2023 Stat Watch: Sophomore Dig Leaders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Digs are piling up quickly for a number of sophomores in the state of Michigan.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class of 2026 is proving that it has a nose for the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a look at the 10 dig leaders thus far in the 2023 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>*Stats were provided through MaxPreps</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226910' first='Kayla' last='Ostrander'], Eisenhower</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ostrander has been as impressive as they come in terms of her defensive play. She gets to so many attacks. On the season, Ostrander is up to 661 digs through 98 sets. That's an eye-popping average of 6.7 per set. One of her most recent outings was a 44-dig performance over four sets against L'Anse Creuse North.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237538' first='Annalise' last='Clark'], Lowell</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Clark has developed into a proven defensive commodity for Lowell over her first two prep seasons. This year, Clark is up to 414 digs over 100 sets of play. Clark has proven to be able to step up in the biggest matches, drawing her season-high dig counts against top hitters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226882' first='Karis' last='Chatfield'], Jenison</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jenison has made a lot of waves in the Division 1 picture this season and the emergence of Chatfield is a big reason why. Along with being an offensive leader, Chatfield also has 409 digs on the season. While she may no record 30 in a match, Chatfield is always steadily producing 8-15 digs for Jenison.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Evelyn St. Charles, Manchester</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Flying Dutchmen are excited about what St. Charles brings to the back row. She's recorded 384 digs on the season to lead the defensive effort and keep Manchester in some tight matches. St. Charles topped out this year with 33 digs in a five-set match with Onsted.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226900' first='Liv' last='Hosford'], Rockford</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The super sophomore outside for Rockford really upped her game in 2023, showing more well-rounded play offensively and defensively. Hosford has tallied 359 digs in the 2023 season, staying very active in her back row rotations and making sure she can impact the game in all phases.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Payton Bouwkamp, Grant</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grant has been a defensively-sound team, relying on strong back row play and serve receive. Bouwkamp is a big part of that, as she has 355 digs this year. She's recorded double-digit digs in 13 of her last 16 matches. That includes a 31-dig performance against Big Rapids earlier this month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Maren Debeau, Coldwater</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The strong year for Coldwater has been built with a nice mixture of veterans and underclassmen. Debeau has been stepped her game a lot this fall, leading the defensive charge with 353 digs. She has recorded double-digit digs in four of her last five matches, including 43 over four matches last weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226888' first='Aubree' last='Deshetsky'], North Branch</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's not many stat lists that Deshetsky isn't finding herself a leader of in the class. The North Branch sophomore is very well-rounded and plays with tremendous court IQ. Defensively, she's got 321 digs this fall. Her single-match numbers may not pop out, but she's as steady and reliable as they come.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226943' first='Sienna' last='Wolfe'], Rockford</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another young Rockford talent that is aiding in the defensive play is Wolfe. The 6-footer has amassed 297 digs this fall for the Rams on top of being a steady part of the offense. She's been picking up the dig production as of late as well, hitting 11 or more in three of her last five matches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Emma Burbo, Concord</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sophomore outside is putting a lot into her defensive game this season, which shows with 291 digs on the year. Burbo also has just been steady, consistently picking up at least five digs a match. She climbed up to 22 digs in a five-set win over Reading a couple weeks ago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PrepDig is putting on the Michigan Top 250 Expo for Class of 2024-27 prospects on Dec. 9 in Pontiac.&nbsp;</em><a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/914/register/michigan-top-250-expo"><em>Click here</em></a><em>&nbsp;to sign up for the event. You can use promo code “EllisExpo2023” for $10 off your registration.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->