Snow Day Digging: 2028 Top Defensive Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like the majority of Kansans, I will begin shoveling over a foot of snow off my driveway and porch today, between writing and publishing scouting reports.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So while the entire state enjoys a snow day, I want to feature 10 freshmen who specialized in digging last fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is not an all-inclusive list as some teams do not post public stats. Stats for this report were found on Max Preps. Also, I did not include athletes with missing information in their Max Preps profiles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each of these athletes is currently ranked in the Prep Dig Kansas Class of 2028 and finished with at least 300 digs in their first season of high school volleyball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='644731' first='Emily' last='Criqui']</strong>, 5'9”, OH, Marais Des Cygnes Valley, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Criqui is currently ranked No. 27 overall by Prep Dig Kansas in the Class of 2028. She unofficially led all freshmen in digs with 474 in 85 sets. She is a six-rotation talent for the Trojans who also recorded 358 kills during her freshman campaign.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='536308' first='Haedyn' last='Lynnes'],</strong> 5'5”, DS/L, Spring Hill, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lynnes is ranked No. 14 overall and is the top-ranked libero in the Kansas Class of 2028. She registered 421 digs in 100 sets for the Broncos. I saw her play a couple of times last fall and she makes consistent passes and is willing to lay out to get to balls. I have no idea what the career dig record at Spring Hill is, but I will go out on a limb to predict Lynnes will make a run at it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='513601' first='Karis' last='KiWe Miller']</strong>, 6'0”, OH, Royal Valley, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Miller was recently featured for her hitting ability, but she proved last fall that she can play defense as well. Miller finished her freshman season with 396 digs and 452 kills. The Royal Valley prospect is currently ranked No. 33 overall by Prep Dig. I have a gut feeling that she will jump the 2028 rankings when they are next updated.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='503697' first='Emmie' last='Dean']</strong>, 5'6”, OH, Jefferson West, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dean is one of my favorite athletes in the Class of 2028. She is a consummate team player and is highly dedicated to improving her volleyball skills. Ranked No. 9 overall, she finished her freshman campaign with 395 digs and 194 kills. She may have to transition to a defensive specialist to gain more college interest, but she is athletic as all get out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='719106' first='Delaney' last='Duerksen']</strong>, 5'4”, DS/OH, Goessel, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One player I have not had the privilege to see play in person is Goessel's Duerksen. She is ranked No. 56 overall among her 2028 peers. She finished her freshman season with 376 digs and 219 kills for the Bluebirds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='503124' first='Blakely' last='Walter']</strong>, 5'7”, S, Hayden, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A second athlete who was recently featured on Prep Dig is Hayden's Walter. She was featured for her setting skills last week, but she also finished with 358 digs in 99 sets for the Wildcats. She is a multi-sport athlete, who I will eventually run out of superlatives for before her high school career is complete. She is a fantastic setter, but could easily play as a libero for a college program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='644738' first='Kailynn' last='Rice']</strong>, 5'7”, DS/L, Wellsville, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Based on her freshman season stats, Wellsville's Rice could see a meteoric rise up the rankings. Rice is currently ranked No. 113 overall but finished in the Top 10 for freshmen with 355 digs in 88 sets. She also recorded 611 serve receptions, with only 59 receiving errors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='693948' first='Callie' last='Lundy']</strong>, 5'3”, DS/L, Colgan, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Colgan Panther freshman Lundy collected digs like I collect Mall Deli receipts when I visit Pittsburg. She finished her freshman season with 320 digs in 92 sets. She has a sneaky serve for her size as she finished with 38 aces and 182 points scored off her serve.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='511942' first='Makiya' last='Maka']</strong>, 5'9”, OH, Chaparral, ‘28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maka was all over the leaderboard for Kansas freshmen. She was featured last week as one of the leaders in kills, and this week she shows up on the leaderboard for digs. Maka recorded 312 digs and 305 kills in 91 sets for the Roadrunners. She is the No. 2 ranked prospect in the Kansas Class of 2028.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->