New Additions to the 2023 Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The new 2023 rankings have been updated. The number of players ranked has been increased from 100 to 120 to account for players from Maryland and West Virginia that may get included in the rankings. This area tends to blend a number of players from different states, especially during travel ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You have Metro a DC club that accommodates players from Maryland and Virginia. Blue Ridge and Paramount are Virginia clubs that attract players from West Virginia. Maryland and Virginia clubs mix and match. It becomes difficult to keep everyone in geographical boundaries. It also is not fair to watch a player perform and not see that performance recognized. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the class of 2023 many players choose not to play club or pare down their commitment level to the club. This made it a difficult class to rank. A girl who played libero for a club last year may now play defensive specialist this year because she has told the coach her commitment level will be down for tournaments.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are some of the new players included in the 2023 rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='338971' first='Francis' last='Torres-Esperanza']</strong> (right side/Metro) new ranking 10 - Have to admit that before the Philadelphia Qualifiers we had not seen Francis play. Perhaps because [player_tooltip player_id='181097' first='Safi' last='Hampton'] was not available she got her opportunity at the Northeast Qualifier. But Safi plays left side while Francis hits from the right. During the Northeast Qualifiers she played six rotations and was one of Metro's key offensive threats. She will be a valuable resource if available for the Junior Nationals in Columbus. Francis has committed to Colgate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='309029' first='Prinzez' last='Zeck']</strong> (middle/Vienna Elite) new ranking 28 - Prinzez played mainly basketball for Wheaton High School in Maryland. She came down to Virginia to play a little volleyball for Vienna Elite and immediately became an offensive and defensive resource for them. She hits quicks in the middle and blocks lanes from the opponent's hitters. Vienna Elite earned a Freedom Bid in the Junior Nationals at Columbus based on her ability to neutralize hitters with her blocking.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='338951' first='Jada' last='Williams'] </strong>(Middle/Club 540) new ranking 44 - We first saw her play at the Capitol Hill Classic and then watched her again at the Philly Qualifiers. At least we think those were the venues. They tend to become a blur over time. What we liked about her is her ability to put down quicks in the middle. In addition, she brought a good serve to the court, showed some soft hands with a beautiful back set and made a couple nice digs in the back row. She seemed like a pretty complete player for a middle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='338950' first='Kristen' last='Jennings'] </strong>(Right Side/Metro North) new ranking 45 - Metro North made a pretty good run at the Philly qualifiers. The 6'1" Kristen played a big part of that success. She blocked well on the right side and put a number of balls down. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='314725' first='Madeline' last='Schamaun'] </strong>(Setter/Vienna Elite) new ranking 62 - Perhaps her biggest accomplishment was bringing [player_tooltip player_id='309029' first='Prinzez' last='Zeck'] to Vienna Elite. Or perhaps Zeck brought Madeline. At 6'1" she set front row for Vienna Elite while Trish Guevara set from the back row. Never really saw her hit when in the front row but she got over the net a number of times for successful dumps. Always a big threat in the front row. Madeline has committed to Stonehill.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='338949' first='Ever' last='McLaughlin'] </strong>(Middle/Metro North) new ranking 63 - Another Metro North player added to the rankings. At 6'1" she stood tall in the middle rejecting many attempted kills. She also put down some big hits in the middle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='314723' first='Emma' last='Sawruk']</strong> (Left Side/Vienna Elite) new ranking 77- Emma blocked middle for Riverside High. The Potomac District voted her to their second team. For Vienna Elite she was their main outside hitter and played all six rotations. She also hit from the back row. Vienna Elite may not have qualified for Junior Nationals without her outside contributions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='320808' first='Catori' last='Crawford'] </strong>(left side/Richmond VBC) new ranking 78- She played for the 17 team. Richmond needed a replacement at left side after the departure of [player_tooltip player_id='190541' first='Hannah' last='Ball']. At 5'9" she would be categorized as one of those smaller outsides. That did not stop her from being one of the primary offensive weapons for Richmond VBC 17. Catori has committed to Norfolk State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='338948' first='Anna' last='Feuer']</strong> (middle/Metro North) new ranking 79- At 6'2" she made big contributions stuffing up the middle lanes with her blocks. She also provided consistent offense with her quick hits. Middles are tough to find but Anna and Ever gave Metro North two solid players at the position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='343015' first='Leah' last='Liu'] </strong>(left side/Maryland Jrs) new ranking 81 - Leah gave the team offense from the back row and front row, despite her 5'7" height. She also plays six rotations, passes well and scours the back row with her quick defensive moves. Her serve proved lethal. Just an all around solid small outside that does it all.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other new player rankings:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='333655' first='Jillian' last='Levin']</strong> (middle/Richmond VBC) new ranking 91</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='333656' first='Grace' last='Ward']</strong> (left side/Richmond VBC) new ranking 94</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='314724' first='Marla' last='Scott']</strong> (right side/Vienna Elite) new ranking 99</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='273061' first='Aileen' last='Richardson']</strong> (middle/Vienna Elite) new ranking 110 - At 5'7" give her credit for blocking the middle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='343016' first='Brianna' last='Battle']</strong> (right side/Columbia Volleyball Academy) new ranking 120</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chesapeake Chirps</strong>: Vienna Elite fit five new players on this list, in addition to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209168' first='Zaylie' last='Tamashiro']</strong> (107/UMass Dartmouth), who was initially ranked in the top 100 on the last list but dropped off when other players jumped ahead of her. At the beginning of the year <strong>Vienna Elite </strong>had three players ranked in the top 100 in the class of 2023 but clawed their way to a National Harbor win to start the season and will finish it with an appearance at Junior Nationals in the Freedom Division. They now list nine players in the top 120 ...There were five Qualifiers last weekend. <strong>Maryland Jrs 14 Black</strong> landed the only bid from the Chesapeake/Old Dominion Region, capturing a Liberty Bid with a second place finish in the Northeast Qualifiers...Paramount and Metro earned Open Bids in the 18 Junior Nationals. That explains why the two clubs dominate the top ten rankings...Please notify me of any college commitments so I can include them in these rankings or let me know if there exist any errors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->