Big Impact Florida Opposites for 2025

The right side or the opposite hitter is the one position that is usually lost and hidden in the youth game. To my surprise, there are a lot of players that I thought are more than capable to be on this list but just missed out. When looking at the opposite position there are many different types of roles that they can fill, but for these 5 prospects they have shown the ability to separate themselves from the pack. It may be with their defense, it may be with their offense, but most likely it’s a combination of the two key areas. The one aspect that all 5 of these prospects have when it comes to the position is the necessary athleticism that comes with excelling at the position. The skill level ain’t too shabby either, with these 5 hitters all being dynamic enough to use different range and speeds depending on what’s open.

Olivia Ryno Olivia Ryno 6'2" | RS Bishop Kenny | 2025 State FL – JJVA (#12)

Olivia is the type of athlete that has the athleticism and the skill to play any hitter position your team needs from her. She has a natural swing and has good footwork on the left, middle, and right side of the court. She has the necessary shots or off-speed swings that allow her to excel in all three areas of the court. From the right side she is most deadly because she allows her body and arm swing to manipulate the defense. For example, she has the range to be able to face the line while cutting the ball with her arm swing back into the angle while putting pace on the ball. She’s a disciplined blocker on the other end being able to press over the net on full jumps or even check blocks in the middle. Olivia is one of the few hitters of this class that has all of the skill, IQ, and athleticism to excel at any position at the next level.

Ana Julia Peixoto Ana Julia Peixoto 6'2" | RS Montverde Academy | 2025 State FL – OTVA (#13)

Ana is the power right side you’re starting to see flourish in the women’s volleyball game that has taken over the men’s side for years now. She has the length and quickness which she uses to her advantage when approaching the ball and swinging through the ball. She has a great slow to fast approach that really helps her build momentum and opening her body to the ball. When she does close on the ball she does a great job using her body first while keeping her arm loose to whip through the ball. The combination of size and speed is a huge advantage for her team and an issue for others. Ana is one of those hitters that coaches really have to game plan against so she doesn’t take over the game. Defensively she does just as good of a job putting up a big block in front of her hitters to force them around her. Overall great prospect and has one of the highest ceilings in her class.

Olivia Guzman Olivia Guzman 6'1" | RS Our Lady of Lourdes Academy | 2025 State FL – Tribe VBC (#23)

Olivia is one of the quicker twitched athletes of her class especially when it comes to her verticality over the net. She uses all of the height and length on top of a nice vertical jump to reach for the ball high and keep her contact point just as high. By doing this it forces the blockers to have to reach high, but to no avail they still aren’t able to slow the ball down. The best part of her game is with that high contact point she uses her whole body to drive through the ball. With that combination it creates really bad situations for opposing defenses to have to solve. Olivia is able to hit from all three areas of the court as well. When you take the whole package that Olivia brings to the table, it makes sense why she is in the top 25 of my rankings.

Brighten Sedmack Brighten Sedmack 5'11" | RS Cantebury | 2025 State FL – USA South (#27)

Brighten is the athlete that makes everything look way too easy. The way she passes the ball, approaches for her swing, and even getting up to block are very technically sound. She has an absolute whip of an arm, one of the best in the whole class. Her shoulder and body is so flexible that she can face one way and yet whip her arm across or away from her body to get outside of the block. She also has a nice vertical jump that she uses to read the defense when she’s on offense and gives her more time to make reads when blocking on defense. Her club team would run a variety of different sets both in front and behind the setter to give her better opportunities to score and to take advantage of the defense in front of her.

Ava Webster Ava Webster 6'0" | RS Jupiter | 2025 State FL – Tribe VBC (#37)

Ava is the typical right side prospect that colleges love to look for. She has the size, athleticism, and skill to play the position under any system. Ava uses her momentum in her approach to bring a little more power to her swing. She uses her whole body to drive through the ball yet has the shoulder flexibility to turn arm angles across and away from her body. On defense she has the ability to press over while having her arms and hands outside of her body. Her blocking is impressive to watch on film because of her eye work and timing. She makes it so tough for opposing offenses to create space around her because of how good of a job that she does with her positioning. When you put both her offensive and defensive skill on one profile she’s one of the best all around opposites of her class.

The depth at this position in the youth game is a surprise to say the least. From my time watching club and high school volleyball I haven’t seen a lot of graduating classes that has some of the top tier talent in the position that this one does. It’s refreshing to see these athletes make a huge difference on their team. Whether it be blocking on the defensive end or even being a backrow option for their offense, it’s expanding the role for the position to create more opportunities for these prospects to shine at the next level.