2026 Middle Blockers

We continue our journey meeting some of the players in our updated watch list from the class of 2026. Today, it's the ladies in the middle of the offense and defense. In this class, we have size and athleticism on display! Here is our random selection of middles we shed light on in this article.   [player_tooltip player_id='222056' first='Bella' last='Scherfenberg'] - Belton/P413   I knew nothing of this player until the second match of her varsity career. I said who is that girl! She was dominant and as a middle was making plays in the front and back row. She has a crazy top spin serve which caused havoc from the passers. From what we gather, she is very good at the beach game as well. She made all-state as a freshman with over 400 kills.   [player_tooltip player_id='221230' first='Bennett' last='Raterman'] - St. Pius X (Festus)/HPSTL   Raterman had one of the more successful seasons stat-wise amongst the group of freshmen. She has over 300 kills for a traditionally good St. Pius X program. At 6'4", she has great length and can frustrate those on the other side of the net. I really like her transition off the net after a block attempt. She is going to be special.   [player_tooltip player_id='220349' first='Teagan' last='Pocius'] - Marquette/[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder']   Pocius had a good freshman debut season for Marquette collecting 124 kills and 98 blocks. She is very athletic in the middle and powerful. She was borderline dominant at Red Rock qualifiers terminating ball after ball and sending back numerous balls with big blocks.   [player_tooltip player_id='357575' first='Anna' last='Ashby'] - St. Pius X/Mavs   We try not to assume but guess Anna is the younger sibling or cousin of junior standout [player_tooltip player_id='150042' first='Avery' last='Ashby']. If so, she most likely will follow in her footsteps as the next big thing coming out of St. Pius. She saw quality floor time in her first season playing in 87 sets and contributing with 95 kills and 29 blocks, which was good for second on the team.   Phoneix Fogel - Belton/Mavs   Belton had a duo of freshmen who helped carry their team to new heights in 2022. Fogel had over 2 kills per set to go over the 200 mark in her first year. She has been strong on the club scene handling business in the middle for her Mavs team. You love her aggressiveness at the net. She will roof you defensively and terminate an overpass offensively.   [player_tooltip player_id='236998' first='Ava' last='Blankenship'] - Sullivan   Blankenship had a good stat line in her first year of high school ball for Sullivan. The 5'10" MB was active in her 103 sets, dropping 186 kills and 66 blocks on the season. She earned all-conference and all-district honors.   [player_tooltip player_id='222074' first='Parker' last='Kimball'] - Park Hill/Dynasty   I saw Kimball early in the high school season and her growth by the end of the season was remarkable. She is very quick laterally and will only continue to get better with high-quality reps and physical strength. She is a player to keep an eye on. She had 119 kills in her first year of varsity ball.   [player_tooltip player_id='222058' first='Katherine' last='Byergo'] - Parkway West/HPSTL   I said at the beginning we have height in this class. How about 6'5" Katie Byergo. It makes sense she sends back her share of balls defensively but most impressive to me is her agility and speed for her size. She is really good in front of the setter on gap sets and zero attacks.   [player_tooltip player_id='357618' first='Claire' last='Carel'] - Helias/Central Missouri VBC   We have quite a few CMVBC members on our watch list after seeing them in action a couple of times this season. Carel is a rising middle in this class. She saw action with the freshman squad at Helias and had a successful season.   [player_tooltip player_id='222077' first='Kateryna' last='Elefson'] - Jackson/[program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last='']' last='']   Elefson is a player who has shown she can swing on either pin and in the middle for her [program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='[program_tooltip program_id='428797' first='Pursuit' last='']' last=''] team this club season. She has a wicked fast arm swing and gets on top of the ball.   [player_tooltip player_id='207292' first='Vivian' last='Murawski'] - Eureka/[program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder']   Murawski is a 5'11" middle on the [program_tooltip program_id='428799' first='Rockwood' last='Thunder'] 15 White team this year. In watching her club highlights, I love her ability to get around the block by using angle shots.

We continue our journey meeting some of the players in our updated watch list from the class of 2026. Today, it's the ladies in the middle of the offense and defense. In this class, we have size and athleticism on display! Here is our random selection of middles we shed light on in this article.