Five Middles From Five Clubs In The Class Of ’27

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Positional breakdowns are further dives for us into the updated rankings every quarter. We release them with the knowledge that not only will the five we mention change, but the athletes improve and change as well. Here are five kids from five clubs that are middles now and in their futures.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='443848' first='Carsyn' last='Comer'], 6-2, Westfield, Munciana</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Already the M1 for one of the best 15s teams in the state, Carsyn is a big and agile middle that can cover pin to pin with ease with her long strides. Add that Munciana training, and you get high athletic acuity as well. As of today, she's probably a hybrid M2 that excels in front of the setter, specifically with space to change the angle of her shots. However, don't count her out of pounding slides behind the setter. She's fully capable of hitting any shot thrown at her, and terminates at will against undisciplined blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='481214' first='Marley' last='Vanwanzeele'], 6-0, Mooresville, Circle City</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Full disclosure---I have no idea how to pronounce Marley's last name. You would think with a last name like mine, I shouldn't struggle. But I do. So, I apologize. Let's just call her Thumper for now, because she's a strong and gifted M2 from a non-traditional volleyball school that is terrorizing 15s teams throughout the midwest because of her relentless work ethic and high attack point. She hits high and hard, terminates at all angles and can defend from pin to pin with the best of them. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='435568' first='Avery' last='Olsen'], 6-1, Penn, [program_tooltip program_id='430155' first='Team' last='Pineapple']</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Avery is a big and physical middle who has "future M2" written all over her. She has broad shoulders, taking up space on the block. She hits a heavy ball, making her hard to stop with only one blocker. She also brings max energy and fire after every point, whether it's her doing the scoring or not. I would like to see some faster feet from Avery, but for now, she can outmuscle the majority of middles she goes against. If she <em>does</em> start getting faster---watch out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='443871' first='Kinley' last='Young'], 6-1, Lebanon, Boiler Juniors</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Long, lean and relentless, Kinley has gone from relative unknown at this time last year to full-time #1 middle for one of the better club teams in the 15s division. Her length makes her look (and play) taller than she actually is, making net defense from pin to pin look easy (by the way, it's not). I like her high attack point and fast feet---she transitions faster than most middles in this graduating class. She does have a fast arm through the hitting zone, so building strength and stamina is what she's working on moving forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='502098' first='Caroline' last='Wilmering'], 6-0, [program_tooltip program_id='430077' first='Bishop' last='Chatard'], Rev</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another long and lean athlete in this class, Caroline is an unassuming middle that gets the job done without accolades or noise. Work ethic is obvious with this one, and is evidenced by her fast footwork in transition and her long strides when she defends from pin to pin. Her long arms help her close blocks if she's not completely shoulder-to-shoulder with her pin blocker, and open angles disappear for opposing hitters when she's blocking. The arm isn't <em>quite</em> where it should be speed-wise, but she still puts balls away at a regular rate for middles in this class. She's getting stronger by the match, and that's scary to think about.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->