Ten Liberos Making an Impact

Below are ten liberos who are making an impact on their team having a successful season. For many of them they fail to make the spot light. That falls on the pin hitters or middles. You always remember the player who makes the final contact to earn a point. But without a quality libero all the sets would be out of system and the pins, especially the middles, would not be noticed.   [player_tooltip player_id='235291' first='Sadee' last='Gedse'] (Oakton) - Ranked number 17 in the class of 2025. Oakton has pulled off a couple big upsets over Chantilly and Madison to take the top spot in the Concorde Region. Sadee plays incredible defense and passes well. Her personality also keeps things loose on the court, always smiling and encouraging her teammates. Last club season she played for Paramount. In my opinion one of the top five liberos in this area. Sadee also plays beach, bringing some of those skills onto the hard court.   [player_tooltip player_id='181240' first='Natalie' last='Carlin'] (Riverside) - Ranked number 36 in our class of 2024. Natalie made our list of fastest climbers in the class of 2024. No matter who she plays for the team wins. She won the libero job for Paramount and got them to the Junior Nationals. Now her job is to get Riverside to the State championships. Riverside has not lost in 14 games and sits atop the Potomac Region .   [player_tooltip player_id='248630' first='Kayla' last='Foley'] (First Colonial) - Ranked number 13 in our class of 2024. I first saw her in the finals of the Virginia State playoffs. The Michigan State commit always seemed to be in the right spot. Rarely do you see her dive for the ball because she finds the open space and defends it well. She also brings to the court a beautiful platform for passing, a skillset you rarely see her perform because a smart team will avoid serving to her area. The Eagles find themselves second to Riverbend in the Commonwealth Region race. With Kayla on the Court First Colonial always stands a chance of appearing in the finals again.    [player_tooltip player_id='352786' first='Cassandra' last='Bradley'] (First Montgomery) - Ranked number 46 in our class of 2024. She was one of our new additions this year. At the Battle of Bethesda she stood her ground and dug four [player_tooltip player_id='180288' first='Emerson' last='Sellman'] kills without flinching. When you watch her on the court you can sense she loves the game, always hustling to go after the ball. The Rockets finished second in the Battle of Bethesda and are in first place in the Montgomery County West Region, Class 4A.   [player_tooltip player_id='209800' first='Sydney' last='Pham'] (Madison) - Ranked number 30 in our class of 2024. Sydney quietly does her job on the court. This quiet style sometimes leaves her unnoticed. If not for her passing and well positioned defense Madison would not have the success they are having to date. They find themselves third in a competitive Concorde Region and 13-3 overall. They have pulled off big upsets against Langley twice, the only team that has been able to beat them this year.    [player_tooltip player_id='181279' first='Kadi' last='Pynchon'] (Flint Hill) - Ranked number 87 in our class of 2025. With [player_tooltip player_id='238358' first='Evie' last='Huang'] troubled by leg issues the Huskes went to Kadi as their libero. The two switched roles with Evie becoming the defensive specialist. The team did not miss a beat. These two may combine to form one of the best back rows in the area. Evie still ranks number one in digs per set but Kadi flashes at number three. Flint Hill has not lost since their Florida tournament appearance and now stand at 16-2. They are also first in the Independent School League.   [player_tooltip player_id='434861' first='Bailey' last='Swinton'] (Arundel) - She ranks 96 in our class of 2026. Her sister leads the team in kills and takes care of the front row. Bailey leads the team in digs and takes care of the back row. Bailey is also second on the team in aces. Together the two have the court covered, which has resulted in an undefeated start to the season and first place in the Anne Arundel Region. Last year Bailey played up with Maryland Jrs. 16. She was often used in a two person serve receive.   Gabriela Cid (Langley) - Langley lost their starting libero last year. The unranked Gabriela appears to have won the job. The Saxons roster has some explosive offensive pieces. With Gabriela winning the libero position those offensive pieces have been able to shine due to her passing and defensive excellence. Gabriella belongs to the class of 2026. Langley finds itself on top in the Liberty Region, a game ahead of George Marshall.   [player_tooltip player_id='235295' first='Hannah' last='Kotb'] (Bishop O'Connell) - Ranked number 72 in our class of 2025. Hannah works hard to improve her game. Her quickness on defense surprises you. She also has a way to get to short serves when you think they are going to hit the floor and then make a beautiful pass from that diving position. All this is accomplished without any aspirations for playing college ball. She just loves to play the game. Hannah also brings a strong serve to the court, ranking third on the team in aces. Bishop O'Connell ranks first in the WCAC.    [player_tooltip player_id='238365' first='Molly' last='Gardner'] (Briar Woods) - Ranks number 77 in our class of 2026. Last year she started for the Falcons as a frosh. With one more year of experience her game has improved. She has also taken on a leadership role with the team, taking over the back court responsibilities. When she was younger she always liked hitting and her strong right arm resulted in a number of kills. At 5'7" she seems to have settled into her libero role. Briar Woods sits in second place to Riverside in the Potomac Region.   Special mention to sometime libero [player_tooltip player_id='181280' first='Brenna' last='Corbin'] (James Wood), who loves to hit. Sometimes she plays libero, while other times she is banging the ball from the pins. Also, [player_tooltip player_id='196556' first='Caleigh' last='Ponn'] (Hidden Valley), [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] (Madison and [player_tooltip player_id='180300' first='Mailinh' last='Godschall'] (Centennial) hit outside for their high school teams. [player_tooltip player_id='233482' first='Lauren' last='Whitaker'] is the libero for Hidden Valley and if I could add just one more, she would be it. Still a number of good liberos not named when limited to ten.   Chesapeake Chirps: Bishop O'Connell faced off against Virginia Academy on Monday. In a tournament in Florida Virginia Academy beat O'Connell in three. While the Patriots battled early in the first game, the Knights rolled past them 25-18. In the second game the Patriots had a 24-19 lead, but [player_tooltip player_id='235295' first='Hannah' last='Kotb'] seven straight points, including three aces to win the game 26-24. The Patriots won game three 25-22 to end the Knights 40 set winning streak. In game four Bishop O'Connell jumped out to a commanding early lead, Virginia Academy fought bac but eventually lost 25-21.

Below are ten liberos who are making an impact on their team having a successful season. For many of them they fail to make the spot light. That falls on the pin hitters or middles. You always remember the player who makes the final contact to earn a point. But without a quality libero all the sets would be out of system and the pins, especially the middles, would not be noticed.