Class of 2025 Rankings: New Libero Standouts

<p>We were able to look at the new libero additions in 2024, now it's time for the class of 2025 to get their due recognition. As I have written before, the position itself is a highly specialized position that is results based. The more consistent the ball placement is on defense and serve receive the easier it will be for college coaches to properly recruit for the position. These four athletes showed me a level of consistency in those skills while still bringing their own style and intangibles to each of their teams. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='499544' first='Sarah' last='Lynn-Frazee'] (#67)</h2>   <p>Sarah makes everything she does look simple and easy. Whether it's defending, receiving, or even serving Sarah has great fundamentals and understands her limits. When you watch her play defense, she does a great job of consistently being balanced. Balance is so important for the libero position because of how often they are asked to stop and go. When Sarah decides to go, she doesn't go so fast or so slow that she loses control of her body. She keeps her center of gravity in a place where she can move forward, backward, or side to side quickly while not falling over her feet. This skill really shows itself for Sarah when she is playing defense. She is one of the better prospects I've watched when it comes to her ability to move in all directions while staying in control of her movements. When the ball is behind her, she does a great job of opening her hip and dropping her shoulder to target. In receive her moving backwards like that works great as well. When the ball is in front of her, she's able to either get around it and stop or be able to gauge the ball well enough to run through it. No matter what type of technique or footwork you want, Sarah can deliver while still keeping her passes consistent. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='499514' first='Bianca' last='Hanks'] (#70)</h2>   <p>Bianca is one of the most naturally gifted players I have seen from the libero position from this class. You can tell she has worked a ton on her technique and form, but it seems like the game comes so easy to her. Although the game may come easy to her, the ability she has to stay consistent with her technique might just be what impresses me the most. She has great eyes for the ball coming from the opposing side on defense. She makes the subtle yet important shuffle steps or push steps to get outside of the block or to get her body behind the ball better. She's one of the few prospects I have seen that does a really good job of choosing a side to pass on early in receive. She uses her eyes to gauge where the ball is going to go, and is able to make the quick decision and adjustment to get the ball onto her hip. When the ball is being served to a seam, she has such good control of her body that she just makes the small adjustment with her body and gets her platform out to pass the ball very quickly. When you put the footwork, technique, and the vision for the game all together it makes a lot of sense why I have Bianca in the top 70 of my rankings. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='499520' first='Ariel' last='Ross'] (#75)</h2>   <p>The first thing I notice about Ariel when watching her film is the amount of space that her team and coach trusts her with taking on the defensive side of the ball. They give her more than a third of the court to work with and be responsible for, which is impressive to say the least. She has quick reactions to her opposing hitters with her eyes, which allows her feet and her technique to stay calm. She makes aggressive moves while staying under control on defense. She's the type of player that the coach never has to worry about her motor, attitude, or overall effort. She's always giving a hundred percent and makes sure to do her job to the best of her ability. On film she uses both her midline and outside body angles to pass which creates more range for her to pass without having to move too much. When she does need to move her feet, that's when she's able to cover the third of the court that her team relies on her for. My favorite part about her game is the tenacity she plays with along with her constant movement between defending the opposing offense or covering her own. She's a prospect that is hard to find in today's game and I can't wait to see how she grows as a player for her next two high school and club seasons. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='499527' first='Sophie' last='Thompson'] (#78)</h2>   <p>Sophie is a gamer. She's constantly communicating through plays and making the necessary reads to make her team successful. She keeps her shoulders nice and round and forward, which helps her keep the ball in front of her and to push the ball to the net. She's the type of player that doesn't usually stick out or does anything unordinary. She just does her job and does it at a high level. No matter what film I'm watching on her, she's consistently showing up as the same player with the same attributes. She's mentally strong enough to not have her best game but still be impactful on the court whether that be through leading or by being a good teammate overall. One of the first things I notice about Sophie when watching her is the calm and cool demeanor she brings to the court. She's confident enough to understand what her job is and how to lead her team on the defensive or receiving side of the ball. Yet, she's still skilled and technical enough to make really good plays on balls that most libero's wouldn't be able to handle. Sophie's overall game is why I have her in the top 80 on my rankings and why you never judge a book only by its cover; but for what she brings to the table everyday. </p>   <p>The libero position is one of if not the most technical positions on the volleyball court. Each of these prospects show that they can play the position at a high level. My favorite part about writing about the libero position is the fact that each of these players play the exact same position but they each have their own way of going about it. At the end of the day, each of these prospects showed me that they have what it takes to play and excel at the next level.</p>   <p></p>

We were able to look at the new libero additions in 2024, now it's time for the class of 2025 to get their due recognition. As I have written before, the position itself is a highly specialized position that is results based. The more consistent the ball placement is on defense and serve receive the easier it will be for college coaches to properly recruit for the position. These four athletes showed me a level of consistency in those skills while still bringing their own style and intangibles to each of their teams.