USAV GJNC – Coach Mike DZ’s Most Outstanding Players Vol 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The best of the best were on full display at the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championships.  The prestigious tourney was held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV.  Many players stood out to me for various reasons and this series of articles is going to shout out all of them that made me take notice of their individual play.  Let's take a look at who showed up and showed out while I watched them ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='288679' first='Ava' last='McBride'] [2026] 6-1 Setter/Right Side (HS: Notre Dame Academy/Club: Actyve/Verbal: Uncommitted)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":576526,"width":"145px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/07/Ava-Mcbride-e1721956226105.jpg?w=904" alt="" class="wp-image-576526" style="width:145px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ava is currently ranked as the 4^th best overall prospect in the 2026 Class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings.&nbsp; She plays volleyball at Notre Dame Academy High School and also plays for the Actyve volleyball club. &nbsp;Ava is no stranger to us at Prep Dig as we have covered her for the past few years.&nbsp; She is a silky smooth two-way player who can do it all on the court.&nbsp; She is a fierce competitor who is also a natural leader of women.&nbsp; Her leadership on the court tells me that she is exactly the type of warrior that I would want to go into battle with.&nbsp; As a setter, she distributes the ball very evenly throughout her team but also knows exactly where to go with the ball during crunch time.&nbsp; As an attacker, she can light up the stat sheet in a hurry.&nbsp; It would be fun to have her on a squad, because you can decide whether you want to trust her elite delivery in a 5-1 offense, or run a 6-2 and have her swing as an opposite to spread out the attack better.&nbsp; To have the type of player who can give you these options is a godsend for a coach.&nbsp; What I saw from her while at nationals is a super tough competitor who will have to be taken out on a stretcher in order to come out of the game.&nbsp; She will run through a wall in order to win and be ready for the next rally.&nbsp; A true warrior if I have ever seen one.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='318202' first='Layla' last='Austin']&nbsp;[2026] 5-10 Outside (HS: Southlake Carroll/Club: TAV/Verbal: San Diego State)&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":576527,"width":"140px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/07/layla-austin-e1721956306125.jpg?w=864" alt="" class="wp-image-576527" style="width:140px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Layla is currently ranked as the 19^th best overall prospect in the 2026 Class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.&nbsp; She plays volleyball at Southlake Carroll High School and club for the famed [program_tooltip program_id='431308' first='Texas' last='Advantage'] Volleyball program. The San Diego State commit is a true joy to watch on the court.&nbsp; Some players were just born to play the game of volleyball and that is exactly what I see when I watch her play.&nbsp; She is a silky smooth left side who can score from any location on the court and give so much to her team ball control-wise also. Although she might not be a six-footer, do not sleep on this kid because she plays well above the net with the best of them.&nbsp; What makes her truly special is how she gets off of the ground so fast and effortlessly.&nbsp; Her arm speed is electric and if you do not commit two blockers on her, she can make you pay with a nasty cut shot.&nbsp; I watched her cut up defenders with ease in one match on her way to a double-double.&nbsp; Everything about her game is elite and we will get to continue to watch her for the next two years as she gets ready to dominate at the NCAA level soon.&nbsp; If you get the chance to watch her play, grab your popcorn because you are in for a great show.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='225200' first='DaMya' last='Mann']&nbsp;[2026] 5-9 Setter/Right Side (HS: Harlan/Club: Alamo/Verbal: Oklahoma)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":576528,"width":"123px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"right"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/07/damya-mann-e1721956373707.jpg?w=757" alt="" class="wp-image-576528" style="width:123px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DaMya is currently ranked as the 23^rd best overall prospect in the 2026 class according to our Prep Dig Texas State Rankings.&nbsp; She plays volleyball at San Antonio Harlan High School and plays for the Alamo volleyball program.&nbsp; Miss Mann is a super powerful young lady that can ball in any position you put her in.&nbsp; She has a cannon for a right arm and uses it to throttle the ball with immense power from both pins.&nbsp; As a setter, she is very smooth on the court and can thread the needle at every location and tempo.&nbsp; Her hands are super soft and the ball hits the target each time she releases it.&nbsp; Recently, she just committed to play college volleyball at Oklahoma University.&nbsp; There is no doubt in my mind that she will be an immediate impact player from the moment she steps on campus.&nbsp; In the meantime, we will enjoy watching her dice up opponents like a freshly sharpened kitchen knife.&nbsp; Everything about her game is powerful and it will translate very well at the next level.&nbsp; When I watched her at nationals, she was her usual star self as her team ran through opponents.&nbsp; Help us congratulate her on being named a Most Outstanding Player at nationals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stay tuned for more articles on your favorite athletes.&nbsp; If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at <a href="mailto:Michael@prepdig.com">Michael@prepdig.com</a>.&nbsp; Also don't forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends.&nbsp; Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.&nbsp; Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->