More Early Season High School Previews

In between my own practices and games I am trying to go to gyms to watch other high schools play. I'm trying to pick what I feel are the best matches that will allow me to scout the top teams. Below are some more high schools with talent on their floor.   Oakton High School   It is possible they substituted a lot because their opponent was not that strong. The four main players were senior middle [player_tooltip player_id='181188' first='Jade' last='Brooks'] and junior outsides [player_tooltip player_id='209789' first='Seliz' last='Aktuglu'] and [player_tooltip player_id='209792' first='Jocelyn' last='Shortle']. Seliz single handedly won one game with her bullet serves carving up 13 points to start the game and two more points near the end of the game. Senior Sydney Hess played all four games at libero.   Three setters were rotated in the game, all setting a 5/1. Junior Ellen Noh set the first and last game. She seemed to have the best connection to Jade in the middle. Senior Maya Agarwal set game two and junior Lilya Zouaoui game three. As could be expected with three different setters there were some timing issues with the middles.   There were also three right sides that were rotated. Lauren Mitchell started the first game with the frosh Julie Xu starting game two and four. Junior Christina Angelicchio started game three. She was a shorter player with a good vertical who hit well from both left and right side. Julie got to play two games. She has length and long arms to put the ball away as she gains experience.   The libero of the future could be sophomore Sadee Nicole Gedse. Her excellent passing appears to be enhanced by her beach game. She normally came in for the right sides.   They have a very active bench, conducting a row your boat after each ace. At one point Seliz was serving too many aces and the rowing stopped. This is a team that could challenge for the Concorde Division.   Marshall   They lost a heartbreaker to Langley. With a 24-21 lead in game one they failed to get a side out until the game was tied, eventually losing 27-25. They also had some set point serve opportunities in game two but lost 28-26. They won game three 25-23 but lost game four 25-20. Definitely one of the better matches to watch as both teams battled hard for each win.   The one woman destroyer for the Statesman was junior outside [player_tooltip player_id='181234' first='Samia' last='Sayd']. It would not surprise me if she did not reach 40 kills. Marshall was setting her front court and back court and everything she hit seemed to be a kill. She even had some good placement shots to the deep corner in area 1. She is someone worth watching and at 5'11" she has the length to continue to dominate games.   Her left side counterpart, senior Madison Curcio, also put balls away, usually hard hits off the hands. She is a smaller player with a good vertical jump. The two middles, sophomore Megan Ice and senior Marie Kah did not get too involved in the offense but did get their hands up to reject a number of driven balls for points.   The setting duties are shared by junior Brooke Bundy and senior Emmie Tran in a 6/2. Both are double subbed out when they reach the front row. What I like about them is they seem to always use their hands to set, leaving the platform setting to libero Rhea Patel for those out of system sets. They also know to feed Sayd on the outside or back row during critical parts of the game.   This is a very scrappy team that plays good defense. As hard as Langley hits balls at them Marshall found a way to send the ball back.   Langley High School   This is a young team with tremendous firepower. They will make a lot of youthful mistakes but that youthful exuberance will make some tremendous plays. It all starts with where sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='181307' first='Leni' last='Stanton-Parker'] plays. Right now she has better timing in the middle because that is the position she has played the most. Her future position may be outside. She gets a good vertical but her approach is usually early and she has to use her hang time to glide in the air before making hard contact. She is a difference maker.   Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='181298' first='Ana' last='Toumazatos'] is a six rotation outside. She was a little inconsistent in the first three games, but in game four she made some late game kills that extended the score and got them to 22-16, When Leni is not starting outside [player_tooltip player_id='181110' first='Sophia' last='Galova'] gets the call. The advantage of using Leni outside is she can also run quicks in the middle to throw the defense off.   They have two solid setters. [player_tooltip player_id='180284' first='Chloe' last='Hokenson'] has a game that goes beyond her setting. She has an excellent bullet serve that when it reaches the net it begins a downward trajectory that results in numerous aces. Her two aces in game one against Marshall snagged a 27-25 victory. She also is one of the hardest hitters on the team. That is a reason frosh Claire Mo is the second setter. On paper she is listed as a frosh, but she plays the game like a senior, telling the hitters what sets she will give them, not politely asking what sets they would like to hit. She stays cool on the court, even when chaos begins to erupt.   [player_tooltip player_id='180292' first='Riley' last='Buddie'] is a very flexible player. This match she played right side and hits well from there. She can also play left side and middle. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='181110' first='Sophia' last='Galova'] is their other left side and the captain of the team. The other captain is senior libero Erica Maebius. She may lack the athleticism of her outside hitters, but her volleyball IQ is off the charts. This is a very talented team, but their youth and inexperience may hurt them. This is where seniors Sophia and Erica provide the leadership.   Over the weekend Langley played in the Virginia Showcase tournament in Richmond. They lost in pool play to Courtland a heartbreaking 22-20 third game, knocking them to the Silver bracket. They recovered from that loss to win their remaining three games, beating Madison High School in the final 25-21, 25-12. That was good for an eighth place finish out of 24 teams.   Robinson High School   Robinson surprised me. They have a veteran team that can play. Flint Hill had to battle to beat them.   Senior [player_tooltip player_id='181102' first='Rylah' last='Robinson'] may be my favorite player to watch on this team. She is not tall, but she is athletic and hits the ball hard. She plays six rotations and seemed to play them well. When she played for Paramount she always was taken out in the back row. What I really like about her is her attitude. If she gets blocked she just smiles and it becomes a we'll get them next time mind set. At the USAV Nationals in Indianapolis she was voted to the All tournament team.   Senior [player_tooltip player_id='209177' first='Paige' last='Meins'] is the setter. She ran a 5/1. I didn't see the frosh setter Sofia Lazareva play, perhaps saving her for a lesser opponent, but I arrived after the first set was played. I was impressed with the hustle Paige has on the court. She is not afraid to hit the floor. She also uses all her hitters, distributing sets to the back row, right side and middle, but knowing the critical times when to set Rylah..   Senior Rosina Parker has a good back row attack. She is also a left side opposite Rylah. The right side was senior Bryton Hill. She also contributed with some back row kills. Another senior Chelsea Colter occupies one of the middle spots. She has good timing on the quicks thrown up by Paige. And finally libero Emma Cortez leaves the team with six seniors on the floor for three rotations.   The only non senior in the lineup is sophomore middle Georgia Simonsen. You would like to see this veteran lineup chalk up the victories. The big test will be next week when they play Woodson and Alexandria City.   Flint Hill High School   They lost some firepower with the departures of Caria Spears and Jackie Bardin. And you just don't replace a Spears. Flint Hill will survive. Though it was just a scrimmage they still went undefeated at the Colgan Jamboree, based on the reports that I received, finishing 8-0. They also handled Robinson pretty well in their opener.   Senior outside [player_tooltip player_id='181099' first='Sydney' last='Bryant'] was unstoppable against Robinson. The Maryland commit may not be a Spears, but she plays her own game, with a good jump and a fast arm swing that puts extreme heat on the ball. The other outside Mickhaila Murray relied on roll shots and location for many of her kills. She has the ability to put the ball down but playing outside for Metro 16 last year and the last two years for Flint Hill has not gotten her a lot of playing time. She will eventually find that timing with more game time experience.   The Jones twins, with [player_tooltip player_id='180295' first='Ryla' last='Jones'] in the middle and [player_tooltip player_id='181232' first='Renee' last='Jones'] on the right side provide some heat on offense and put up a good block on defense. Ryla will be going to Pittsburgh for her collegiate career. Though they are twins, Ryla hits right handed and Renee swings from the left side.   For setting Flint Hill used [player_tooltip player_id='180283' first='Natalie' last='Nguyen'] in the back row and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='181303' first='Isabelle' last='Bardin'], the younger sister of Jackie, to set in the front row. Last year Natalie set a 5/1 but her 5'5" height in the front row exposed a weakness in the Flint Hill armory against taller teams. Isabelle is listed at 6'1" and can put up a good block in the front row.   Frosh [player_tooltip player_id='212883' first='Evie' last='Huang'] was the libero for the first match. They can also turn to junior Dilara Vural if they need more experience.   Chesapeake Chirps: Colgan went down to Richmond to play in the Virginia Volleyball Showcase. They went 5-0, sweeping all the teams they played 2-0. They won the final against First Colonial 25-15, 27-25. Langley and James Madison also played in the tournament, finishing 9th and 10th out of 24 teams....Bishop O'Connell opened up WCAC with a sweep of Good Counsel. [player_tooltip player_id='181098' first='Grace' last='Maria'] finished with 18 kills and [player_tooltip player_id='212889' first='Hannah' last='Kotb'] scavenged 26 digs.

In between my own practices and games I am trying to go to gyms to watch other high schools play. I'm trying to pick what I feel are the best matches that will allow me to scout the top teams. Below are some more high schools with talent on their floor.