Salt Lake City National Qualifier Top Performers Vol 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tons of talent gathered a few weekends ago for the Salt Lake City National Qualifier.&nbsp; There were tons of teams who traveled from all over the country to play in it.&nbsp; We were lucky enough to be able to watch the elite competition over all three days and are starting this series of articles on players that stood out to us for various reasons.&nbsp; Here are a few of them:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='331833' first='Ashby' last='Zubchevich'] [2025] 6-0 Outside (HS: La Canada/Club: City Volleyball/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ashby is currently ranked as the 45^th best overall prospect in the 2025 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings.&nbsp; She plays at La Canada High School and also for the City Volleyball club program. Miss Zubchevich is the player with the golden right arm who an do so much on the court.&nbsp; She is the “go-to” hitter on a fantastic volleyball squad who scores at a very high clip.&nbsp; I was able to watch this young lady in person a few times at national qualifiers against some amazing competition and she rose to the challenge each time.&nbsp; Offensively she takes a picturesque approach and has an arm swing that cuts through the air so beautifully.&nbsp; Her squad truly understands her capabilities and uses her when she is the back row as a viable part of their offensive scheme in which she delivers great results&nbsp; What makes her so deadly on the court is how versatile of a hitter she is.&nbsp; Ashby is able to come inside for second tempo sets like she is a middle and her timing is impeccable during those routes.&nbsp; The opposing blockers do not see it coming and she slashes through splits in the block to score at will.&nbsp; She is a member of the famed ten foot club, which means she can touch over ten feet high in the air with her approach vertical.&nbsp; This spells nothing but doom for the defense as not many are able to match that high touch point to slow her down.&nbsp; We will be watching her very closely as we think she can rise through our state rankings in the next update in a few months.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='161325' first='Whitney' last='Wallace'] [2024] 5-6 Libero (HS: Saint Francis/Club: Vision/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whitney is currently an unranked prospect according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings, but she is on our watch list and from what I saw in person at the tourney, she should have no problem making the list in the next update.&nbsp; She plays at Saint Francis High School and also for the Vision volleyball program.&nbsp; Miss Wallace was pivotal throughout the entire tourney for this squad as they went on to win the Championship in the 17 Open division.&nbsp; With that they qualified for the USA Volleyball Junior Nationals this summer in Chicago. &nbsp;Her back row play in both serve receive and defense rose to the challenge when the going got tough and she allowed her squad's offense to stay in system.&nbsp; They went up against some stellar attackers who were unleashing bombs on them, but Whitney was there to stop the ball from hitting the floor and keep the rally going.&nbsp; Time after time she sprawled out left, right, and in font of her to make some amazing saves.&nbsp; In my opinion she was one of the best liberos in the entire tournament regardless of age group.&nbsp; She keeps her weight on the balls of her feet, which helps her stay ready to react quickly to deflections, off-speed shots, and mis-hits.&nbsp; I can't wait to update the rankings because she belongs on the list for sure.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ayanna Watson [2026] 6-2 Outside (HS: Bishop Gorman/Club: Vegas Aces/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ayanna is currently an unranked prospect according to our Prep Dig National Rankings, but that is only because we have not released them yet.&nbsp; She will have no problem being listed once they are released.&nbsp; She plays at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and also plays club for the Vegas Aces program. &nbsp;It is one thing for a freshman to be playing up on an open level team, but it is super impressive if that freshman is the one of the best players on that squad.&nbsp; I have watched Miss Watson play a few times this season at some really big national tournaments and she has impressed me both times.&nbsp; She is able to rise up off of the ground so effortlessly and fast.&nbsp; If you haven't seen her yet, you are missing out because she can really bring the heat from anywhere on the court at any tempo.&nbsp; What I truly love is how she is a six-rotation true two-way player.&nbsp; Everyone will see how dynamic she is on the offensive end, however she is just as deadly on the defensive end.&nbsp; Miss Watson is a SHUT DOWN blocker at the net.&nbsp; Coaches will truly appreciate her ability to use her hands while passing out of serve receive and digging as it really expands her range.&nbsp; Give this young lady a look and you will not be disappointed as she is the real deal.&nbsp; Stay tuned to see where she lands on our national rankings once they are released.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As always stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following us, Prep Dig Family!&nbsp; Don't be afraid to interact with us.&nbsp; We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments.&nbsp; Keep them coming!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->