Explosive Athletes - Who To Watch In IA, IL, and WI

This past weekend in the final four we saw the attackers who have a ton of pop.  They might not be the biggest on the court, but they are able to put their entire body into their swing, they have physicality, and they are point scorers.  These athletes might not be the biggest on the courts, but they are highly effective with their athleticism and explosiveness.  Take note of these athletes and what they can bring to the table for the 2024 club season.     Naeve is one of the top all around players in Iowa's Class of 2026 where she is a pure six rotation outside hitter.  She has an extremely active arm and an explosive approach where she can put a hurt on the ball. For Iowa City Regina high school, she has already surpassed 1,000 kills in only two seasons.  The Iowa Rockets 16R team will be in contention for an Open bid and will be one of the top teams in the Iowa Region.  She is one who can pass, serve receive, and score from anywhere on the court.     When Maddox makes contact, it just sounds different.  She is all of 5'7, but she is playing high.  She can score points at the Open level and will be a key piece for the Adversity 17 Adidas team.  She can play six rotations and do a little bit of everything.  I can't say enough about her arm, she's going to make the big swing and make things happen for her side of the net.  She is high academic as well.     Elle Schara was a huge piece of the pie for Michio who were 15 Open qualifiers last year. She will be suiting up for 1st Alliance 16 Gold this season where they have had great success for athletes out of NW Indiana. Schara is a high flyer and a pure six rotation scorer. She had a ton of swings last year for Michio and will be part of a balanced 16s squad that features the top middle in Caroline Tarnow and top setter in Illinois in Nikolija Bulatovic. Schara could be due for a huge season where she just takes off.    I coached this past fall in Wisconsin and ran into the buzzsaw that is Mallory Hartwig who preps at Sauk Prairie High School in the Madison area.  She is so fast and just puts a hammer on the ball.  Her older sister Mallory is currently on the Evansville Women's Basketball team and I think Mallory Hartwig could be heading down a division one volleyball path.  As she continues to train and is able to mix in some shots with her power, she will be so tough to stop.  Put a star on this Sting United 16s team out of Madison because they have a lot of future college athletes on this squad.     Passmore is as dynamic as they come out of the middle.  She is part of a talented group of 2025s who play for Six Pack out of the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area.  I've seen her attack out of the middle and her high school highlights are from the outside.  Above all is her athleticism and leaping ability. She could be trained to take over any position because she is so dynamic.  Presidents Day could be a key time for Passmore who could go plenty of directions when it comes to the next level of volleyball.      This will be another club switch to keep tabs on with Amira Boone moving over to Sky High who will have some really dynamic athletes that include Kentucky commit Georgia Watson and Illinois commit Ava Wysocki.  Boone has an aggressive approach and active swing where she can score points.  She could be a hidden gem among outside hitters in Chicagoland.     Nelson had a big high school season where Dowling Catholic was the large class runner up in Iowa.  She was most recently at our Iowa Top 250 where she was one of the top players in the gym.  She has to be touching near ten feet and puts a lot of pop on the ball.  I was able to see her do this from the outside and the right side.  Her dynamic play is one to watch.  She is on Iowa PowerPlex 17 Zoss who has a lot of uncommitted 2025s to watch.     Daley has won back to back state titles at Xavier out of Appleton while also playing up an age group the past three seasons.  She is now playing with her own age group according to birthday and would be a really sneaky good pick up at the next level.  Her ability to play six rotations as a right side is just different.  She is a physical attacker, solid blocker, and she is able to pass and out of the backrow.  Her skill set is just different.  The FC Elite 17 Navy and White teams have a lot of high level 2025s who are uncommitted and would be a great pick up at the next level.     Jannazzo is so tough to defend.  Her footwork is money where her last two steps are on point where she can make any shot look easy.  She can go hard cross, deep, or slam it down the line.  She had a huge high school season and will be on MKE Sting 16 Black where this Class of 2026 from Sting is going to be one to watch.  I know she can score from the outside and I'm willing to be this club season she elevates her game to be a full six rotation point scorer.     Cage has been a standout on the volleyball court as well as the softball diamond.  She teamed up with Schara to lead Michio to 15 Open Nationals in 2023 and will be playing for Sports Performance this club season.  Cage is a force out of the middle where she has the footwork, lateral movement, and physicality to do a lot of damage.  She is an exciting athlete who needs to be on the radar of up and coming 2026 middle blockers not only in Illinois but throughout the Midwest.

This past weekend in the final four we saw the attackers who have a ton of pop. They might not be the biggest on the court, but they are able to put their entire body into their swing, they have physicality, and they are point scorers. These athletes might not be the biggest on the courts, but they are highly effective with their athleticism and explosiveness. Take note of these athletes and what they can bring to the table for the 2024 club season.