Junior Stat Watch: Assist Leaders

<p>Some of the state's most successful teams in 2023 are running with a junior setter to lead the offense.</p>   <p>We've seen some impressive assist numbers put up thus far from the class with a month to go before the postseason.</p>   <p>Here's the 10 assist leaders from the junior class in 2023.</p>   <p><em>*Stats were provided through MaxPreps</em></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='457225' first='Jess' last='Maier'], Caledonia</strong></h2>   <p>Caledonia has a lot of talent to work with and Maier is doing a great job of getting the ball to the hot hitter. Maier has 678 assists on the season, averaging 10 per set right now. In September, she put together 85 combined assists in two razor-thin matchups with Rockford and Grand Haven.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='482161' first='Jordyn' last='Anderson'], Ludington</strong></h2>   <p>The busy Ludington squad has racked up 30 wins this season and Anderson has the Oriole offense humming along. Collectively, the team is hitting .282 behind the leadership of Anderson, who has 651 assists on the season. One of her most recent performances was a 30-assist effort in a three-set sweep of Orchard View.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Cassie Jenema, Cadillac</strong></h2>   <p>Cadillac is having another productive season and it preps for Division 1 postseason play this year. Jenema is running the offense and has the team hitting .266 behind a powerful 1-2 combination on the outside and in the middle. Jenema has 642 assists on the season and is approaching 2,000 for her career. She's averaged double-digit assists per set in five of her last seven matches.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156293' first='Ella' last='Craggs'], Northville</strong></h2>   <p>The Mustangs are ranked No. 1 in Division 1 and have been most of the season. The offense is balanced and powerful behind Craggs at setter. The team is hitting .256 this season while having faced a very competitive schedule. Craggs is at 578 assists on the year, sitting with over 1,750 in two seasons with Northville. She also has averaged double-digit assists per set in five of her last seven matches.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156332' first='Jaelyn' last='Sundberg'], Montague</strong></h2>   <p>Montague works in a lot of different arms in the offense and Sundberg has good chemistry with them all. Five different players have 93 kills or more on the squad. Sundberg sits with 568 assists on the year, which has her over 2,500 in her career. Her top performance came a few weeks ago when she tallied 44 assists in a four-set win over Whitehall.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Ellianna Foley, Coldwater</strong></h2>   <p>Coldwater is putting together a lot of wins this season and the overpowering offense is a big reason why. Foley has recorded 549 assists on the year, which has put her right on the cusp of 1,500 for her career. Foley had her top performance in a 34-assist effort in three sets against Hastings last month.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Aislin Sargent, Our Lady of the Lake</strong></h2>   <p>OLLC is once against putting together a nice season where it is proving it can contend in Division 4. Sargent runs the offense and has been playing at a high level, to the tune of 542 assists. She recently recorded an eye-popping 61 assists in a five-set win over River Valley. She's average double-digit assists per set in eight of her last 10 matches.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='156329' first='Sidney' last='Shepherd'], Whitehall</strong></h2>   <p>Whitehall has been taking some lumps in a competitive schedule, but Shepherd has been plugging along running the Viking offense while also being a steady kill contributor herself. Her 539 assists on the year has put her over 1,500 in her career. She's been putting up some of her best outings as of late, including a 38-assist performance against Montague and 35 assists in a three-set sweep of Manistee.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='261174' first='Kaylin' last='Schroeder'], Bedford</strong></h2>   <p>Bedford is putting up as many wins as any program in the state right now and its offensive execution is a big reason why. The Kicking Mules are hitting .287 as a team this year with Schroeder collecting 510 assists. She's sitting over 2,600 in her career and has been very consistent with her production for a dominant squad.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Audrey Horton, Shelby</strong></h2>   <p>It always helps to be the setter for arguably the most dominant hitter in the state. Horton runs the Shelby offense and gets to feed [player_tooltip player_id='156343' first='Navea' last='Gauthier'] early and often in matches. That has Horton sitting at 502 assists on the year with over 1,600 in her career. Recently she's had a pair of 38-assist efforts in sweeps of Ravenna and Holton.</p>   <p><em>PrepDig is putting on the Michigan Top 250 Expo for Class of 2024-27 prospects on Dec. 9 in Pontiac. </em><a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/914/register/michigan-top-250-expo"><em>Click here</em></a><em> to sign up for the event. You can use promo code “EllisExpo2023” for $10 off your registration.</em></p>

Some of the state's most successful teams in 2023 are running with a junior setter to lead the offense.