Early Bird Shootout 16s Division: My Top Pick for Each Position

The Early Bird Shootout this past weekend definitely brought together some great volleyball clubs from around Indiana and Kentucky. Think NKYVC, [program_tooltip program_id='430155' first='Team' last='Pineapple'], Union VBC, Metro VBC and Circle City VBC to name a few. There were multiple players at each position who could make an all-tournament team of sorts in the 16s division, so I decided to pick my top player in each position based on who I was able to watch and who had the combination of skill AND future potential. These six standouts are playing well above their age at this point and will for sure have bright futures ahead of them as they look to enter the recruiting process very soon. Here are my picks for standout OH, MB, S, Opp, L and DS from the 2025 Early Bird Shootout in Indianapolis, IN.    Dittmer was the standout of all the pin hitters I watched from the 16s division. She obviously jumps high and hits hard, but it was her ability to use the block that I just found exceptional for her age. In the championship game of the tournament she pretty much put her team on her back to pull out a win in three sets. Jenna clearly knows that if a shot is working, to continue using it until it doesn't work anymore (you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it). That is what she did with tooling the right side block - she wore the other team down with it and it won the match for her team. I love any player who has the ability AND the confidence to swing at a big block over and over again because it can be demoralizing and utterly frustrating. Dittmer is a six rotation OH who is good at all facets of the game, including blocking, passing and defense. It is clear that she is a fierce competitor and physical leader for this 16-1s team, and she will be heavily leaned upon this upcoming club season.     Schembra is going to be an incredible addition to this year's Circle City 16-1s squad with her advanced court vision, ability to be offensive when needed and fierce competitive nature. This young lady is a well-rounded floor captain who is clearly confident in running the offense and evenly distributing the ball. She is deceptive when jump setting, opening up seams all along the net for her hitters and causing middle blockers to jump with her and guess the wrong direction to block. On defense she only seems to know one speed - GO - and can dig balls and run down tips with the best of the defensive players. In addition, on defense, she gets to the net fast and with intention. Lastly, Schembra is offensive minded at the right times with her left hand and knows when a strong one-handed dump to the middle of the court will work (she also has a good zone 4 dump as well). I look for Anabelle to take this 16 open team to new heights this season for sure, especially if she can continue to work on her block.     Milana is my pick for middle blocker of the 16s division because of the word BLOCKER in her positions name - she clearly take pride in this part of her game. The first thing that stood out to me was her presence and confidence as she stood at the net; she looked really focused and ready to be a wall. She gave her opponents fits all over the net, which led to many hitting errors and off-speed shots on offense. Mays brings a lot of length and lateral speed to the net and as she learns to read the opposing setter, I look for her to become a beast on defense - like shut-down-other-teams-completely, type of MB. Right now, she is pretty good in front of the setter/off of two feet hitting both the 1 and 31 and has a very high contact point that is hard to defend. If she can continue getting stronger in terms of her arm swing, she will be a highly efficient middle attacker.     Kelsey makes this list as a class of 2028 freshman (most here are 16s players/class of 2027/sophomores) and although skill wise there may have been some older players who are further along, I think her ceiling for potential is high. She made this list because she can do multiple skills well (set and hit) at a young age AND has plenty of room to continue to improve; I am basing this one on sheer potential. Marx is a tall, athletic pin hitter/setter who hits across the front row and sets from the back. When hitting she displayed that she could hit both cross court and line with pace (both OH and OPP) and is the go-to player on offense. If she can develop a quicker approach and fine tune her timing, she is going to start generating even more power. Setting-wise her strength and height really help her to be able to push the ball to the pins from anywhere on the court with ease - her focus should be to get tons of reps in order to have consistent location.     Kenadi is my pick for standout libero out of the 16s group, which is quite a feat considering she is just a freshman. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch and I believe will be a top libero prospect when it comes time for college recruiting. I have yet to see this young lady take a play off - she is always talking, always hustling and always covering. She simply makes everyone around her better and without her I know this NKYVC 15-1s squad would not have near the success they do. Sieg is a sparkplug and an absolute nuisance to the opposing team's offense. Every time you thought someone crushed a ball, she would get it up. Every time you thought an off speed/tip was about to hit the floor, Kenadi would come flying in one handed to save it. She knows no limits when it comes to chasing down balls and I am SO excited to watch this young lady over the next few years!     I guess NKYVC has someone training their defensive players who certainly knows what they're doing and knows how to get the best out of each of them. Ria brings that same hardnosed, never say die approach to defense that Sieg brings. Alongside her absolute all out defense, Furuta had the best serve and pass game that I saw out of all the defensive players at the tournament. She was solid on serve receive (most opponents avoided her) and her serving was straight LETHAL. When I tell you that she was an ace machine, I 100% mean it. It seemed like she went on service runs of 3+ points every time she stepped back to serve and she was getting inside of the opponent's passers heads for sure. Ria's line-drive, jump float serve is not just a way to start the play, it is clearly offensive, and I am here for it! This young lady has a bright future ahead of her and should help this open level squad see great success this club season.    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">If you loved this article, please follow our Instagram page, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/abovethenetvolleyball">Prep Dig IN | Above The Net Volleyball</a> for exclusive content and behind-the-scenes action.</h3>   After following our page, take the next step and subscribe to PrepDig! By subscribing, you'll not only stay connected to the latest coverage of your favorite events, but you'll also be helping to shine a spotlight on rising volleyball talent.   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The Early Bird Shootout this past weekend definitely brought together some great volleyball clubs from around Indiana and Kentucky. Think NKYVC, Team Pineapple , Union VBC, Metro VBC and Circle City VBC to name a few. There were multiple players at each position who could make an all-tournament team of sorts in the 16s division, so I decided to pick my top player in each position based on who I was able to watch and who had the combination of skill AND future potential. These six standouts are playing well above their age at this point and will for sure have bright futures ahead of them as they look to enter the recruiting process very soon. Here are my picks for standout OH, MB, S, Opp, L and DS from the 2025 Early Bird Shootout in Indianapolis, IN.