Unsigned ’24s Who Placed Top Three in Class 4A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This last weekend brought some very competitive athletes into the Redbird arena to compete for a state championship. Placing in the top three in Illinois, Mother McAuley, Benet Academy, and Barrington High School finished their season with medals and were able to prove that hard work and dedication to their programs truly paid off in the end. There was a lot of athleticism that brought these programs to the top, and some of those athletes are still on the search for their right collegiate fit. Here are five unsigned players in the class of 2024 who gave it their all and came home with a medal in Illinois' Class 4A state championship tournament: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ellery Rees (Middle Blocker)- Mother McAuley </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ellery is a force to be reckoned with. As a 6'3" middle blocker, she was a huge piece to the success of Mother McAuley throughout the entire season. The best word to describe Ellery is 'efficiency', which you can see in every part of her game. Offensively, she was the most efficient attacker for Mother McAuley this season putting away 148 kills this season with very few errors at all. Finishing with a far above-average hitting percentage, Rees hit at a 0.397 efficiency throughout the 92 sets she played. The most impressive part of her play is how well she can move laterally to close blocks as a 6'3" middle with ease. She uses her eyes very well to track hitters, which has helped her be in the best position possible to put up a big block for her defense behind her. Ellery's efficiency as the first line of defense can be seen in the 173 total blocks she racked up this season, which placed her in second on the team only 5 blocks behind senior middle blocker and teammate, [player_tooltip player_id='225956' first='Maeve' last='Moonan']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='135946' first='Samantha' last='Falk'] (Libero/Defensive Specialist)- Mother McAuley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sam brought nothing but intensity and grit to the backcourt this season for McAuley ultimately being a part of what led them to win this season's state championship in class 4A. Finding herself second on the team for in contribution of digs this season behind senior libero and Northwestern commit, [player_tooltip player_id='138650' first='Gigi' last='Navarrete'], Sam added a total of 316 digs this season averaging 3.6 digs in each of the 89 sets she played throughout this season. Sam has a great read as a defender which puts her in a great balanced position to help her make a play on any ball that comes her way. My favorite part about the way she plays is her complete discipline in understanding that her job is to still make a play on the ball even if she makes an off-read. Her strength in her legs makes her explosive in any play she makes and keeps her covering a huge part of the court. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='198412' first='Christine' last='Pullen'] (Defensive Specialist/Libero)- Benet Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christine has been a very fun player to watch throughout her 16U club season, in which she played up with 17s, but it has been even more fun to see the impact she made for Benet Academy this season. Pullen is one of the most versatile players I have followed but is versatile in more than just her athleticism and the way she plays, but also in her ability to play any position in the back row. Whether she is in the libero jersey or not, she buys into her role and the job she is given when put on the court. Throughout the season she has played in right back, left back, and middle back whenever it was needed and did nothing but perform for her team and extend rallies for her teammates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='136595' first='Jenna' last='Meitzler'] (Setter/Opposite)- Barrington High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a 6'1" setter and opposite hitter, Meitzler's athleticism has led her to be an amazing impact player for Barrington and bring them down to the Redbird Arena to compete in their last matches of the season. Jenna is a player that should never come off the court as she brings so much to the team. Barrington and St. Charles East battled it out for a third-place finish, and [player_tooltip player_id='136595' first='Jenna' last='Meitzler'] did everything she could to help lead her team home with some hardware. In the two-set match, she contributed 8 kills, as well as 11 digs. When she had the opportunity to run the offense, she tallied 6 assists each set, totaling 12 assists for the match. She is the definition of an all-around athlete in the way she manages to succeed at every skill she does on the court. Not only does her play represent the kind of athlete she is, but as a junior her leadership and consistent energy when on the court bring her game to the next level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='227437' first='Hope' last='Regas'] (Outside Hitter)- Barrington High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='227437' first='Hope' last='Regas'] is another great 6-rotation player for Barrington that brought the heat at the state tournament. As a 6-foot outside her dynamic movements allow her to bring intensity to both the back row and front row. In the 2-set match against St. Charles East, playing for third place in the Illinois state tournament, Hope put away 8 kills contributing to a season total of 213 kills. As an efficient hitter in the front row, Regas hit 0.242% on the season showing how well she got the job done for Barrington this season. In the back row, her height does not hold her back from moving with ease and keeping the ball alive on Barringtons side. Adding 6 digs to her stats in the match-up against St. Charles East, she showed her ability to bring more to the team than just being a huge offensive threat. As a member of the All Cook County Team this season she performs off the court as well by competing in the classroom as an excellent student, earning her the All-Academic All-State Team for this 2022 season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->