Underrated Players and Clubs Making an Impact at National Harbor

They may not have won a gold medal but below are some of the clubs and players who made an impression at National Harbor.   [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite']   They had two teams finish in the top five in the 16 Open (Josi and Toni) and one team finish in the top five in the 17 Open (Marissa). Josi finished second in the 16 Open, losing in the finals to powerhouse Virginia Juniors. Toni finished fifth in the 16 Open, getting beat by Maryland Juniors in the first round of the gold bracket. Marissa won the silver bracket in the 17 Open by taking down Maryland Juniors and VAVA.   The strength for Josi resides in their two outsides [player_tooltip player_id='471485' first='Kaelyn' last='Wharton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='536741' first='Lacey' last='Bogues']. They may be undersized because they are less than 6 feet but both pack a punch when they hit a ball. The two setters [player_tooltip player_id='728459' first='Ali' last='Joyce'] and [player_tooltip player_id='444617' first='Kamilla' last='Hendrix'] both fall inside our top 100 list for the class of 2026.   Toni does not produce the pop from the left sides as Josi but [player_tooltip player_id='530394' first='Christine' last='Baybayan'] takes a good swing at the ball. She can also work out as a defensive specialist who hits beyond the three meter line. [player_tooltip player_id='701939' first='Josephine' last='Pairel'] is a taller setter at 5'10" who can create offense for you when in the front row. Once her setting gets more consistent she could be an ideal candidate for a 5/1.   For 17 Marisa [player_tooltip player_id='754926' first='Caroline' last='Chubb'] played a strong right side, putting together three blocks in one set. She also tooled a block when making a kill. Libero Kiera McManus made a couple of impressive digs. She also brings a strong bullet serve that opponents find tough to pass. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='535101' first='Kamora' last='Mack'] has worked herself into shape and moves much quicker on the court. Improving her jump would get her 5'8" frame higher over the net.   [program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite'] 17    [program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite'] just missed out playing in the gold division at the National Harbor tournament. While they finished first in their pool they were tied with two other teams. The tie breaker dropped them down to the silver division.   Marissa performed well at the tournament. Her left handed swing is ideal for the right side. Because [program_tooltip program_id='494491' first='DMV' last='Elite'] runs a 5/1 with her high school teammate [player_tooltip player_id='238857' first='Julie' last='Xu'] as the setter she also has the opportunity to play six rotations. This allowed her to be more involved in the offense attacking from beyond the three meter line. Her passing and defense are certainly playable in the back row. Don't know how much back row play she gets at Oakton.      At 6'2" [player_tooltip player_id='526752' first='Ella' last='Wang'] stands tall in the middle. She buried an overset for a kill. [player_tooltip player_id='238857' first='Julie' last='Xu'] last year set for the DMV 18 team. This year she sets a 5/1 at her age group. At 5'11" she brings good height to the setting position. She was even used as a hitter on the right side for Oakton high school her frosh season. Abigal Hegg took some good swings from the left side with offensive punch from the back row. [player_tooltip player_id='257522' first='Sofia' last='Giannelli'] brings a strong serve. A physically strong player who sometimes needs to dial it down with more finesse to improve her consistency on defense and serve receive. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='754934' first='Addison' last='Lopez'] played some good defense in the back row.   MVSA Blaze    Wynn has come a long way from her days when she deep dished many of her sets. That is no longer an issue. She set for MVSA Blaze in the National Harbor tournament and led them to a third place finish in the 17 Open Division. She shares the setting duties with [player_tooltip player_id='346818' first='Charlotte' last='Deraleau'] while running a 6/2.   What impressed me most about her play at the National Harbor was her defense. Everything hit her way she prevented the ball from hitting the floor, whether it was a hard driven spike or a short tip. Somehow she extended herself to make a play.   Wynn plays for St. Johns where she normally sets a 5/1. For MVSA she sets a 6/2.    They finished third in the 17 Open. [player_tooltip player_id='754936' first='Carina' last='Sather'] played for the second team last year for MVSA. She played beach in California this past summer and improved her game. At 6'1" she brings some good height to the right side. Definitely a player to watch. Billie Faye plays middle. Her left handed swing is not really suited for the middle but her blocking makes a difference. She brings the height to make an impact whether she plays middle or right side.   