Five Freshmen Making Early-Season Impact

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='582203' first='Sadie' last='Ellis'] </strong>- MH | Sycamore<br>Ellis is making a big statement for Sycamore as the first-year middle has some big skills to contribute as a middle. At 5'11, she can put some power behind the ball as she has good movement through her approach pattern that allows her to be very aggressive. She has great competitive club experience behind her, which is helping her to perform at a 2.3 k/s rate while also collecting nearly six digs per match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='721306' first='Chloe' last='Plant']</strong> - S | Girard<br>The 5'3 Plant began her varsity career by dishing out 46 assists for an 11.6 a/s average in GIrard's season-opening win over Boardman. She has since eclipsed the 30 assist mark as Girard is 5-1 on the season. She also adds six digs per match. Girard's offense earns over 11 k/s as a unit and they score at a 40% rate. Plant averages 9.7 a/s on the season. They next face Poland Seminary followed by Mineral Ridge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='721304' first='Kinley' last='Curtis']</strong> - OH | Swanton<br>The 5'4 Curtis may not overpower defenses with her arm but she has good lift and control to swing with purpose and find space in the defense. Swanton is 5-1 to start the 2024 season as she leads the Bulldogs at nearly three kills per set. She has been in double-figure kills for half of their matches including twice earning her varsity career high of 13 kills, with a terrific effort against Delta where she terminated 12 kills on a .588 efficiency. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marlo Downing</strong> - OH/MH | Cloverleaf<br>Downing if off to a great start for her varsity career. She is leading Cloverleaf's offense at 3.6 k/s as the Colts opened up unbeaten through their first four matches. In their 3-1 win over Springfield she took care of the offense with 21 kills. She has a good skill foundation and as she gains more strength and arm speed over the course of her career she should consistently be putting up big numbers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Baechle Mathes </strong>- OH | Milford<br>The 5'9 outside hitter is one of a few freshmen helping lead Milford's offense so far this season. As a first-year hitter, Mathes looks confident in her ability to get up and take big swings. She elevates well while showing good court awareness and command of her arm to move the ball around with good range. She is averaging 2.6 k/s on a .330 efficiency to place her among the top-10 offensively in the ECC.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->