Team Profile: Gilmour Academy Lancers

Perhaps the best team in Ohio, regardless of division, the Lancers from Gilmour Academy have all the pieces to be the biggest challenge on any their opponent's schedules. They have veterans, big offense, great defense, athleticism, and tons of support given the near 86% of the vote they received in our recent Division III poll, which coincides well with their #1 ranking in the most recent Ohio DIII state rankings. Let's look at some of their most productive prospects.    Habeeb is a juggernaut of a defensive contributor for the Lancers as she averages over 17 digs per match. As this team has some heavy and balanced offense, it is these position players such as liberos that deserve a lot of praise for getting their team rolling with their presence and ability to put setters into good situations to distribute the ball with balance. She moves efficiently and has great angle production with her platform. At over 1,000 career digs, she averaged a career high 20.6 digs in 2023, earning her all-Ohio honorable mention recognition.     Anders leads this powerful offense as their most impactful attacker at 4.7 k/s. She is one of four attackers that is terminating the ball ahead of a 60% rate. What is most noticeable about her work and success is how well she gets to the peak of her lift and contacts the ball high to maximize her 6'1 frame. The Colgate commit is a savvy attacker from the left side through her volume and ability to move the ball around without compromising her power and effectiveness.     Davis is such a great complement on the outside as she can generate a lot of pressure with her arm at the end of her approach pattern. She has great arm control to challenge high hands, swing through space, and just let it rip when she has the spacing and timing. She brings some fire as well as a primary attacker that can ignite this group through their balanced offense. She is currently second on the team at 3.5 k/s and scores on 62% of her opportunities.     Another senior veteran that has blossomed through this Lancers program over her career, Channell provides 3.0 k/s with the highest return off her arm at a 64% kill rate. She is a significant presence in the middle as the Coastal Carolina commit is an active factor on both sides of the ball tying for the team high of 2.1 blocks per match. This team has great presence in the middle that makes them so tough to defend given all the options they have in every rotation with Channell helping to anchor that from the middle phase.     We have been watching and evaluating Jackson (*pictured) over the duration of her prep career as she is one of the most significant setters in Ohio given how much she means to this program. Now in her senior season, she has this team playing some of their best ball over her entire career, which includes a massive offensive output at nearly 17 kills per set as a corps of offensive threats, with a team kill rate at nearly 59% collectively. The most recent update indicates she is over 2,700 career assists with plenty more to be earned on the back end of the season.     Whitner is one of the most athletic members of this team as the junior middle is quick and explosive. She puts down 2.7 k/s and is the fourth arm terminating over 60% of the time. Undersized at 5'10 for this role by some coach and recruiting standards, she can make up for that by her footwork, agility, big lift, and the speed she can create with her arm that can get the ball to the floor very fast. She brings a different dimension to the quicker facets of their offense, which is tough to handle for opponents.     As the name may imply, Diggs is a factor off the net with her ball control and ability to defend. For the second straight season she is averaging nearly 10 digs per match through her vision, patience, and efficient first-step reaction to pursue the ball. Her career average is nearly eight digs per match as the Villanova commit is another veteran that has been contributing for the Lancers her entire prep career.     The lone sophomore among this group making big impact, Williams is a huge asset with her length at 6'4 and her ability to defend and score at the net. She is the future of this program following the heavy graduation ahead among these core members, but she has the tools to help the Lancers stay very relevant and successful going forward, while also growing her own stock and positioning herself well for a great opportunity at the next level. Her provides nearly two kills per set while also sharing the team lead at 2.1 blocks per match.

Perhaps the best team in Ohio, regardless of division, the Lancers from Gilmour Academy have all the pieces to be the biggest challenge on any their opponent's schedules. They have veterans, big offense, great defense, athleticism, and tons of support given the near 86% of the vote they received in our recent Division III poll, which coincides well with their #1 ranking in the most recent Ohio DIII state rankings. Let's look at some of their most productive prospects.