Ten Unranked Players Making an Impact

Below are ten unranked players who may make an appearance in the rankings when they are updated sometime this summer. Every time I go to a tournament or scout a Prep Dig showcase a new player always stands out. Another Prep Dig showcase is scheduled for June 7th in Rockville, one specifically for the frosh and another for the older classes. For registrations prior to May 1st there is a $15 discount.   <a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/1512/register/dmv-stock-up-showcase">https://events.prepdig.com/e/1512/register/dmv-stock-up-showcase</a>   When you look at the number of teams competing in the Chesapeake and Old Dominion Region at the 16 age level the advanced event system (AES) ranks 218 teams. Assuming that each of those teams carries 12 players that calculates to 2,616 girls participating in volleyball. That tends to be the most popular age group for youth volleyball. For that age group we rank 150 players. That means just 6 percent of the girls at this age group get ranked. For our next ranking the girls below may be a part of that 6 percent.   2026    The first thing you notice about Amara is her jump when playing the middle. She gets her hands high over the net to put up an effective block, despite her 5'10" height. Her block touch reaches over 9 feet. She also uses that jump to effectively hang high to bang the quick sets in the middle.   Last year Amara earned significant playing time for Lightridge. She led the team in blocks and finished second in kills   [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Marissa has earned a trip to the Junior Nationals in the Freedom Division. It will be the first appearance ever for a [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] team. Amara playing the middle plays a significant part in that success.    [player_tooltip player_id='754936' first='Carina' last='Sather'] right side (Stone Ridge/MVSA) - Last year Carina played on the MVSA second team. This past summer she spent her time in California playing beach volleyball in order to enhance her game. That all seems to have paid off. This year she plays for the first team at MVSA. At 6'1" she brings good height for the right side. She also plays middle but her ability to put a ball down makes her more effective on the right side. Carina also plays basketball in high school. That athleticism clearly stands out when she is on the volleyball court. What sets Carina apart from others is her willingness to put in the work to improve her game.   [player_tooltip player_id='754929' first='Keira' last='McManus'] libero (South Lakes/[program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite']) - Another player for [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] Marissa who will play in the Freedom Division at Junior Nationals. [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] uses two liberos with [player_tooltip player_id='693829' first='Ella' last='Kliner'] being the other. Ella ranks number 153 in the class of 2026 but Kierra gets just as much playing time and performs just as well. Her ability to pass and play a solid defense is a reason for [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite']'s success. She also brings a tough serve to the court.   [player_tooltip player_id='764655' first='Shawna' last='Dyer'] right side (Eastern Tech/Baltimore Elite) - Shawna is a muti-sport athlete who plays a little softball for her high school team when she is not competing on the volleyball court. She stands 6'0" and can put the ball down hard with velocity from the right side. Her offense led Baltimore Elite to the finals at York MAPL in the 14-16 Blue Division. For her high school Shawna was also one of the top offensive players to get Eastern Tech to the semi-finals of the Class 2 Maryland state playoffs. Anyone who can pick a volleyball out of a ball cart and palm it while walking casually around the court certainly grabs my attention (until a player from my 13 year old team showed me she could do the same thing).   [player_tooltip player_id='754942' first='Xinyuan' last='Cui'] setter (Sandy Spring Friends/Maryland Juniors) - At 5'10" she brings good height to the setter position. She also has a soft touch for setting displaying strong consistency with her location. Impressive since she has only recently begun setting two years ago. Xinyuan belongs to the class of 2026 but plays a year down with the 16 team. Maryland Juniors is next in line for a junior national bid and with MVSA Sparks earning a USA bid it could give Maryland Juniors a Freedom bid.   2027    Always good to take a look at a 6'3" player. She teams with another 6'3" middle in [player_tooltip player_id='754947' first='Kiya' last='Boggan'] to make a good twin towers for Maryland Juniors. Isabella still has some rawness in her game that she needs to flesh out but the physical traits are there for her to dominate a game.   As a sophomore at Severn she led her team in blocks and was third in kills. With her club experience those numbers should improve next year.   Like Xinyuan Isabella plays for Maryland Juniors 16. They may get a bump up to the Freedom Division to play in Junior Nationals. They are next in line after MVSA Sparks qualified for the USA bid, jumping up from the Freedom bid.    [player_tooltip player_id='438124' first='Angela' last='Kramer'] middle (Madison/[program_tooltip program_id='431413' first='Braddock' last='Road Youth Club']) - Last year she played for the Madison junior varsity. At 6'4" she brings some good height to the middle. She still needs some work on her arm swing to put balls away, as well as her quickness to move from pin to pin on the block. As she improves with her blocking game as well as her transition to hitting she should contribute to the varsity next year. It will be interesting to see where she falls during the high school season.    The picture above is that of [program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] after they won a national bid at the Old Dominion Regional bid championships. Brianna is one of the key contributors on the offensive end. The win gives them an opportunity to play in the National Division in Dallas at Junior Nationals.   Brianna runs the quick tempo sets well in the middle, showing an ability to put the ball hard to the floor. She also plays a little outside, which allows her to play some quality back court on defense. She even uses her hands when making an out of system set, not a skill you normally see from a middle.    2028   [player_tooltip player_id='749358' first='Eva' last='Bujanauskas'] setter (Glenelg/Maryland Juniors) - She plays down a year for Maryland 14 Juniors. She is the front row piece in the Juniors modified 5/1 offense. That allows right side [player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton'] to play back row and become an offensive weapon there. In their first Qualifier Maryland Juniors 14 earned a USA bid. This team has won tournaments at the 15 and 16 age categories as well. They run a sophisticated offense where the setter needs proficiency in running quick sets in the middle. Eva has the ability to achieve that. While she made the Glenelg varsity roster as a frosh [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li'] appears to be the main setter.   [player_tooltip player_id='749640' first='Kiara' last='Oguno'] middle (Thomas Jefferson/Virginia Elite) - Another middle with good hops. She lists at 6'0" and already brings an approach jump of 9'9". Virginia Elite uses her a lot when running a fast tempo set in the middle. It appears she did not get a lot of playing time while playing for the varsity at Thomas Jefferson last year. My prediction is that will change next year. She runs quick tempo sets in the middle well and gets high in the air for blocks.

Below are ten unranked players who may make an appearance in the rankings when they are updated sometime this summer. Every time I go to a tournament or scout a Prep Dig showcase a new player always stands out. Another Prep Dig showcase is scheduled for June 7th in Rockville, one specifically for the frosh and another for the older classes. For registrations prior to May 1st there is a $15 discount.