Sleeper Prospects Rising in the Rankings

This coming March will be my one year anniversary writing for Prep Dig. Probably not enough time watching prospects that new players will pop up from time to time to dazzle me with their brilliance. Let these players be sleepers no more. These prospects below fall into three different class years.   2023   [player_tooltip player_id='233484' first='Aulie' last='Huff'] (Beach Elite/right side) - I first watched her play at the Endless Summer high school volleyball tournament. What most impressed me about her play was her enthusiasm on the court. She played middle and hit lefthanded, which is not the most ideal position for a lefthander to play. She was considered for the Top 100 but fell just short. I watched her again play for Richmond Volleyball Club at the Charm City Classic in Baltimore. This time she hit right side. Her 6'1" height and long arm extension seemed better suited for that position. She was a completely different player, dominating at the position. Aulie has committed to East Carolina.   [player_tooltip player_id='309029' first='Prinzez' last='Zeck'] (Vienna Elite/middle) - She played basketball for her Wheaton High School team. Only recently has she dabbled in the sport of volleyball. Her athleticism makes it so easy to adapt to the sport. This year she plays for Vienna Elite 18, her first real emergence into club volleyball. A little bit of a surprise to see her dominate the middle. She stands 6'1", brings a good vertical to the game and has a strong, athletic build. Recently she led Vienna Elite to the championship at National Harbor. She will be playing middle for Vienna Elite at the Northeast Qualifier in Philadelphia, this weekend playing in the Liberty Division. She might be a player worth checking out, especially if you are looking for a middle.   2024   [player_tooltip player_id='182753' first='Isabel' last='Ostvig'] (Virginia Jrs/setter) - Isabel impressed me with her ability to run an offense at National Harbor. She frequently jump sets which gives opposing blockers pause to think. She also hits the ball hard playing right side. At 5'10 she stands tall for a setter. The Class 6B Region voted her to their first team. The last ranking placed her at number 54 in the class of 2024. That will climb with the next rankings. Isabel has also committed to the University of Maryland Baltimore County, which has picked up two solid players from the class of 2023 in libero [player_tooltip player_id='181201' first='Hannah' last='Howard'] and right side [player_tooltip player_id='181205' first='Helen' last='Frankovich']. A nice bit of recruiting by the Retrievers.   [player_tooltip player_id='181230' first='Lydia' last='Darville'] (Virginia Jrs/left side) - Lydia played for Christ Chapel Academy, leading her team in almost all the statistical categories. The school has less than 500 students so forming a volleyball team has got to be a challenge. Virginia Jrs. has a number of talented left side hitters on their roster. Despite that Lydia was been able to create a starting role for herself. She stands 5'10", a decent height for a left side and can find the floor with her spikes. Coming from a small school has not prevented her from playing at a high level.   [player_tooltip player_id='237239' first='Azavia' last='Thomas'] (Virginia Elite/left side) - Virginia Elite has a reputation for bringing in tall players and working on their volleyball skills. Normally they do not start with players that are juniors in high school. Last year Azavia played club for the MVSA 16 third team. She also played high school ball for Archbishop Carroll, which finished at the bottom of the WCAC with a 0-13 record. Because of her 6'4" height and some good volleyball skills she ranked 86 in the class of 2025. For Virginia Elite she plays left side and has shown the ability to power the ball over blocks. A little more polish in her swing and this girl can be elite. Limited to three rotations but her front row play has been impressive. Her approach jump reaches 10 feet. She will be playing at the Northeast Qualifiers this weekend.   [player_tooltip player_id='242126' first='Isha' last='Uppalli'] (DMV Elite/libero) - Isha received a 96 ranking out of 100 in the class of 2024. I liked what I saw of her libero play for Rockridge. At the National Harbor her consistency at libero stood out. She also covered the floor on defense and flashed a very good serve. The Dulles District voted her to the second team, but the two first team back row players [player_tooltip player_id='111508' first='Haley' last='Gill'] and [player_tooltip player_id='209185' first='Carly' last='Zimmet'] are two of the top defensive specialists in the class of 2023. Isha played in their shadow last year but expect her to break out this year.   2025   [player_tooltip player_id='309030' first='Corinne' last='Howard'] (MVSA Sparks/middle) - Another basketball player whose skills transfer well to volleyball. Corinne stands 5'11" but has the ability to dunk a volleyball. She played in the first tournament for MVSA Sparks but an injury has prevented her from playing since. Two of her teammates, [player_tooltip player_id='235748' first='Ema' last='Djordjevic'] and [player_tooltip player_id='309031' first='Caroline' last='Kaye'], also play for Richard Montgomery high school. Corinne ranked third in kills and blocks on the team. Hopefully, she will get healthy before the season ends. She makes the team so much better with her strong play at the net.    [player_tooltip player_id='181243' first='Evelyn' last='Jurden'] (Virginia Elite/outside and setter) - Evelyn is quite versatile. At 6'1" she stands high at the net to play front row. Her approach jump of 9'9.5" ranks highest on the team. Virginia Elite has a very polished setter on their roster in [player_tooltip player_id='181242' first='Shylah' last='Swope'], who runs a 5/1. That leaves Evelyn as a hitter, where she can hit right or left side packing plenty of punch for the position.   Her main position is right side, but she can also sneak a slide in the middle to make a big hit. She needs to take more advantage of her height, hitting high off the block, rather than trying to pound balls in front of the ten foot line and hitting into the block instead. Evelyn normally plays three rotations. She will be playing in Florida this weekend at the Sunshine Classic. Normally, players ranked 29 on a top 100 list are not considered sleepers, but once you watch her play you will understand why she deserves to climb in the rankings.   [player_tooltip player_id='243771' first='Berkeley' last='Konrady'] (Blue Ridge/left side) - Didn't know too much about Berkeley when the club season started. She played for Millbrook high school and was skilled enough to make the second team in the Northwestern District. That and video got her a number 68 ranking. When watching the Blue Ridge 17 team play they seemed to rely on this class of 2025 player to fuel their offense. She stands 6'0" and plays all six rotations. Her play at the 16 level certainly makes her one of the top left sides in the class of 2025.    [player_tooltip player_id='290934' first='Ava' last='Dickerson'] (Blue Ridge/middle) - At 5'11" she may be best suited for an outside. Ava hits outside for Warren County high school. They finished fourth in the Northwestern District behind Millbrook and Class 4 state champion James Woods. Blue ridge probably has two of the top left sides in the class of 2025 in [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181299' first='Ada' last='McCoy']. So Ava plays middle. They set her high twos and she somehow finds the floor pretty consistently without getting blocked. Her spikes find the left side and right side of the court. There is no consistency in where she hits the ball. Ava is number 11 in the picture above, standing to the right of the libero.

This coming March will be my one year anniversary writing for Prep Dig. Probably not enough time watching prospects that new players will pop up from time to time to dazzle me with their brilliance. Let these players be sleepers no more. These prospects below fall into three different class years.