Maryland Juniors   The club continues to field strong teams year after year, despite losing some of their better players to Metro or [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. Perhaps because many of their players are from Maryland I don't get an opportunity to see them that much during the high school season. [player_tooltip player_id='545726' first='Miley' last='Keyes'] identifies with the class of 2028. We just put out our rankings for that class and she ranks at number 41. Perhaps that should be raised after watching her play last weekend. She stands 5'11", hits the ball hard from the left side and brings a good serve to the court.   The Maryland Juniors 16 team finished in third place. You don't do that without talented players. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='754942' first='Xinyuan' last='Cui'] did a good job setting a 5/1. She has soft hands but still needs to gain some strength. Her sets have a tendency to fall too much inside the antennae. At 5'9" she brings the height and has the vertical to put up a good block at the net. Middles [player_tooltip player_id='754947' first='Kiya' last='Boggan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='753065' first='Isabella' last='Adcock'] also stood out. Kaya has a quick arm swing and runs the fast tempo sets well. She stands 6'3 so she has a presence at the net. Isabella also stands 6'3" and performed a nice redirect block. [player_tooltip player_id='438098' first='Kennedy' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='753062' first='Madelyn' last='Mauro'] played strong left sides. Both played six rotations.   Virginia Juniors    Sophia played some excellent defense at the National Harbor tournament for Virginia Jrs 15. She made a number of excellent digs while playing as a defensive specialist. Her play moved her from the watch list to number 77 on the rankings. Virginia Juniors carries a number of talented defensive specialists on their roster, any of whom could play the libero position.   Sophia plays for Langley high school. She was not listed on the varsity roster this past year however with continued hard work that should not be a problem next year. She brings quickness and fast reactions to the back row.      [player_tooltip player_id='739977' first='Elizabeth' last='Hemberg'] played right side. She showed an ability to put the ball down, including showing off an impressive whack of the ball when given an out of system set.   MOJO    It appears her sister Vivian was a bit of a late bloomer, not making the starting lineup with varsity until her senior year at Langley. Once on the court she made an impact playing right side and leading them to a state championship.   Her younger sister may make more of an impact. For one, she stands two inches taller than Vivian. For another she brings a strong left handed swing that is suited for the right side.   At the National Harbor tournament she hit well from the right side for MOJO 16. This should translate to more playing time for Langley in her junior season.    There were days when our team would play MOJO and beat them 25-6. Those days appear gone as they attract more talented players. Other than Claire the one MOJO 16 player who stood out is setter Clara Macher. The floor captain ran the offense well but opened eyes with her serving. Against American Red she began the set with a 10 point serving run then added five more points with her second serving opportunity. The only one to stop her was herself as she ended her serving run both times by hitting the net or sailing the ball out.   Libero Huskies   Libero seems to do well at the younger age groups. Their 14 team last year earned a bid to the Junior Nationals. Now at 15 they won the gold medal in the silverdivision after losing to Maryland Juniors 14 and Virginia Juniors 15, two very strong teams. [player_tooltip player_id='754951' first='Milica' last='Marden'] is listed as a libero on the roster but she performed well hitting left side. While she plays for the 15s she belongs to the class of 2029. Victoria Liakos stands tall and buried some balls hard to the court while playing middle.   American   American is another club that appears to be making a resurgence. Their 17 team did well to finish in second place even while lacking a couple players ranked by Prep Dig. [player_tooltip player_id='753053' first='Gretchen' last='Gottschalk'] did not get a lot of playing time at Madison last year. At 6'0' she brings some height to the left side. For American 17 she put a number of balls away. Olivia Schultz was her teammate at Madison. She also saw little playing time. She performed well in the middle for American. [player_tooltip player_id='525329' first='Jaya' last='Lewis'] played the libero position well. She plays for Battlefield high school.

