Class of 2026 Players on the Rise

Below are some of the players who shot up on the rankings. Overall, there were 20 players who made significant moves climbing the ladder. For the younger players big moves are not unusual. It shows significant improvement or more exposure to recognize the full skill of the player.    Caydence moved from 4 to 2 in the rankings. For Metro 17 she clearly stands out as the most skilled player on the team. She may not have the 10'7'" approach jump as [player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson'] but she plays a quality six rotations with the ability to pass and play defense. Her three meter hits also carry explosive power.   What sets her apart from the other Metro pin hitters is her ability to hit the out of system sets. It takes a deeper approach to hit out of system sets and Caydence seems to do that well.   She also led North Hagerstown to their second straight championship, accomplishing that without her sister hitting from the other left side.   Caydence has committed to Marquette     Just watching her calmly dig hard driven balls from Metro to keep rallies alive earns her a jump from 8 to 6 in the rankings. I would say she could easily fall into the category of one of the top five liberos in the country. She gets less exposure at the National level playing for [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']   Brenna plays with unrivaled intensity. No ball is beyond her grasp. She also has an exceptional volleyball IQ. That ability to find the right area of the court to play defense keeps her from having to hit the floor to make a dig, something other liberos thrive at. Once you hit the floor it takes valuable seconds to get back upright, something Brenna doesn't have to worry about.   James Wood has won three state championships since she has arrived at the high school. Despite her 5'5" height she hits outside for them and consistently finds the open court. Her hits do not have the greatest velocity, but they find the floor. Prior to her arrival at James Wood the high school had not won a championship.   Brenna has committed to James Madison. It would not surprise me to see her start for them her frosh year and immediately make an impact.     Aubrey transferred to Courtland from Riverbend this past year. She also moved from 19 to 9 in the rankings setting Courtland to the finals of the class 4 state championships. They eventually lost to now three time state champion James Wood but it was a nice run.   At the Virginia Volleyball Showcase Aubrey started the season setting a 5/1 leading Courtland to a second place finish to eventual Class 6 state champion Langley. She earned a spot on the All tournament team.   In the state championships she set a 6/2 but stayed in the front row to hit right side. At 5'11 she brings good height to the setting position. She earned a spot on the second team Class 4 All State.   A team leader, she was named floor captain her first year on the team. Aubrey has yet to commit. Club 540 will play in the Charm City Challenge in Baltimore the first of February. While the club season is still early [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] ranks number one in the Old Dominion Region and number 123 nationally.     Megan set a 5/1 for Bullis high school. They won the Independent School League (ISL) AA division for the first time in school history. Flint Hill had won the championship for the last dozen years or so. The Bulldogs swept Flint Hill in the semi-finals and then defeated Georgetown Day in the finals to clinch the championship, taking revenge on the only two teams that had beaten them this year.   Megan orchestrated that championship with her masterful setting. It earned her a spot on the ISL first team, leading to a jump from number 21 to 13 in the class of 2026 rankings. Only 5'7" she brings a good vertical to produce three solo blocks and 21 in total.   Megan will play down one year with Virginia Juniors 16. They have a talented group of players returning who almost made it to the gold bracket in the USA Division in Nationals last year. They will be playing in the National Harbor Showdown, Capitol Hill Classic as well as a number of National Qualifiers.       Sophie keeps banging away and moving up in the rankings, from 24 to 16. At 6'1" she brings good height for a pin. For high school she averaged 7.5 kills per set with a hitting percentage at .370. No player in the state of Virginia topped her 742 kills.   Sophie earned player of the year honors for Class 1. Her team fell short of winning the state championship, losing to eventual state champion Auburn in the semi-finals. Sophie finished with 46 kills in the four set loss. For the year Sophie got 48 percent of her team's sets but converted 64 percent of their kills.   Sophie will play for [program_tooltip program_id='506397' first='River' last='Valley Juniors'] this year. She has committed to Ole Miss.     