Ten Teams and Ten Players at the Shamrock

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are ten players who are either not ranked or ranked below our top 100 who performed well at the Shamrock. There were more but for brevity's sake I chose one player for each of the ten teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Madison Larue </strong>left side ([program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']) - Madison won player of the year for the Catoctin District while playing for Loudoun County. That sparked my interest because I had yet to see her play so she remained unranked in the class of 2024. She led her team in kills, sat second in digs and third in serve reception. Loudoun County went undefeated in the newly formed Catoctin District, eventually losing to state champion James Wood in the first round of the Class 4 Virginia state championship. Her focus appears to be beach but she played for [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] this club season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Madison was used in the middle for [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 18. At 5'9" that is not her normal position and probably not the best position suited for her height. She hit outside for Loudoun County. Despite playing out of position she made it work, even seeing all six rotations as the middle. She showed the ability to play defense and pass. Her Loudoun County teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='523337' first='Ana' last='Smithson'] </strong>also played for [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'], but she belongs to the class of 2025. She finished second in kills and aces and third in digs for Loudoun County. Ana played left side for [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] who finished second in the 17/18 open.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='523343' first='Elsie' last='Afful'] </strong>middle (540 volleyball academy 17/Mountain View) - <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='309022' first='Peri' last='Linterman']</strong> gets most of the attention on the 540 17 Elite team. Elsie also plays a solid middle, enough to earn a spot on the second team for the Commonwealth District. She also earned honorable mention on the Fredericksburg all area team. She brings some height to the middle at 6'0", runs the quicks well and shows the volleyball IQ to tip to the open spots when one of the pins goes up to block against her. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>.[player_tooltip player_id='526878' first='MacKenzie' last='Dodge']</strong> setter ( River City 16/Deep Run) - There were a number of players on the River City team that deserved attention. After all, they finished second in the Shamrock 16 open, losing only to the powerful [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 16. MacKenzie gets the mention here for setting a 5/1, controlling the pace of the offense. River City lacks height, even with their middles so they require deception to win, running quicks to keep the defenses honest. MacKenzie showed some good knuckleball movement with her standing serve creating fits for the passers. If she can incorporate that same movement with a jump serve she would be even more deadly. A number of the River City players could find themselves debuting in our 2026 top 150 rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["497909"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Club 540 16 has a bevy of players listed in our rankings.  One who is absent is their left side Riley Forehand.   [player_tooltip player_id='395523' first='Kylee' last='Cookson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='221415' first='Lindsey' last='Canty'] are the two other left sides.  For Caroline High School she earned first team honors from the Battlefield District and second team honors for the Class 4B Region.  At 5'9u0022 she is a smaller pin hitter but she puts some good velocity on her swings.  Club 540 won the 17/18 open.  Her kill in the third set of the gold medal match put Club 540 within one point of the championship at 14-9.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65fc662862ec1"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["390338"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Rachel slides in at number 150 in our top 150 rankings for the class of 2026.  We first saw her play at the DMV Prep Dig 250 Expo and liked what we saw.  Now we have seen her play twice in two different tournaments and have come away impressed.  She shows tremendous hustle and movement on the court.  At 5'10u0022 Rachel may be one of the taller liberos but it does not prevent her from hitting the floor when going after a ball.  She also shows a good platform for passing.  Because she plays for a smaller private school and a newer club she may not get on most people's radar.  However, she is certainly someone who should be watched.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65fc662862f28"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["500290"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Alyssa lists at 5'5u0022 but she certainly appears to play taller than that.  She set a 6'2u0022 but stayed in the front row, showing some strong hitting ability from the right side.  She swings left handed so the right side is a good fit for her.  Last year it appears she started the season on the Boonsboro junior varsity but worked her way up to varsity.  One of the setters for the varsity, [player_tooltip player_id='490462' first='Adyson' last='Seymour'] was hitting left side for Liberty Elite.  The other setter for Boonsboro has graduated.  Alyssa is not yet ranked but that may change when rankings are updated in April.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65fc662862f7e"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong> [player_tooltip player_id='526752' first='Ella' last='Wang']</strong> middle ([program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite']/South Lakes) - Ella is not yet ranked but at 6'1" shows some good height for the middle. Her game is still a bit raw with more polish needed with her arm swing. The reach exists to put up a good block at the net. She played for South Lakes last year. A lot of potential in her game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='530368' first='Sadie' last='Barrera']</strong> libero (American 15/Forest Park) - Some players exude an aura of confidence when on the court. That describes Sadie. As a frosh she made the varsity team at Forest Park. It does not appear she got a lot of playing time, but that should change next year. She showed strong hands to perform either two handed digs or serve receive while also having the ability to get really low to scoop balls up from the floor. An unranked player in our class of 2027. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["521531"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] won the 15 Open.  When watching this 15 team play sometimes you get blinded by the talent of left side [player_tooltip player_id='435748' first='Aaliyah' last='Green'] and class of 2028 setter [player_tooltip player_id='511457' first='Breeze' last='Johnson'].  Then out of nowhere Natalie makes a diving one handed dig on a serve that hits the net and appears to be headed to the floor.  That's when you notice the libero.  In addition to the incredible defensive play she also showed an ability to make the routine ones as well.  [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] with their beach program has a history of developing stgrong liberos and Natalie appears to fit that mold.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65fc662862fcf"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438088' first='Kasey' last='Moser']</strong> middle (Liberty Elite 15/Chambersburg) - At 5'10" Kasey brings some height to the middle for a 15 team. She also played for a high school in Pennsylvania, but as a frosh did not get a lot of playing time. For a class of 2027 she ran the middle well placing some strong hits to the floor. Liberty finished in third place at the Shamrock, with their only loss coming against Premier. They beat a strong American team twice. I also liked the play of libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='438087' first='Lauren' last='Chu']</strong>, who made a number of tough digs and showed a good ability performing out of system sets. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->