They may not have won a gold medal but below are some of the clubs and players who made an impression at National Harbor.

Loudoun Elite

They had two teams finish in the top five in the 16 Open (Josi and Toni) and one team finish in the top five in the 17 Open (Marissa). Josi finished second in the 16 Open, losing in the finals to powerhouse Virginia Juniors. Toni finished fifth in the 16 Open, getting beat by Maryland Juniors in the first round of the gold bracket. Marissa won the silver bracket in the 17 Open by taking down Maryland Juniors and VAVA.

The strength for Josi resides in their two outsides Kaelyn Wharton Kaelyn Wharton 5'8" | OH/DS/L Independencesc | 2027 State VA and Lacey Bogues Lacey Bogues 5'8" | OH/RS Potomac Falls | 2027 State VA . They may be undersized because they are less than 6 feet but both pack a punch when they hit a ball. The two setters Ali Joyce Ali Joyce 5'8" | S Paul VI | 2027 State VA and Kamilla Hendrix Kamilla Hendrix 5'8" | S/RS Freedom-South Riding | 2027 State VA both fall inside our top 100 list for the class of 2026.

Toni does not produce the pop from the left sides as Josi but Christine Baybayan Christine Baybayan 5'8" | OH/DS/L Battlefield | 2027 State VA takes a good swing at the ball. She can also work out as a defensive specialist who hits beyond the three meter line. Josephine Pairel Josephine Pairel 5'10" | S/RS Westfield | 2027 State VA is a taller setter at 5'10" who can create offense for you when in the front row. Once her setting gets more consistent she could be an ideal candidate for a 5/1.

For 17 Marisa Caroline Chubb Caroline Chubb 5'11" | RS/MB Centreville | 2026 State VA played a strong right side, putting together three blocks in one set. She also tooled a block when making a kill. Libero Kiera McManus made a couple of impressive digs. She also brings a strong bullet serve that opponents find tough to pass. Setter Kamora Mack Kamora Mack 5'8" | S/DS/L Holton Arms | 2026 State VA has worked herself into shape and moves much quicker on the court. Improving her jump would get her 5'8" frame higher over the net.

DMV Elite 17

Marissa Turek

HEIGHT 5'11"

POS RS

CLASS 2027

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Marissa Turek

State: Virginia

School: Oakton

Club: Virginia Elite Volleyball Club

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Highlights

At 6'2" Ella Wang Ella Wang 6'1" | MB South Lakes | 2026 State VA stands tall in the middle. She buried an overset for a kill. Julie Xu Julie Xu 5'11" | S Oakton | 2026 State VA last year set for the DMV 18 team. This year she sets a 5/1 at her age group. At 5'11" she brings good height to the setting position. She was even used as a hitter on the right side for Oakton high school her frosh season. Abigal Hegg took some good swings from the left side with offensive punch from the back row. Sofia Giannelli Sofia Giannelli 5'7" | DS/L Bishop O'Connell | 2026 VA brings a strong serve. A physically strong player who sometimes needs to dial it down with more finesse to improve her consistency on defense and serve receive. Libero Addison Lopez Addison Lopez 5'3" | DS/L West Springfield | 2027 VA played some good defense in the back row.

MVSA Blaze

Wynn Mendez Eaton

S/RS

HEIGHT 5'10"

POS S/RS

CLASS 2026

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Wynn Mendez Eaton

State: Virginia

School: St. John's College

Club: The St. James

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Highlights

They finished third in the 17 Open. Carina Sather Carina Sather 6'1" | RS/OH Stone Bridge | 2026 State VA played for the second team last year for MVSA. She played beach in California this past summer and improved her game. At 6'1" she brings some good height to the right side. Definitely a player to watch. Billie Faye plays middle. Her left handed swing is not really suited for the middle but her blocking makes a difference. She brings the height to make an impact whether she plays middle or right side.