Riverside won their first state championship in school history. For the most part Sydney set a 5/1 for them resulting in her rising in the rankings from 26 to 19,   While she had a lot of weapons to choose from on the team, including national team player [player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson'] and Class 5 player of the year Briana Holladay, she still had the responsibility of getting the ball to them. Her quick tempo sets to Brianna in the middle allowed her to win player of the year. Sydney was named player of the year for the Potomac District.   Sydney follows in the footsteps of her sister Ava, who also set for Riverside and Virginia Juniors. Next on the agenda for Sydney would be to get Virginia Juniors a national championship. She will be setting for the 17 team at the National Harbor showdown.      [player_tooltip player_id='333654' first='Santina' last='Martcheva'] outside (Ocean Lakes/757 Volleyball Club - Santina impressed with her powerful front row play in the Virginia Volleyball Showcase. That resulted in a ranking climb from 45 to 20. Her play at the showcase earned her a spot on the all tournament team. At 6'1" she gets her hands high over the net for the block. Her back row play for the tournament was limited. Santina earned a spot on the first team All state for Class 5. She has committed to Virginia Tech.    The 5'10 left side packs a powerful punch. Her left side attacks annillated Bishop O'Connell in the finals of the Flint Hill Invitational championships. Her performance earned her the MVP award for the tournament. One of the reasons she climbed from 66 to 40 in the rankings.   For her overall play Tehillah earned first team Class 6 all state. She led her high school in kills and her vicious top spin serve accumulated the most aces on the team. She would vary her serving style moving from a jump float to a top spin.   Tehillah plays club volleyball in Florida for Top Select Volleyball Academy.    [player_tooltip player_id='355124' first='Fiona' last='McDermott'] middle (Georgetown Day/Virginia Elite) - Fiona was one of the primary middles for Georgetown Day as they romped to their second straight state championship. She finished second in blocks, produced the second highest hitting percnetage at .378 and ranked fourth in kills. She also earned first team honors in the ISL. This resulted in her climbing the rankings from 83 to 41. Fiona will play for Virginia Elite. They will play this weekend at Volley by the James.    Carolina impressed with her left side play during the class 4 state championship. She clearly stood out as their top offensive performer. This created a giant jump from 101 to 42 in the rankings. It also earned her first team honors all state for Class 4.   Last year she made her debut on the rankings. That was when she played middle. The left side now seems to work for her. She brings a powerful arm swing.   While she played for [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] the last two years she does not appear to be on any of their rosters this year. At the present time she lacks a club footprint.    [player_tooltip player_id='377334' first='Josephine' last='Seekford'] outside (Loudoun County/Virginia Elite) - At 6'2" she brings some height to the pins. For Loudoun County she played right side in the match I watched. Loudoun County reached the semi-final of the state bracket before losing in four to Courtand. Josephine finished second on the team in kills and first in blocks. That success moved her from 73 to 47 in the rankings. Josephine has committed to Arkansas State.   [player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin'] setter (Kellam/757 Volleyball Club) - Riley completed one of the biggest climbs, going from 108 to 48 in the 2026 rankings. At 5'11" she brings good height to the position. She normally set in the back row while taking her swings when playing the right side. She earned a spot on my All DMV second team after the high school season ended. Kellam made a surprise run at the end of the season getting to the finals of the Class 5 state chqmpionship against Riverside. Despite being swept Riley performed well, finishing with 13 kills and 11 assists. She earned a spot on the Class 5 all state first team. Riley will play club for 757 Black. They will play in MAPL and the Charm City Challenge in Baltimore.   [player_tooltip player_id='374419' first='Alicia' last='Randall'] setter (Alexandria/Braddock Road) - Alicia did a good job setting for Alexandria. She set the Titans into the semi-finals of the state championship before losing to Chanitilly. This moved her from 95 to 71 in the rankings. She earned a second team All Patriot District honor. She will play for Braddock Road. In their first tournament they took third place in the 17 Open. Alicia shared setting duties with [player_tooltip player_id='240899' first='Sarah' last='Kim']. They will play in the Northeast Qualifier in April.    