the floor. Her reactions and reflexes prevented balls from hitting the ground. Ponce covered the blocks by being there for the tip and can bump set her pins for a kill. She has a special kind of energy on the court.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/HS-Hesperia-Jayda-Del-Real-scaled-crop-1758x1154-1662608805.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-224389"/></figure>   Jayda Del Real (2025) | 5'3 S | Hesperia HS/ High Desert Starlings   Jayda Del Real was part of a 5-1 rotation and handled her responsibility to set up the ball for the hitters in every offensive play with ease. She called plays and maintained the momentum on the court. Her sets were on target with consistent height and speed. Del Real can adjust to an off-target pass and still deliver an acceptable set to create a play. She has the agility to get to a ball no matter which direction it is going.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/HS-AB-Miller-Victoria-Ramirez-scaled-crop-1931x1268-1662608979.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-224392"/></figure>   Victoria Ramirez (2023) | 5'1 L | A.B. Miller HS   Victoria Ramirez is a hustler in the back row. She covered the hitters, got back to base position, and would hustle to get a shanked pass. She can dig powerful attacks and still get a good pass to the setter. She kept the ball off the floor, sacrificing her body to make a play. She handled serve receive very well and made many defensive plays to keep the ball in play. Ramirez can pass a three-ball to keep her offense in system which is very important in gameplay.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/HS-AB-Miller-Jordan-Doge-scaled-crop-2048x1345-1662609101.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-224394"/></figure>   Jordan Dodge (2023) | 5'4 OH | A.B. Miller HS   Jordan Dodge is an all-around player who can play defense back row with good passes to her setter and kill the ball front row to score. She would mix up her attack by tipping the ball deep and short. She can adjust to offsets and still get the ball over the net. She did well at serve receive and digging attacks in middle back. Dodge can also tool the block and score for her team that way.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/09/HS-Keira-Andrews-Etiwanda-scaled-crop-1561x1025-1662698944.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-224753"/></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='161312' first='Keira' last='Andrews'] (2024) | 5'7 S | Etiwanda HS/ Rancho Valley 17P   [player_tooltip player_id='161312' first='Keira' last='Andrews'] is a setter who can back set, front set, and jump set. She transitions smoothly from offense to defense with good digging skills and a quick reaction to the ball. Her hands are smooth which gives the ball little to no spin and is consistent in placement for her pins. She is a leader on the court by being vocal and communicating. Andrews runs the offense with good decision-making by spreading the ball around. She is a smart player able to read the court and deliver an unsuspecting dump to score on the opponent.   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A great third week of high school volleyball has come to an end. Non-conference, preseason games are on the schedule until the league starts for many schools on September 13th. I watched four schools in different leagues, so preseason is the only time they meet up. It's been fun keeping an eye on high school teams because they are a balance between club players and non-club players. Barstow high school plays in the Desert Sky league and is coached by Dorothy Ili. Hesperia high school is in the Mojave River League and is coached by Nicole Reisor. A.B. Miller plays in the Mountain Valley league and is coached by Elizabeth Guzman and Julie Thounskane. Etiwanda high school plays in the Baseline League and is coached by Savannah Flores. Here are a few players that deserve recognition from this week of gameplay.