Day 6 - Class of 2028 Making Some Noise

New rankings come out after August 3. Taking a closer look at the class of 2028s. These are some of the players that shined for the 14U teams that I watched. I made a point of picking at least one player from each team, but Metro garnered three. If you did not earn a spot in the Nationals and want the exposure to get ranked you can still sign up for the DMV showcase at <a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/1122/register/dmv-freshman-showcase">2024 DMV Freshman Showcase | Prep Dig</a>.   [player_tooltip player_id='536727' first='Chika' last='Onukwugha'] left side (Metro) - One of the more impressive hitters in the class of 2028. She has an older sister listed at 6'2" who now plays for John Hopkins. Chika stands shorter than 6 feet but she can fly. She strung together at least 9 kills and two aces in Metro's three set loss to Tribe. Whether she hits from the back row or front row she puts some mustard on the ball. Her serve also has some spice to it.   [player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell'] left side (Metro) - What I like about Katherine is her no fear attitude. She swings hard to get the win, not thinking of just placing the ball in the court in the hope that the opponent will lose the point. Her older sister plays for MVSA. Next year the two sisters could be teammates at class 4 defending Maryland state champion Richard Montgomery.   [player_tooltip player_id='536721' first='Ana' last='Woods'] right side (Metro) - In the third set of the match against Tribe Ana came to life with two kills and three aces. Her three aces put Metro ahead 12-9. They eventually lost that lead and the game 15-13. It turns a 2-1 record for the day to 1-2. Katherine and Ana both played for MVSA last year.   Eireni Scott left side ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']) - Their second match was not one of those that make you proud. They just did not look very good against Wildfire. The one stand out is left side Eireni Scott. While the team lost 25-13, 25-16, Scott still starred with seven kills. Another player MVSA lost.   [player_tooltip player_id='545725' first='Abisola' last='Adeyemo'] middle (Maryland Jrs) - I only saw her hit twice but both times the ball crashed to the floor. She won the best blocker award at Capitol Hill Classic. Definitely a difference maker on the court.   [player_tooltip player_id='612401' first='Leigha' last='Harsh'] libero (Liberty Elite) - When you are a libero and the coach selects you as floor captain that is pretty special. She brings to the court good hands for setting, as well as forming a good platform for passing. She also puts up good out of system sets. I give her a big plus for her demeanor on the court.   [player_tooltip player_id='782196' first='Samantha' last='Green'] right side/middle (Libero) - She did not get many opportunities to hit because the Libero passing was very scattered. She played right side the first set and showed a strong arm with her hits. Still a bit raw with a couple of those hits sailing out. The second set she moved to middle. She collected a couple kills with her tips but her four aces put Libero back in a game they eventually lost 25-27.   Summary of First Day of 14s and 15s       At the 16-17 level two DMV teams finished 2-3 but still managed to reach the gold bracket. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 15 upset a strong Rockwood club 25-19, 25-12 while playing Open. It turned out that was their highlight of the day as they lost their next two matches, losing by two points in each of their sets. They only have to look to their Paramount 16 team that finished 2-3 after pool play but still managed to earn an opportunity to compete in the gold bracket.   While [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] stands out as the offensive force on this team, [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] strung together 9 kills in the two sets against Rockwood to lead the team. [player_tooltip player_id='536716' first='Diane' last='Nzoupet'] played excellent defense at the libero position, preventing a number of hard hits from finding the floor. [player_tooltip player_id='279856' first='Kayla' last='Luther'] went on a seven point run with her serve in set two turning the game into a rout. [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] finished with six kills and two blocks.   Another team playing in Open, Metro 14 also had a tough first day. They lost a 12-9 lead in set three but could not put the game away, falling 15-13. They also go into the second day of pool play at 1-2.       Virginia Juniors earned a spot in the USA Division. They finished the day undefeated at 3-0. In their first set they lost a 23-16 lead to Top Flight. [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] put together a clutch kill to turn the score to 25-24 but the usual reliable [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] banged a ball out to level it at 25-25. In an unusual kill Coco shot a two handed set into the deep corner that landed untouched, giving Juniors the lead again 26-25. A Top Flight kill leveled it at 26-26.   Coco whacked a more traditional kill that gave Juniors a 27-26 lead. This time an attempted hit by Top Flight went into the net and Juniors dodged a bullet. They won the next set pretty easily 25-16 with [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] combining for three aces each.   In their last set of the day Juniors pulled out a three set victory over Rev Fuego, winning the last set 16-14. At 3-0 with two matches left they look poised to advance to the first division. Their last match is against number one seed Hawaii Next Level Volleyball.   Maryland Juniors 15 won two of their three matches in the American Division. In their first match they lost a heartbreaker to Circle City 25-23, 30-28. In their third match they were behind in the second set 22-24 but [player_tooltip player_id='438098' first='Kennedy' last='Williams'] fired off four consecutive ace serves to win it 26-24 and complete the sweep.   Despite their 2-1 record it appears they have lost middle [player_tooltip player_id='506629' first='Dylann' last='Loggins'] for the tournament with a sprained ankle. That places a little more pressure on [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge']. She provided the bulk of the offense against MKE Sting with six kills in the first set while also playing a solid defense. She shows some strong hands digging a number of hits with a two hand set.   They still have four matches left in their pool play. The last match will be against the undefeated Six Pack, the number two seed to Maryland Juniors, who ranked as the number one seed in their pool.

New rankings come out after August 3. Taking a closer look at the class of 2028s. These are some of the players that shined for the 14U teams that I watched. I made a point of picking at least one player from each team, but Metro garnered three. If you did not earn a spot in the Nationals and want the exposure to get ranked you can still sign up for the DMV showcase at 2024 DMV Freshman Showcase | Prep Dig.