Five New Additions To The Class Of ’27 Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our final update of class rankings begins with the recent release of the class of '27. We moved our list of athletes from just being a "watch list" to a full-on rankings list, but there were new kids added since the last update. Here are five athletes that have caught our attention since the beginning of high school season in August.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='481214' first='Marley' last='Vanwanzeele'], 6-0 MB, Mooresville, Circle City</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From just down the street from the Circle City facility comes an athletic and physical middle from a non-traditional volleyball squad. Marley was easily the biggest and strongest attacker for the Pioneers this past fall, and her volleyball IQ was unexpected from a school better known for their girls basketball. I love her physicality and athleticism, as her aggression has served her well in her early development. Hopefully, more of the same can continue her improvement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='481215' first='Blair' last='Benner'], 5-11 MB, Tri-West</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I got a chance to watch Blair play when they visited Center Grove late in the high school season. She's long, lean and aggressive, making her one of the top players on the JV squad this past fall. Her high attack point and natural athleticism scored a ton of points for her Bruins against a bigger and more experienced Trojan squad in October. With the veteran presence on varsity in the middle in the coming year, Blair has an opportunity to learn and grow more. At this time, I'm unsure of her club team, if she has one. If not, expect this young lady to continue her athletic development for next fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='435568' first='Avery' last='Olsen'], 6-1 MB, [program_tooltip program_id='430155' first='Team' last='Pineapple']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In some graduating years, positions are thin. For the class of '27, there seems to be an abundance of middles, and Avery is one of the biggest. Big, strong and athletic, Avery can play either the middle (and defend from pin to pin) or the right side (making her tough to hit against because of the space she takes up). Her high attack point looks natural, and her approach looks like she wants to go faster---in some match footage, setters are setting her high to go over opposing blocks. Training that footwork and explosiveness should be part of her club training this spring, and I look forward to her improvement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='448138' first='Luca' last='Bombacino'], 6-1 OH, Chesterton, Michio</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a name! Bombing away as a primary passing outside, Luca is probably the most dynamic of the five listed here today. She can hit all of the angles with pace, receive serve, defend---basically do all of the things a six-rotation player should from the left pin. Although not playing a lot of back row in high school, she was still one of the primary attackers on a young Trojan squad who won over twenty matches this past fall. Fast and athletic, Luca looks the part of a next-level outside, and should be garnering a lot of attention in the coming spring season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='458543' first='Claire' last='Peacock'], 5-9 S, Crawfordsville</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Part of a 6-2 in a rebuilding year for the Athenians, Claire is an athletic and strong setter who doubled as a defender and had an exceptional rookie season on varsity this past fall. I don't have club information on her right now, but I expect that she will see some extra touches this coming spring to continue her progress after (what I would call) a successful freshman season. In short, she locates the ball well, serves with pace and purpose, and defends her position well for this class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->