California High School Leaders – Dominating Defenders Vol 1
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Who is proving on the court that they are the best of the best in their position? Some say that numbers do not lie and we have the numbers that are being reported by coaches across the state. California is…
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Continue ReadingWho is proving on the court that they are the best of the best in their position? Some say that numbers do not lie and we have the numbers that are being reported by coaches across the state. California is one of the best states in the nation when it comes to this wonderful sport and we are here to highlight all of our amazing players. Let’s meet a few of the liberos who are keeping the rallies going for their squads.
Taylor Deckert Taylor Deckert 5'8" | DS/L Mira Costa | 2025 State CA [2025] 5-8 Libero (HS: Mira Costa/Club: SCVC/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Taylor is currently ranked as the 37th best overall prospect in the 2025 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings. She plays at Mira Costa High School and also plays for the SCVC volleyball club program. Miss Deckert currently has the fourth most digs in the state right now at 120 in only 27 sets played. Her high school squad is currently sitting at an overall record of 11-1 on the young season and is ranked as the best high school team in the state of Cali. Their roster is full of studs across the board and Miss Deckert is helping them stay in every rally with her awesome defensive efforts. I have seen her play this past club season in person and she was phenomenal then. Her steady serve receive passing and supreme digging skills are what will keep her team in the hunt for the state playoffs. I love how she always has her weight on the balls of her feet as this keeps her very quick to react to any ball that comes her way. Her heels hardly ever touch the ground and it keeps her super bouncy all around the court. We will be watching her very closely throughout the season as we think she will stay at the top of the leaderboard in the digging column.
Gabriella Cascione [2025] 5-8 Libero (HS: Saugus/Club: Legacy/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Gabriella is currently an unranked prospect in the 2025 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings, but is now on my watch list. She plays at Saugus High School and also plays for Legacy Volleyball club. Miss Cascione is off to a wonderful start this year digging her way onto the leaderboard. She has already tallied 119 digs in only 24 sets played this year. This is good enough for the fifth most in the entire state. I love the length in her frame as she is taller than your average libero. This helps her to have a much lengthier defensive range all around. Miss Cascione has a very soft touch on the ball, which keeps in on her team’s side of the court after digging. This allows her setter to still run solid offense from defensive transition. Normally, the team who is able to stay in system from an attacked ball, usually comes out on top. Gabby also does a great job of digging balls with her hands during overhead situations and this is amazing. She has her high school team winning and they are also listed as one of the best teams in the state so far this year.
Chloe Nussbaum Chloe Nussbaum 5'9" | DS/L La Canada | 2024 State CA [2024] 5-9 Libero (HS: La Canada/Club: San Gabriel Elite /Verbal: Uncommitted)
Chloe is currently ranked as the 29th best overall prospect in the 2024 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings. She has been starring for La Canada High School for the past few years and also plays club for SG Elite. Miss Nussbaum has tallied the 8th most digs in the state of Cali so far on this young season. She currently sits at 103 digs in only 24 sets played. Since she started playing with the varsity team, her digging stats have gone up each year which tells a great story about her progress over the years. This year she is already digging two more digs per match which should help her eclipse her total from last season easily if she stays on target. Having a senior led back row will ultimately help La Canada stay in the discussion for a deep state playoff run. Chloe has fantastic emergency techniques to keep the ball off of the floor and is a master at picking up setter dumps. She keeps her eyes fixated on the setter and uses great court vision to see their actions happen before they actually happen. I love how she is not afraid of the hard driven ball or going to the floor herself to keep her team in the rally. I like what I see from her during her senior campaign and will be watching closely.
As always stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes. If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at Michael@prepdig.com. Also don’t forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends. Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook. Thanks for following us, Prep Dig Cali Family! Don’t be afraid to interact with us. We love the likes, shares, and quotes/comments. Keep them coming!