Biggest Risers from the Class of 2027

Below are the players who climbed the highest in the 2027 rankings. While a lot of that involves the skill of the player it also relies upon that player having an impact on the team's overall level of play. The top players rise because they have the ability to enhance the play of their team.   [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] outside (Virginia Academy/[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']) - Sometimes we focus too much on the velocity of a hit when measuring outside hitters. While Louise hits the ball hard there are probably hitters with greater bounce to the ball when warming up in hitting lines. But few of them match the number of balls that hit the floor in areas of the court that players do not cover when the game actually begins. At 6'0" she has good height for an outside. She plays six rotation volleyball. Just a solid all around player that performs well when the games mean the most, like at 15 Open at Junior Nationals. She jumped from 11 to 7 in our ranking.    The Junior Nationals was the first chance I got to see how well Camryn can cover the court as a libero. Virginia Juniors has some talented hitters on their 15 team with [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] among the best. However, when the first person that comes to your attention when you watch them play is their libero you have to take notice. She scrambles all over the court to prevent balls from hitting the floor.   This coming high school season she will play for Riverside. They may be the top high school team in the region with their offense and Camryn playing the libero position. Last year they had one of the top liberos in Natalie Carlin. Camryn bided her time by playing as a defensive specialist. With Camryn filling the libero role now as a sophomore they won't miss a beat.   Camryn jumps from 53 to 18 in our rankings.    [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] outside (Marshall/Virginia Juniors) - Ayla plays on the same Virginia Juniors team as Camryn. While many consider her the second outside to [player_tooltip player_id='357402' first='Coco' last='Lewis'] she still hammers the ball like a number one. Ayla generally plays just three rotations for Virginia Juniors. When she plays high school ball for George Marshall she is used more in the back row for offensive production. Last year her older sister Samai was the top hitter on the team. This year Ayla takes the reins to become the offensive force for the Statesmen. Finished watching Marshall play a match and Ayla played three sets right side and two left. Ayla jumps from 26 to 19 in our rankings.    Emmeri immediately impressed at our Prep Dig stock up Showcase with her ability to hit outside. While her profile lists her as a middle she performed with the outside hitters at the showcase. For [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] it appears they used her at middle. At 6'2" she could be a force at the pins.   On the Hedgesville roster she is shown as an outside/opposite. That was her position last year when she finished third on the team in kills as a frosh. Watch out for Hedgesville this year in the West Virginia State championships. They have some talent on that roster with a number of Liberty Elite and [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] players.   Emmeri jumped from number 47 to 31 in our rankings.    [player_tooltip player_id='438097' first='Haile' last='Ma'] outside (Wooten/Maryland Juniors) - [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'], who moved from number 7 to 6 in our rankings, clearly stands out as the top outside hitter for Maryland Juniors. [player_tooltip player_id='438097' first='Haile' last='Ma'] falls close behind. At 5'10" she has some height for the pin position. She also plays for Wooten High School which last year lost in the first round of the Class 3 Maryland State championships to the eventual state champion North Hagerstown. Haile jumped from 48 to 33 in our class of 2027 rankings.    Caroline played some incredible libero at the Spooky Nook tournament where her MOJO team finished in second place. She also performed well at the Prep Dig Stock up Showcase. That earned her a jump in the rankings from 60 to 48.   Last year Holton-Arms struggled in the AA Independent School League (ISL) and as a result were dropped down to the A level. With Caroline playing libero and [player_tooltip player_id='589431' first='Lana' last='Cvijetinovic'] hitting outside they should be the favorite to win the A conference to return to AA this coming season.    [player_tooltip player_id='438098' first='Kennedy' last='Williams'] middle (National Cathedral/Maryland Juniors) - With [player_tooltip player_id='506629' first='Dylann' last='Loggins'] injured early in the Junior Nationals someone had to step uo to play the middle. Kennedy answered the call. With her team trailing in a critical second set 22-24, Kennedy went back to serve and put together four consecutive aces to win 26-24. A third set to 15 was prevented. At 5'9" she is small for a middle, but she relies on her jump and athleticism to survive. She jumped from 66 to 53 in our rankings.    Technology can create some issues. On the ranking list it showed Victoria new to the rankings. I wrote a piece and put her picture on the article for the new players in our rankings. As I was writing it up I noticed she was ranked 95 in the previous ranking, which would not make her a newcomer. So I had to delete that write up but forgot to replace the photo for the lead.   Victoria impressed at the Junior Nationals. She moves quickly on the floor for defense and you rarely see a poor pass from her. I first noticed her at the National Harbor tournament when she made a number of spectacular defensive play to keep rallies alive.   Victoria moved from 95 to 54 in our class of 2027 rankings.     Maryland Juniors may have been my surprise club this year with all the talent flowing from there. The 15 team finished as one of the top 100 teams in the country, according to AES. It would have been difficult to achieve that status without Jessica guiding the offense. She runs the quicks well and does a good job of keeping the defense guessing.   For high school she sets for Glenelg, which appeared in the semi-finals of the Class 3 Maryland State championship. They were also eliminated by North Hagerstown. Lindsay Kelley was the primary setter but Jessica appeared in enough matches to finish second in aces and third in digs. This year she should take over as the primary setter.   Jessica appeared at our Prep Dig Stock up showcase and earned a top performer award. She jumped from 92 to 57 in our rankings.    Highlights for Tuesday's games   Kellam defeated 1st Colonial in five, with the fifth set a 16-14 win for the Knights. 1st Colonial took it to a fifth set with a 25-23 win.   James Wood took down Dominion in four in a battle played between two Class 4 powers. The defending champions still looked tough to beat. [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid'] led the team in kills with 17 while [player_tooltip player_id='181280' first='Brenna' last='Corbin'] contributed 13. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='621440' first='Kylee' last='Plumb'] did most of the setting putting together 24 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='218149' first='Giselle' last='Norris'] notched nine digs in her James Wood debut.   Bishop O'Connell opened up their season with a win over Archbishop Spalding in three. Two newcomers were key to the victory. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='235322' first='Avery' last='Prendergast'] strung together 28 assists along with her 21 points serving and seven aces. Of the 75 points the Knights scored Avery touched the ball on 67 percent of their points. The other newcomer [player_tooltip player_id='385968' first='Macie' last='Murray'] led the team with 11 kills.