Riley earned a top performer award at our DMV Prep Dig 250 Expo. She also won first team honors for her district and second team honors for the Region. This resulted in a big boost up the rankings from 90 to 79.   Riley continues rising in our rankings. Back in August of last year she climbed from 99 to 90. She plays with a lot of confidence on the court wanting the ball to come to her. Until you get that confidence it becomes difficult to improve.   Riley will play for American this year. They had a rough stint in their first tournament losing to Metro travel and Virginia Elite. Their next tournament is the Charm City Challenge in Baltimore as well as the Northeast Qualfier in April.      [player_tooltip player_id='484970' first='Sofia' last='Barnes'] outside (Kellam/757 Volleyball Club) - At 6'0" Sofia brings some good size for a left side. For Kellam she ranked second on the team in kills with a .347 hitting percentage. She teamed with [player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin'] to get Kellam to the finals of the class 5 state championship. Unfortunately, in the finals against Riverside she could only muster five kills. Still, her overall performance moved her from 102 to 88 in the rankings, as well as a second team Class 5 all state. She will play with teammate [player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin'] for 757. You can watch both when they play in the MAPL and Charm City Challenge in Baltimore.    Boonsboro won their second championship in school history this past year. It took them 40 years after the first one to achieve that. Sidney was one of the main drivers toward that championship run.   She first earned a spot in our rankings back in July of last year when she shined for Liberty Elite. Now, with her play in the championship run for Boonsboro she shoots up from 129 to 89.   Sidney brings some velocity to her hits. This could be assisted by her competition in track and field where she competes in the shot put. That will build up some strength.   Sydney will play club for Liberty Elite. They will play in the Volley by the James this weekend as well as Capitol Hill Classic and the Northeast Qualifiers.    [player_tooltip player_id='377344' first='Julia' last='Horan'] middle (Chantilly/Virginia Juniors - Her middle play for Chantilly surprised me. In the championship match against Langley she rejected six attempted kills. Overall, she led her team in blocks and finished fourth in kills. This bumped her up from 131 to 91 in the rankings. Julia also did a good job playing for Virginia Juniors last year in the Nationals. They just missed getting into the gold bracket of the USA division, losing in the challenge match to TAV Blue. Julia earned a first team District selection and a second team all region. Virginia Juniors will play in the National Harbor.   [player_tooltip player_id='374421' first='Miranda' last='Ball'] libero/ds (Howard/Maryland Jrs) - Miranda played a fluid libero for Howard this year. They went undefeated until they lost in the semi-finals of the state championship. She made my all tournament team at the 16 level at Junior Nationals last year when she played for Maryland Juniors. Miranda deserves the climb from 115 to 100 in the rankings. She will play again for Maryland Jrs 17 black this year. In their first tournament they only lost to [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] and Metro Travel, the top two teams in the tournament. Their next challenges will be at the Sunshine Classic in Florida and the Northeast Qualifier in Philly.   [player_tooltip player_id='322106' first='Bailey' last='Loving'] libero/ds (St. Catherines/[program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club']) - Bailey played a strong libero for St. Catherines this year. It earned her a selection to the VISAA second team all state. This led to a jump in the rankings from 127 to 101. She led her team in serving aces and digs. She will play for [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] this season. Their next big tournament is at Charm City Challenge in Baltimore.    Like her teammate Sydney Turner, her play as a setter led Boonsboro to a state championship, their first after more than 40 years. She will also play with teammate Sydney at Liberty Elite. Setting her team to a championship moved her up in the rankings from 133 to 110.   At 5'5" she is probably best used in a 6'2". She will play for Liberty Elite this year. They will play in the Volley by the James this weekend as well as the Capitol Hill Classic and the Northeast Qualifier.

Below are some of the players who shot up on the rankings. Overall, there were 20 players who made significant moves climbing the ladder. For the younger players big moves are not unusual. It shows significant improvement or more exposure to recognize the full skill of the player.