Hong Is Strong At Coyote Classic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seven 16-year-old club teams met in the Coyote Classic in Salina on February 29.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One Volleyball's 16-1 squad compiled of players from Wichita area schools played its first two matches against Central Kansas Juniors 16-1 and Central Kansas Rampage 16-1. Prep Dig was in attendance to scout the two early matches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is the first of three scouting reports from the event hosted by Kansas Wesleyan University.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grace Hong, 5'8”, RS, Independent High School, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hong is a highly skilled athlete. She can be a six-rotation player and provided a spark on offense in the Coyote Classic. The Independent High School product had seven kills, one block, and two digs in One Volleyball's first match. She had four kills, two blocks, and two digs against the Central Kansas Rampage. Hong played on a 2-26 Panther squad that will look to improve its Class 2A record in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ava Jacquez, 5'8”, OH, Valley Center, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Valley Center Hornets program can sometimes get overlooked in a crowded Class 5A. College coaches and scouts won't want to overlook Ava Jacquez. She had three kills, two digs, and three serve receptions in the opening match. The Valley Center sophomore had three kills and two blocks in the second match of the day. She hunts for the ball and always seems to be in the middle of the action. She is a hustler with a huge upside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='628251' first='Stella' last='Kitt'], 5'11”, MB, Eisenhower, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Make sure you read that name twice. It's not Stella Kidd, the fictional “Chicago Fire” firefighter, but Stella Kit, a hitting and blocking machine for Eisenhower High School in Goddard. Kitt had three kills, one dig, and a serve reception in the squad's opening match. She had five kills and five blocks against the Rampage. She has long arms and solid court awareness.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taryn Bennett, 5'2”, L, Cheney, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cheney Cardinals finished third at the Class 3A state tournament in 2022. Bennett played behind Elina Barlett, one of the state's top assist leaders. Arguably Bennett was the sharpest playing libero in the Coyote Classic. She had a total of five digs and 11 serve receptions in the two matches. Bennett had 143 digs, fourth on the team, during her '22 campaign. She should continue to get increased playing time at Cheney.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Adleigh Stedman, 5'9” OH, Andover Central, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stedman is a solid athlete who could grow into playing multiple positions as needed. She had seven digs and six serve receptions in her first match and five digs and four serve receptions in the second. Stedman should see more varsity action as a sophomore for the Goddard Lions a program that went 5-28 in 2022.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->