Below are the players who climbed the highest in the 2027 rankings. While a lot of that involves the skill of the player it also relies upon that player having an impact on the team's overall level of play. The top players rise because they have the ability to enhance the play of their team.

Louise Neuhart Louise Neuhart 6'0" | OH St. Paul VI Catholic | 2027 State VA outside (Virginia Academy/ Paramount ) - Sometimes we focus too much on the velocity of a hit when measuring outside hitters. While Louise hits the ball hard there are probably hitters with greater bounce to the ball when warming up in hitting lines. But few of them match the number of balls that hit the floor in areas of the court that players do not cover when the game actually begins. At 6'0" she has good height for an outside. She plays six rotation volleyball. Just a solid all around player that performs well when the games mean the most, like at 15 Open at Junior Nationals. She jumped from 11 to 7 in our ranking.

Camryn Coulther

VA #19

DS/L #3

HEIGHT 5'6"

POS DS/L

CLASS 2027

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Camryn Coulther

State: Virginia

School: Riverside

Club: VA Juniors

The Junior Nationals was the first chance I got to see how well Camryn can cover the court as a libero. Virginia Juniors has some talented hitters on their 15 team with Coco Lewis Coco Lewis 6'2" | OH/DS/L Paul VI | 2027 State #83 Nation VA among the best. However, when the first person that comes to your attention when you watch them play is their libero you have to take notice. She scrambles all over the court to prevent balls from hitting the floor.

This coming high school season she will play for Riverside. They may be the top high school team in the region with their offense and Camryn playing the libero position. Last year they had one of the top liberos in Natalie Carlin. Camryn bided her time by playing as a defensive specialist. With Camryn filling the libero role now as a sophomore they won't miss a beat.

Camryn jumps from 53 to 18 in our rankings.

Highlights

Ayla Sayd Ayla Sayd 6'0" | OH Marshall-Falls Church | 2027 State VA outside (Marshall/Virginia Juniors) - Ayla plays on the same Virginia Juniors team as Camryn. While many consider her the second outside to Coco Lewis Coco Lewis 6'2" | OH/DS/L Paul VI | 2027 State #83 Nation VA she still hammers the ball like a number one. Ayla generally plays just three rotations for Virginia Juniors. When she plays high school ball for George Marshall she is used more in the back row for offensive production. Last year her older sister Samai was the top hitter on the team. This year Ayla takes the reins to become the offensive force for the Statesmen. Finished watching Marshall play a match and Ayla played three sets right side and two left. Ayla jumps from 26 to 19 in our rankings.

