Five Defensive Dandies We Like From The Class Of '28

The first contact, inarguably, is THE most important contact of any in the game of volleyball. Without a solid pass, no point scoring can legitimately happen. Today's edition of our top five include just those kids---liberi and three-rotation defensive specialists that are already turning heads early in their recruiting careers.    As the libero for one of the top 15s teams in the midwest, Brooke is an elite passer with quickness that is unmatched. Her feet seemingly always get her to the ball, and quick decisions are made in the blink of an eye. Sometimes, quickness means "jerky". Brooke is the opposite; smooth as silk and consistently reliable for every first contact. I'm sure that if her coaches at Munciana told her to pass half the court, she'd not only do it, but excel at it. Passing and defense is not easy, but Brooke's ability to do just that makes her the standard to which others should be held.     Hayden's size should immediately be ignored, since her ability to cover a significant amount of ground on off-speed and tooled shots far outweighs her stature. Consistent and willing to do the dirty work, Hayden's ability to read, react and make a settable pass happen looks natural to this author---as if she's been like this for some time. Her teammates regularly defer to her, since she so regularly makes outstanding plays on out-of-system balls and random ricochets off of the block. Oh, and by the way, she's solid in serve receive too, with a repeatable platform and active feet.     As the libero for Rev's 15-1, Emery is the "ol' reliable" in terms of defensive specialists. First, her wide base and consistent platform is repeatable and she receives serve at an above-average level. Second, she reads and reacts with some of the best around, and is willing to hit the floor to keep a play alive. Finally, she's a "duck on the pond"---above the water line, her upper body is calm and ethereal, passing ball after ball to target. Below the water line, her feet are constantly active, allowing her read and react instincts to guide her movement. Add Emery to the list of young kids from Franklin Central that will be turning heads for years to come.     Digging a little deeper in Academy's huge list of rosters, you can find a three-rotation DS in Brooklyn (on the 15-2) that has a consistent serve, is regularly in the right spot on defense, and can receive serve in a reliable manner. Being from Fishers, she's seen plenty of high-level volleyball in the past year, and will only get better as the years progress. I like her calm demeanor on the court---someone calm of mind will also be calm in body, which is what you need from a DS to pass consistently. No, she's not the biggest nor the fastest DS out there. However, there are PLENTY of options in Indiana if you want worse than Miss Peck.     As the right back DS for Boiler Juniors' 15 Gold (read: 15-1), Lydia's stature might not make her stand out much, but her long strides to maximize the distance she can cover immediately brought attention while watching her play. Being a right back involves a lot of reactionary plays, all while making her contact settable. She's also responsible for getting the junk off of the block, filling in on off-speed shots, and being a reliable safety net in serve receive. After years of doing this job, there are SOOOOO many DS's between 5' and 5'6" here in Indiana that it's nearly impossible to rank them all. But with Lydia, when your skill set is easily detectable to the untrained eye, it's almost matter-of-fact that Lydia should be included among the elite defenders in this class.

The first contact, inarguably, is THE most important contact of any in the game of volleyball. Without a solid pass, no point scoring can legitimately happen. Today's edition of our top five include just those kids---liberi and three-rotation defensive specialists that are already turning heads early in their recruiting careers.