Top Five In 3A This Week: Bigs And Littles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A few days ago, I ran into a group of volleyball parents who were out shopping and prepping for their kids' senior night. Two of the consistent questions they had for me was "Why don't you ever talk about unsigned middles?" and "Why do you <em>never</em> talk about liberos?" Realistically, there's no such thing as never---until I looked back at my articles this season, and found that they were mostly correct. Here are our top five teams in 3A this week, with a middle and a libero that can make a difference at the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Records are as of the completed matches</em> <em>on 9/26.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#5: NorthWood (22-3)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers are winners of their last seven, and look primed for a deep run in the postseason. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='192110' first='Claire' last='Payne'] ('25, 6-1 MB)</strong> has been the big that has led this group, and her stranglehold on the top spot in kills, hitting percentage and blocks for her squad is hard to do for a middle. Having a middle lead the majority of your offensive categories can only happen with a consistent first contact, which can be found in senior <strong>Jessie Price ('24, 5-5 DS/L).</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#4: Benton Central (23-0)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of two undefeated teams on today's list, the Bison use their middles to keep teams from camping on their primary attackers on the outside. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='286675' first='Jaycee' last='Strawsma'] ('24, 5-11 MB)</strong> is a nice outlet and can terminate when called upon. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='260992' first='Bella' last='Widmer'] ('26, 5-6 DS/L)</strong> is already an AAU champion with Boiler Juniors. She can pass half the court in serve receive and makes any attack easier to handle with her first contact.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#3: Providence (21-5)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pioneers typically spend the last week of their season against teams from Kentucky, and their success against our neighbors to the south has helped build this program to what it is today. We've spoken a ton about their seniors on the pins, but what about the rest of the class of '24? <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='240162' first='Lilly' last='Kaiser'] ('24, 5-11 MB)</strong> is a great complement and should make opponents think twice about commit-blocking to the outside. I've been high on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='114355' first='Camila' last='Adams'] ('24, 5-8 DS/L)</strong> for a few years now, as her KIVA training has made her one of the best liberi in southern Indiana.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#2: Bellmont (22-2)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yet another program with all of the attacks coming from the outside, it's easy to forget how athletic and talented the Braves are in the middle. Springy <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='497777' first='Alyssa' last='Gumbel'] ('26, 5-8 MB)</strong> can defend from pin to pin with ease, and is faster and more athletic than a lot of the lumbering middles she goes against. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='242595' first='Sami' last='Christen'] ('24, 5-7 DS/L)</strong> and her senior leadership will be much needed this October to make another run at a state title before she graduates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1: Angola (23-0)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yep, the Hornets stay right here, thankyouverymuch. Their preparation and work ethic got them this far, and for obvious reasons. What I <em>didn't</em> know about this program is that they play Fort Wayne volleyball power Carroll TWICE in the last week of the season. For me, there isn't a better way to prepare for the postseason than to play a Chargers program that's trying to make their own run to Worthen. Everyone knows about seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110487' first='Mya' last='Ball'] (UCF commit) </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110486' first='Morgan' last='Gaerte'] (Notre Dame commit).</strong> In order for teams to not commit defenders on those two, you need another consistent attacker to pay attention to. <strong>Macy Oberlin ('24, 6-0 MB)</strong> is that middle, and her size can compete with any other middle she sees from here to November. <strong>Anna McClure ('25, 5-7 DS/L)</strong> has that first contact locked down, and is going to have her hands full if the Hornets want to go where they haven't before.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->