Young Prospects Play Well For Abilene And Wamego In Losses

Jeremy Deckard October 12, 2024 @ 04:01 PM

On October 12, I took a beautiful fall drive down Highway 56 to scout two Council Grove Invitational Tournament matches.   Abilene and Wamego both lost their tournament opening matches in straight sets, however, both teams are young and will learn from the growing pains they are experiencing this season.   This is the final of three reports from the Council Grove Tournament. This one features three prospects from the Abilene and Wamego rosters.   [player_tooltip player_id='557053' first='Kambree' last='Bryson'], 5'8”, OH, Abilene, '26   Bryson is currenlty ranked No. 44 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026. She has a solid match in a losing effort collecting 10 serve receptions, eight digs, and two kills. She is a leader on the court and plays with her foot on the accelerator the entire match.   [player_tooltip player_id='557056' first='Renatta' last='Heintz'], 5'7”, MB, Abilene, '26   Heintz is currenlty ranked No. 51 overall by Prep Dig Kansas. So just a point-blank remark about her game is that she is arguably the most polished athlete on the team, but does not play with quite the same energy as her teammate Bryson. They complement each other well, but I would like to see Heintz step up as a leader. She finished tied with a team-high five kills and added 14 serve receptions, and seven digs. Like her teammates, she has a high ceiling and lots of volleyball left to improve their recruitment stock.   [player_tooltip player_id='557051' first='Reese' last='McCullough'], 5'5”, DS/L, Abilene, '26   McCullough is currenlty ranked No. 81 overall in the class of 2026. She is a quiet libero who goes about her business. She finished the match with 12 serve receptions and five digs. Abilene is an athletic team that is just missing a dominant 6-footer up front. McCullough makes consistent first passes and will sell out to get to a ball. Abilene is not a team I would want to play early in the postseason as they could put a higher seed on upset alert.   [player_tooltip player_id='554328' first='Ryann' last='Langvardt'], 6'0”, MB, Wamego, ‘26   Other than Hesston's [player_tooltip player_id='219716' first='Kendal' last='Brueggen'] the best single performance of the morning I saw was Langavardt's. She is currently ranked No. 30 overall by Prep Dig Kansas.  I saw her compete this summer and was impressed with her reach and physicality. During this match, what caught my eye was her ability to receive and play defense. She is a potential six-rotation big at the collegiate level. She recorded a team-high 10 kills in the loss to Clearwater. She also added seven digs, six serve receptions, and three blocks. She is a player that does not get rattled when the team is out of system, and who makes rallying extending plays on the fly.   [player_tooltip player_id='523621' first='Lexi' last='Hecht'], 5'8”, OH, Wamego, ‘26   Hecht is ranked No. 101 overall by Prep Dig Kansas. She is a multiple-sport prospect who can jump out of the gym. She appears to be fully recovered from a knee injury suffered last basketball season. She was impressive in the loss registering 13 serve receptions, eight digs, and six kills. She is also an elite basketball prospect and told me she was leaning more towards pursuing basketball in college over volleyball. No matter which sport she picks she will garner plenty of attention from college coaches.   [player_tooltip player_id='514813' first='Arabell' last='Razzano'], 5'6”, S/DS, Wamego, ‘25   One senior who stood out for Wamego was setter, Razzano. She dished out 15 assists in the loss to Clearwater. She also added two kills, two digs, and one block. Razzano also plays softball but is looking for the chance to play college volleyball. She play setter or serve as a utility player for a NAIA program still looking to complete its recruiting class.

On October 12, I took a beautiful fall drive down Highway 56 to scout two Council Grove Invitational Tournament matches.