Prospects to Watch at Endless Summer

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend a number of teams will do battle down in Virginia Beach. Teams from North Carolina, Florida and West Virginia will be competing in this tournament. Below is a top prospect from each team that has yet to commit playing in the championship division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["437441"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66e44436852d3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hunter can dominate the middle. As a frosh she led Flint Hill to the VISAA state championship. She finished second on the team in blocks, trailing only Ryla Jones who is now starting for the number one team in the NCAA Pittsburgh. She also finished fifth on the team in kills with an impressive .349 hitting percentage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This year will be more of a challenge as she will likely be expected to take on a leadership role as a returning sophomore. Early in the season she leads the team in blocks and is third in kills with an impressive .500 hitting percentage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Flint Hil</strong>l - The top two players from Flint Hill, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181303' first='Isabelle' last='Bardin'] </strong>(Purdue) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181279' first='Kadi' last='Pynchon']</strong> (Lafayette) have committed. That leaves class of 2027 middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross']</strong> as the player to watch. If the tempo is right she can put balls down with the best of them when hitting the middle. The challenge may be that with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181303' first='Isabelle' last='Bardin']</strong> taking on more of an offensive role the tempo may be a little off with new setters. In a critical game against Bullis Bardin finished with 28 kills while Ross finished with eight kills and five blocks. Hunter ranks number 5 in our Class of 2027.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Georgetown Day </strong>- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181763' first='Jada' last='Aksu'] </strong>(Lafayette) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='248705' first='Zoe' last='Ryu']</strong> (Bowdoin) are pins who have committed. Another class of 2027 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum']</strong> is the player to watch. She takes over the setting responsibilities of <strong>Clara Yu</strong>, who earned DC Gatorade player of the year last year. Every year Caycee wins the top setter award at the DC Capitol Hill Classic She ranks number 10 in the class of 2027 but is ranked as the top setter of the class. Currently, she leads the team in assists while ranking second in aces and digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kellam</strong> - At 6'0" <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='484970' first='Sofia' last='Barnes'] </strong>would be a nice addition on the left side for many teams. While she ranks number 104 in our class of 2026 that rank will rise after watching her play at the Colgan Jamboree. She leads the team in kills with about four per set. Another player to watch is right side <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin']</strong> who sets and hits right side. Riley stands 5'11 so she carries some nice height for a setter. While she spends most of her time setting she still does enough to lead the team in blocks and ranks third in kills. In a recent five set match against Cox Sofia led her team in kills with 20 while Riley strung together 40 assists and six aces. The effort fell short as the Knights lost the fifth set 15-13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["545710"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66e4443685339"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">She carries good height for a pin. For Cox she leads the team in kills. While she ranks number 52 in the class of 2027 this was her debut ranking after watching her dominate at the East Coast Championship with [program_tooltip program_id='549544' first='Club' last='757']. She received the highest debut ranking of the new players added.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">She may not crush the ball like many pins but she hits it hard enough to always find the floor. For Cox her hitting percentage sits at .225. She also sits third in digs and second in serve receptions, showing the skills of a six rotation player. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cox </strong>- Another Virginia Beach team. They appear to have a young team sprinkled with seniors to make them the team to beat in this tournament. The 6'0" class of 2027 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='545710' first='Avery' last='Osler']</strong> leads the team in kills. She ranks number 52 in the class of 2027, but that could also rise. I watched her play for [program_tooltip program_id='549544' first='Club' last='757'] and she was their primary attacker. Libero <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='664966' first='Penny' last='Savino']</strong> has been off my radar. Apparently, she is a defensive vacuum that effortlessly scoops up balls in the back row. She is on my radar as a player to watch, currently averaging over six digs per set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Spring Mills</strong> - While they are a team in West Virginia they also have two who play for [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'], class of 2025 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='309032' first='Samantha' last='Stephens']</strong> and class of 2028 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='536736' first='Alexis' last='Stephens']</strong>. Both stand 6'2" with Samantha playing right side and Lexy being used in the middle. Samantha leads the team in kills while Lexy leads the team in blocks. Lexy debuted at number 28 in our class of 2028 rankings while Samantha sits at number 37 in our class of 2025. While Samantha is listed as a setter, it appears the main setter is sophomore <strong>Gabriella Malatt</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->