Sunshine Qualifier 17 USA Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With a ton of Florida teams finishing in the top 25, I thought it would be a great time to continue breaking down some prospects from this past weekend's tournament. The sunshine classic qualifier gave us some great matchups, and more importantly great finishes for some Florida club teams. Miami Hype was able to finish tied for 3rd going 8-2 for the weekend while Cape Coast finished 5th with a 6-3 record. Three Florida clubs including Jax Skyline, Tribe, and TVA all finished tied for 9th in the tournament. In this article I highlight five players who made a massive impact to their team on their way to qualify for USAV Nationals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='526043' first='Isabella' last='Schwantz']: 2025 S/OH (Cape Coast 17 Falcon)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Isabella was another intriguing setter/opposite combo for her team. She really excelled in both positions especially when she's relied on to make a play out of structure. She looks so natural in both positions that it's hard for me to decipher what she will mainly play at the next level. When you look at Isabella's game as a setter she was able to spread the ball out while creating openings for her hitters. She's able to create those openings by holding the opposing middle blocker to react to her sets versus reading her form ahead of time. When it comes to Isabella's game as a hitter, she was a go-to option for her team. Her hitting toolbox is extensive and it shows with her IQ as a setter to put her hitters in good positions to score. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='499550' first='Mia' last='Jean-Claude']: 2025 Oppo (Miami Hype 17N Emilio)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mia is one of the few opposite hitters that I have seen this tournament who mainly plays 3 rotations but is super impactful in the short amount of time she's on the court. She's a go-to hitter for her team and they consistently tried to put her in position to score. Whether that's out of serve receive or free ball situations, they're more than willing to move her around the court to create opportunities. One of the first swings I saw on film was her hitting a 2 ball out of rotation 1 and she absolutely demolished the ball in the seam. When you look at her blocking she is the type of blocker that makes opposing hitters stay away from her block. She not only jumps high but does a fantastic job of pressing her arms and hands over the net on time. Mia is a fantastic opposite prospect and she still has a ton of room to grow. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Gabrielle Meese: 2025 MB (Venetian Bay 17U Frontier)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gabrielle is a menacing presence at the net. She really makes her presence known with her aggressive net play. She really uses her size and athleticism to essentially grab the ball from opposing hitters. Her blocking footwork with the ability to press over the net in the manner she does already puts her on a high pedestal when it comes to the middle position. She's quick and agile enough to close the block pin to pin while still having the awareness and effort to get off the net to transition into her offense. When you look at her offensive game, her go-to shot is throwing the ball to the 10ft line corners. Her throws are great, but all of her shots are coming off of her taking a rip at the ball which is a great way to keep defenses guessing. When you take both her blocking prowess along with her ability to create offense for herself consistently, she really encompasses what college coaches are looking at for the middle blocker position. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Megan Lee: 2025 Oppo (DME Elite 17-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first thing you notice watching Megan play is her vertical. With that vertical she also does a great job of driving her body through the ball which brings a ton of power into her swing. Megan keeps the opposing defense on their heels from her big swings yet she is able to still score on her off-speed shots. You could see early on in their games that they would try to establish her into the offense any chance they got. It didn't matter if she got blocked the play before, her team entrusts her to do something with the ball in bad situations. When it comes to Megan's blocking because of her vertical leap she's able to put up a big block. Being a big blocker is great, but she makes her blocks valuable to her defense because of the small adjustments she makes to stay in good position and to be on time. She will definitely be someone to watch out for in the next rankings update. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='455028' first='Amaria' last='King']: 2025 OH (JAX Skyline 17 Royal)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Amaria caught my eye off of her first swing. As I watched more, the more intrigued I became with her arm swing. She has one of if not the best arm-swings I have seen in the class. It's naturally smooth and she uses it to hit hard or shot around every part of the court. She's the full package when it comes to hitting. Amaria's hitting vision might be just as elite as her arm swing because when you watch her on film it is very rare to see her make a bad hitting decision. Her volleyball IQ helps her execute off of what she's able to see in front of her especially on the opposing block. If her hitting is at this level, I can't wait to see her game grow as she goes throughout her high school and club career. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With all of the great finishes from Florida clubs this past weekend it shows the amount of high level volleyball that is being played throughout the state. The class of 2025 has some fantastic prospects that I can't wait to keep giving the praise that they all deserve. Watch out for some if not all of these prospects to make noise on the next rankings update coming out soon!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->