Film Review: Four 2026 Ranked Athletes With Public Video

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One tip I always share with volleyball athletes is the importance of making match film available to the public.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I watched film on four Northeast Kansas prospects yesterday. Here is a quick report on what I saw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='731072' first='Kynlee' last='Hamel']</strong>, 5'10”, OH/MB, Concordia, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hamel is a talented outside hitter on a deep Panther squad. I have seen her play in person, but I also watched some film from her HUDL account yesterday. She gets solid extension at the net and hits the ball with authority. She finished her junior season with 322 kills and has 616 career kills with the opportunity to reach the 1,000 kill milestone. She is currently ranked No. 34 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='489774' first='Kennedy' last='Tobaben']</strong>, 5'10”, OH, Olathe North, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tobaben is ranked No. 60 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026. She is a physical hitter with a powerful swing. She is super strong and can jump out of the gym. I watched some of her club highlights from the MLK Tournament. She can hit from the outside or approach right down the middle. She finished her junior season with 267 kills and 84 digs. I was impressed with her ability to pass and hit. I enjoy watching talented athletes make a dig and then get the kill off the pass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='731454' first='Addison' last='Watson']</strong>, 5'2”, S/DS, Osage City, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Watson can set or transition to a defensive specialist at the college level. She recorded 545 assists and 255 digs during her junior campaign. She is proof that dynamite comes in compact frames. She also plays softball and collected 20 base hits and 20 stolen bases for the Indians as a junior. She plays catcher for Osage City, and one can see how strong her legs and balance are when watching video of her game. Watson is ranked No. 71 overall by Prep Dig Kansas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='491120' first='Taylor' last='Stucker']</strong>, 5'8”, DS, Free State, '26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stucker is an athlete I have not seen play in person, but whose HUDL highlights I took a look at recently. She is tall for a DS, and all of her highlights show her playing back row for the Thunderbirds. In 32 varsity sets last season recorded 49 digs and 89 serve receptions as a junior. Her video highlights are not match-specific, so some of them could be from junior varsity matches. She has an accurate serve that she keeps in play. She did not have club season highlights on her HUDL page, which surprised me somewhat. She is currenlty ranked No. 111 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->