Top 250 Expo Iowa: Freshman Outside Hitters

<p>Okay, I find writing an intro to this piece to be kind of crazy. These are some of the best athletes from some of the biggest schools and most of them played in their first state tournament in the first semester of high school. They are truly amazing athletes. Let's figure out who is who and what they do that makes them great.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/04/137A8719.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-373450" style="width:182px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'27 Rockets' [player_tooltip player_id='360642' first='Sophia' last='Austen']. (Rob Howe/PrepDig.com) </figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='360642' first='Sophia' last='Austen']</h2>   <p>Austen is a 6'1" freshman MH/OH from Iowa City West High School. Austen is a powerful hitter for in-system play but she is deadly when out-of-system. She can hit the seams with power or can hit one right to the edge of the court and make it drop right in bounds. She is a talented athlete and is very hard to read and cover. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/12/481-Girona-Fengler.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-489170" style="width:157px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='490004' first='Girona' last='Fengler'], OH from Northwest Waukee, class of 2027.</figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='490004' first='Girona' last='Fengler']</h2>   <p>Fengler is a 5'10" outside hitter from Waukee Northwest High School, who was the Class 5A state champs this year. Fengler has a lot of power behind her hits and can pretty much strike from anywhere on the court. Very athletic, has a great platform, and serves for aces and blocks well. She can do it all and is a bonus on any team. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/12/485-Kennedy-Krecklow.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-489173" style="width:185px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='389853' first='Kennedy' last='Krecklow'], OH from Cedar Falls High School, class of 2027.</figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='389853' first='Kennedy' last='Krecklow']</h2>   <p>Krecklow is a 5'8" outside hitter from Cedar Falls High School's freshman class, another Class 5A state qualifier. I really enjoyed watching Krecklow play. She is great at serve/receive, she is smart and efficient with tons of power. She is an athlete willing to do whatever it takes on the court to score whether that means dig, set, or hit. She is selfless with her teammates. She has a great vertical and thinks things through before making a play. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/12/489-Raquel-Risk.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-489177" style="width:165px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='490016' first='Raquel' last='Risk'], OH from Ankeny High School, class of 2027.</figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='490016' first='Raquel' last='Risk']</h2>   <p>Risk is a 5'10" freshman outside hitter from Ankeny High School, also a state qualifying team who fell to Ankeny Centennial in the quarterfinals. Risk is a good back-row player as well as a front-row player. She could do 6-rotations easily. She is a great outside hitter, has a big vertical, and gets up on top of the ball. This allows her to hit almost anywhere on the open court. </p>   <p></p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/137A1135-2.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-475138" style="width:213px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">2027, Pleasant Valley's [player_tooltip player_id='490015' first='Mazie' last='Sweers']. (Rob Howe/PD) </figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='490015' first='Mazie' last='Sweers']</h2>   <p>Sweers is a 6' freshman outside hitter from Pleasant Valley High School., also a state qualifier this past season. Sweers is a jack-of-all-trades. She can dig, she can set, she can block, and most of all, she can hit. She is really athletic and a strong athlete. She is great out-of-system. She is a powerful hitter and really likes going for the corners when she gets a perfect set. Very impressive.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/11/137A0797.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-474059" style="width:163px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Waukee Northwest's [player_tooltip player_id='490013' first='Logan' last='Vogt']. (Rob Howe/PD) </figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='490013' first='Logan' last='Vogt']</h2>   <p>Vogt is a 6'1" outside hitter from Waukee Northwest High School's freshman class and was part of the Class 5A championship team this year. Vogt played in 100 of 106 sets this year for the Wolves. Vogt is a great back-row attacker and can serve/receive with the best of them. She looks like she could be a 6-rotation player and is a star anywhere she plays on the court. She has a great vertical and can really get on top of the ball then hits at impossible angles to cover. She is an imposing athlete. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/04/137A8649.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1" alt="" class="wp-image-373143" style="width:168px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'27 Rockets' [player_tooltip player_id='273001' first='Ellie' last='Wilson']. (Rob Howe/PrepDig.com)</figcaption></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='273001' first='Ellie' last='Wilson']</h2>   <p>Wilson is a 5'9" freshman outside hitter from Iowa City Liberty High School. Wilson had the third-highest kills and the third-highest digs on her high school team this past school season. I would say that is a pretty good start during freshman year. She has a great platform and is impressive in the back row on defense. She has a great vertical and puts up a good block. She has power when she hits and has the smarts to play with intelligence.</p>

Okay, I find writing an intro to this piece to be kind of crazy. These are some of the best athletes from some of the biggest schools and most of them played in their first state tournament in the first semester of high school. They are truly amazing athletes. Let's figure out who is who and what they do that makes them great.