Maryland Juniors

The club continues to field strong teams year after year, despite losing some of their better players to Metro or Paramount . Perhaps because many of their players are from Maryland I don't get an opportunity to see them that much during the high school season. Miley Keyes Miley Keyes 6'0" | OH/S Crofton | 2028 State VA identifies with the class of 2028. We just put out our rankings for that class and she ranks at number 41. Perhaps that should be raised after watching her play last weekend. She stands 5'11", hits the ball hard from the left side and brings a good serve to the court.

The Maryland Juniors 16 team finished in third place. You don't do that without talented players. Setter Xinyuan Cui Xinyuan Cui 5'10" | S Sandy Spring Friends | 2026 State VA did a good job setting a 5/1. She has soft hands but still needs to gain some strength. Her sets have a tendency to fall too much inside the antennae. At 5'9" she brings the height and has the vertical to put up a good block at the net. Middles Kiya Boggan and Isabella Adcock Isabella Adcock 6'3" | MB/RS Severn Runscho | 2027 State VA also stood out. Kaya has a quick arm swing and runs the fast tempo sets well. She stands 6'3 so she has a presence at the net. Isabella also stands 6'3" and performed a nice redirect block. Kennedy Williams Kennedy Williams 5'11" | OH National Cathedral | 2027 State VA and Madelyn Mauro Madelyn Mauro 5'9" | OH Archbishop Spalding | 2027 State VA played strong left sides. Both played six rotations.

Virginia Juniors

Sophia Yung

VA #97

DS/L/OH #18

HEIGHT 5'8"

POS DS/L/OH

CLASS 2028

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Sophia Yung

State: Virginia

School: Langley

Club: Virginia Elite Volleyball Club

Sophia played some excellent defense at the National Harbor tournament for Virginia Jrs 15. She made a number of excellent digs while playing as a defensive specialist. Her play moved her from the watch list to number 77 on the rankings. Virginia Juniors carries a number of talented defensive specialists on their roster, any of whom could play the libero position.

Sophia plays for Langley high school. She was not listed on the varsity roster this past year however with continued hard work that should not be a problem next year. She brings quickness and fast reactions to the back row.

Highlights

Elizabeth Hemberg Elizabeth Hemberg 6'1" | S/RS Langley | 2028 State VA played right side. She showed an ability to put the ball down, including showing off an impressive whack of the ball when given an out of system set.

MOJO

Claire Nitowski

HEIGHT 5'10"

POS RS

CLASS 2027

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Claire Nitowski

State: Virginia

School: Langley

Club: MOJO Volleyball

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Highlights

There were days when our team would play MOJO and beat them 25-6. Those days appear gone as they attract more talented players. Other than Claire the one MOJO 16 player who stood out is setter Clara Macher. The floor captain ran the offense well but opened eyes with her serving. Against American Red she began the set with a 10 point serving run then added five more points with her second serving opportunity. The only one to stop her was herself as she ended her serving run both times by hitting the net or sailing the ball out.

Libero Huskies

Libero seems to do well at the younger age groups. Their 14 team last year earned a bid to the Junior Nationals. Now at 15 they won the gold medal in the silverdivision after losing to Maryland Juniors 14 and Virginia Juniors 15, two very strong teams. Milica Marden Milica Marden 5'9" | OH/DS/L McLean | 2029 State VA is listed as a libero on the roster but she performed well hitting left side. While she plays for the 15s she belongs to the class of 2029. Victoria Liakos stands tall and buried some balls hard to the court while playing middle.

American

American is another club that appears to be making a resurgence. Their 17 team did well to finish in second place even while lacking a couple players ranked by Prep Dig. Gretchen Gottschalk Gretchen Gottschalk 6'0" | OH James Madison | 2026 State VA did not get a lot of playing time at Madison last year. At 6'0' she brings some height to the left side. For American 17 she put a number of balls away. Olivia Schultz was her teammate at Madison. She also saw little playing time. She performed well in the middle for American. Jaya Lewis Jaya Lewis 5'4" | DS/L Battlefield | 2026 VA played the libero position well. She plays for Battlefield high school.