Top 250 Expo Kentucky: Freshmen Setters & DS/Ls

<p>Following up on my last article on the top freshmen hitters, I must cover the setters driving those stats and plays on the floor. These girls are so talented they could play anywhere. I also want to finish writing about the rest of the freshmen from the event so I am including the DS/Ls from the freshman class as well. We will get years to enjoy their abilities on the court, so let's start talking about their skills on display at the Top 250 Expo in Kentucky. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='487258' first='Reagan' last='Dolan']</h2>   <p>Dolan is a 5'7" freshman setter from Seton High School in Ohio. Dolan is always on. She gets to the ball quickly and sets up well. She talks to her hitters and gets everyone into position. She knows the smart plays to make and makes good choices on the court. She has soft hands, a great platform, and all the basics are good. She has good range, great parity, and athletic intelligence a coach hopes to see. Every one of her hitters looked happy with her work, and that is saying something. She will be an asset at the next level.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='456668' first='Skylr' last='Estep']</h2>   <p>Estep is a 5'7" setter from Beechwood High School's freshman class. Estep is so athletic! She has great hands and knows just where to put the ball for a hitter. She can set the ball very long distances away and so accurately, it was quite impressive. She has soft hands, great control, and game smarts. She knows when to go all out and put on a hard drive or when all that is needed is a little dump over the net. She can either set someone up for a kill or just dump it over the net and make really good game-time decisions. She is a good communicator and will call out for help when needed as long as the rally continues. She has a good platform, great digs, and is a good server. She makes herself a point of control and the brain on the court. Impressive athlete!</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='474553' first='Layla' last='Jenkin']</h2>   <p>Jenkin is a 5'5" setter from the freshman class at Ralston Valley High School in Colorado. Jenkin is compact and powerful. She is quick on her feet. She gets to the ball every time, sacrifices herself to dig up an errant ball, and moves athletically and really well. She looks like she belongs in her role on the court and displays confidence in her skills. She has great hands, and range, and can move the ball around to her hitters well. She makes it look so easy with every skill she displays. I have to keep reminding myself she is a freshman. I would love to come back next year and check out where she is then. She is going to be great throughout her high school career. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='484447' first='Shylyn' last='Koerber']</h2>   <p>Koerber is a 5'8" freshman setter from Conner High School. Koerber is effortless. She is so fluid in her motions she looks great. She is so practiced that she looks like it is all just natural to her. Her ability to dig, hit, set, and serve must have taken hours to develop, but she just looks at ease and calm when she is performing on the court. She never lets a ball hit the ground and she is dedicated to doing her job and setting her hitters up for success. She has great range and jumping ability. I cannot wait to watch her continue to develop in the next few years.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='486908' first='Madelyn' last='Yelton']</h2>   <p>Yelton is a 5'6" freshman setter from Boone County High School. Yelton is a good setter and also good at the net. She is confident in her ability to play at the net. I watched her knock down an overpass, block a hitter with a solo block, and get down to the ground very quickly to dig up a ball. She has good hands, a good platform, serves rockets, and handles out-of-system balls well. She is very strong and has great range. She communicates well and seems to make smart choices when determining where to play the ball. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='334217' first='Francesca' last='Hansel']</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/08/15-Francesca-Hansel.jpg?w=846" alt="" class="wp-image-451523" style="width:219px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='334217' first='Francesca' last='Hansel'], 2027.</figcaption></figure>   <p>Hansel is a 5'5" freshman DS/L from Ryle High School. Hansel is another one of these freshmen that is so impressive. She is quick to the ball, has perfect passing to the setter, she sets a hitter well. She has great footwork and speed. I watched her play in the middle and on the left in the back row and she did equally well in both spots. Honestly, I should call my daughter's college coach and tell her about these defensive specialists. These are freshmen. They have years of development left to go through but they already are playing like much more mature athletes. Hansel is very good and will do well at the next level. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='485046' first='Emma' last='Jankowski']</h2>   <p>Jankowski is a 5'4" freshman DS/L from Ryle High School. Jankowski is great at taking speed off the ball when a missile is hit at her. She has a great platform and can use it to make a perfect pass to the setter. She is very quick to the ground, has a good pancake, and very fast footwork. She also has ace serves and can set when needed. She is a valuable asset to any team and if I were a college coach I would call her early to have a shot because she is only going to get better as time passes. </p>

Following up on my last article on the top freshmen hitters, I must cover the setters driving those stats and plays on the floor. These girls are so talented they could play anywhere. I also want to finish writing about the rest of the freshmen from the event so I am including the DS/Ls from the freshman class as well. We will get years to enjoy their abilities on the court, so let's start talking about their skills on display at the Top 250 Expo in Kentucky.