Emmeri Bishop

VA #24

OH/MB #9

HEIGHT 6'2"

POS OH/MB

CLASS 2027

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Emmeri Bishop

State: Virginia

School: Hedgesville

Club: Blue Ridge

Emmeri immediately impressed at our Prep Dig stock up Showcase with her ability to hit outside. While her profile lists her as a middle she performed with the outside hitters at the showcase. For Blue Ridge it appears they used her at middle. At 6'2" she could be a force at the pins.

On the Hedgesville roster she is shown as an outside/opposite. That was her position last year when she finished third on the team in kills as a frosh. Watch out for Hedgesville this year in the West Virginia State championships. They have some talent on that roster with a number of Liberty Elite and Blue Ridge players.

Emmeri jumped from number 47 to 31 in our rankings.

Highlights

Haile Ma Haile Ma 5'11" | OH Wootton | 2027 State VA outside (Wooten/Maryland Juniors) - Annika Dandridge Annika Dandridge 6'1" | OH | 2027 State VA , who moved from number 7 to 6 in our rankings, clearly stands out as the top outside hitter for Maryland Juniors. Haile Ma Haile Ma 5'11" | OH Wootton | 2027 State VA falls close behind. At 5'10" she has some height for the pin position. She also plays for Wooten High School which last year lost in the first round of the Class 3 Maryland State championships to the eventual state champion North Hagerstown. Haile jumped from 48 to 33 in our class of 2027 rankings.

Caroline Apergis

VA #53

DS/L/OH #10

HEIGHT 5'9"

POS DS/L/OH

CLASS 2027

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Caroline Apergis

State: Virginia

School: Episcopal

Club: Metro Volleyball Club

Caroline played some incredible libero at the Spooky Nook tournament where her MOJO team finished in second place. She also performed well at the Prep Dig Stock up Showcase. That earned her a jump in the rankings from 60 to 48.

Last year Holton-Arms struggled in the AA Independent School League (ISL) and as a result were dropped down to the A level. With Caroline playing libero and Lana Cvijetinovic hitting outside they should be the favorite to win the A conference to return to AA this coming season.

Highlights

Kennedy Williams Kennedy Williams 5'11" | OH National Cathedral | 2027 State VA middle (National Cathedral/Maryland Juniors) - With Dylann Loggins Dylann Loggins 6'2" | MB Howard | 2026 State VA injured early in the Junior Nationals someone had to step uo to play the middle. Kennedy answered the call. With her team trailing in a critical second set 22-24, Kennedy went back to serve and put together four consecutive aces to win 26-24. A third set to 15 was prevented. At 5'9" she is small for a middle, but she relies on her jump and athleticism to survive. She jumped from 66 to 53 in our rankings.

Victoria Small

DS/L

HEIGHT 5'3"

POS DS/L

CLASS 2027

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Victoria Small

State: Virginia

School: Maryvale Preparatory School

Club: Maryland Juniors Volleyball Club

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Highlights

Jessica Li

HEIGHT 5'8"

POS S/DS/L

CLASS 2027

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Jessica Li

State: Maryland

School: Glenelg

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Highlights

Highlights for Tuesday's games

Kellam defeated 1st Colonial in five, with the fifth set a 16-14 win for the Knights. 1st Colonial took it to a fifth set with a 25-23 win.

James Wood took down Dominion in four in a battle played between two Class 4 powers. The defending champions still looked tough to beat. Kennedy Spaid Kennedy Spaid 5'11" | OH James Wood | 2026 State #156 Nation VA led the team in kills with 17 while Brenna Corbin Brenna Corbin 5'5" | DS/L James Wood | 2026 State #169 Nation VA contributed 13. Sophomore Kylee Plumb Kylee Plumb 5'5" | S/RS James Wood | 2027 State VA did most of the setting putting together 24 assists. Giselle Norris Giselle Norris 5'6" | DS/L James Wood | 2026 VA notched nine digs in her James Wood debut.

Bishop O'Connell opened up their season with a win over Archbishop Spalding in three. Two newcomers were key to the victory. Setter Avery Prendergast Avery Prendergast 5'9" | S Bishop O'Connell | 2025 State VA strung together 28 assists along with her 21 points serving and seven aces. Of the 75 points the Knights scored Avery touched the ball on 67 percent of their points. The other newcomer Macie Murray Macie Murray 5'11" | OH Bishop O'Connell | 2027 State VA led the team with 11 kills.