Middles and Liberos Climbing the 2026 Rankings

Some serious upsurge in a number of middles and liberos climbing the 2026 rankings. The two carry a symmetry with the other since they are constantly coming in for the other. A slap of the hands, a banging of the hips they are free to come and go as they please. No official can stop them from making their switch, even if a team has run out of substitutions. For the most part they are bonded as one as we will bond them here, seven middles and five liberos who made a big jump in our class of 2026 rankings.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Middles</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='828329' first='Miller' last='Grimes'] (Covenant/[program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club']) - Miller moved from 135 to 84 in the rankings. What impressed me most about Miller was her play for Covenant to lead them to a VISAA Division II state championship. The 6'1" middle earned her spot on the Division II All State team with her athletic play. That excellence continued for [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] where she showed she can also provide some offense while hitting right side. That versatility shot her up in the rankings. She was also cited as one of our top middles at the Northeast Qualifiers, again showing off her versatility as a middle or right side. [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] 16 was named as one of our most surprising clubs for the 2025 season, ranking number one in the Old Dominion Region for U16 and falling just outside the top 100 nationally (108).   [player_tooltip player_id='809817' first='Nalani' last='Applehans'] (Falls Church/Volley Viet) - Nalani made our rankings the same time as [player_tooltip player_id='828329' first='Miller' last='Grimes'] based on her play for Falls Church high, debuting at number 170. The 6'0" middle stood out for her play with Volley 'Viet, making them one of the surprise teams in our U17 category. This bumped her up from 170 to 158 in the class of 2026 rankings. In addition to her height she shows great athleticism in the middle, which allows her to move quickly from pin to pin to help the outsides with the block. At AAUs Volley Viet finished an impressive ninth place out of 151 teams in the Aspire Division. Clearly, Nalani shows that not all the top players compete with the best clubs. A true diamond in the gym.   [player_tooltip player_id='828258' first='Julia' last='Horan'] (Chantilly/Virginia Juniors) -- Julia continues to impress after leading Chantilly to the finals in the Class 6 state championship. Ultimately, they lost the fifth set to defending champion Langley 15-13. Julia however shined with six blocks in the championship match. Her play for Virginia Juniors continued to impress moving her up in the rankings from 90 to 51. Not bad for a player who did not start playing the game until her sophomore year in high school. Julia has committed to Cincinnati.   [player_tooltip player_id='828397' first='Colette' last='Mercker'] (Woodgrove/[program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']) - Another player who did not start the game until her frosh year in high school. Her play improved to such an extent that she played for Virginia Juniors a couple years ago. This last club season she made the switch to [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 17 and solidified their middle position. This success moved the 6'0" middle up in the rankings from 199 to 66, perhaps the biggest jump in the class of 2026. In addition to her blocking what stands out with Colette is a tough serve that travels over the net quickly and with a downward trajectory. She accumulates a number of aces each time she goes back to serve. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] 17 finished as the 100th best 17U team nationally.    Potomac School provided some big upsets last year in the Independent School League (ISL), defeating Flint Hill towards the end of the season. In the VISAA semi-final playoff match they lost to the Huskies in the fifth set 15-13. [player_tooltip player_id='475903' first='Avery' last='Byrnes'] led the team in blocking for the two matches with eight. Overall, she finished second on the team in blocking.   Avery continued that success playing for MOJO helping to solidify one of the middle positions. They won an early season [program_tooltip program_id='511606' first='Vienna' last='Elite'] Open tournament with Avery providing some timely kills in the middle. At 5'11" her height for a middle is undersized however, that does not prevent her from finding success rejecting her opponent's attacks. This led to her rise in the rankings from 142 to 113.    [player_tooltip player_id='828206' first='Dreu' last='Patterson'] (Millbrook/Blueridge) - With [player_tooltip player_id='828397' first='Colette' last='Mercker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='828368' first='Tenley' last='Mattison'] playing so well in the middle [player_tooltip player_id='828206' first='Dreu' last='Patterson'] moved to the right side late in the season to improve the [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] offense. At the start of the season Dreu and Colette were sharing the middle. Moving Dreu to a right side provided a little more fire power in addition to enhancing the blocking. This ability to play dual positions adds to her versatility as a player, though at 5'11" she is a bit undersized for a middle. She climbed in the rankings from 137 to 122.    While undersized in the middle Amara puts a lot of air between her shoes and the floor to put the ball away. She moved from our watch list to number 130 in the rankings. Her middle play proved a significant role in leading [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] to their first national bid in club history.   For her high school Lightridge she led her team in blocks and finished second in kills with a hitting percentage of .247. She runs the quick tempo sets in the middle well.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Liberos</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='800304' first='Bailey' last='Loving'] (St. Catherines/[program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club']) - Bailey earned a second team All State selection for her strong libero play for St. Catherines in the VISAA playoffs. She led the team in aces, serve receive and digs. In addition, her play for [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] also proved stellar leading to a second rise in the ranking from 100 to 81. While [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] does not normally play in USAV Qualifiers they finished third in the USA Division of the Northeast Qualifier. This success earned them a bid to USAV Nationals that they ultimately declined. Bailey is the glue in the back row that keeps the team in system with her passing and defense.    For her high school team Isard hits outside and leads the team in kills. Despite her 5'9" height she also stands out with her blocking sitting third on the team in that category. Her six rotation excellence is shown by the number of digs she makes on defense as well as the passes she accounts for in serve receive.   At 5'9" she is a bit undersized for an outside, especially when playing at the higher levels. For club, she takes that high volleyball IQ for hitting and applies it to the libero position. For Isard it is just another position for her to excels at. Because of this versatility she rises in the rankings from 89 to 69.   Again, love her spirit on the court. She clearly acts as the team leader, keeping everyone in the game. While she did make a number of service errors in one of the matches I watched she still finished second on the team in aces. That clearly shows her aggressiveness on the court.    [player_tooltip player_id='484405' first='Brenna' last='Raymond'] (Massaponax/Club 540) - At the East Coast championship her libero play was phenomenal. Her passing allowed 540 volleyball club to run their fast offense while her defense kept rallies alive. This play led to a huge bump up in our rankings from number 198 to 73. While she did earn a second team spot on the 5d Regional team if Massaponax can reach the state those honors will rise to first team. Clearly, a player who impacts the quality of her team's play.   [player_tooltip player_id='809363' first='Bailey' last='Swinton'] (Arundel/Virginia Juniors) - At the East Coast championships Bailey played some solid defense covering the back row for Virginia Juniors. She also passed well while continuing that excellent defense and passing to the Junior Nationals. This led to an upgrade from 115 to 98 in our 2026 rankings. Bailey has committed to Morgan State.    Giulia has one of the more interesting backgrounds in the class of 2026. She is half Brazilian while her mom and her mom's twin brother played Division I volleyball. That would be impressive just in itself, but her grandfather is a nine time Olympian, four times as a player and five times as a coach. While living in San Diego I got a chance to see a lot of these Brazilians play and they do it with fire.   This is her second big jump in the rankings. For Kellam she finished third in digs and third in serve receive. This coming season should be her opportunity to take the starting libero job for Kellam. She played for [program_tooltip program_id='498497' first='757' last='volleyball club'] this club season. Her bio indicates a passer rating of 2.3. She jumps from 121 to 100 in our rankings.

Some serious upsurge in a number of middles and liberos climbing the 2026 rankings. The two carry a symmetry with the other since they are constantly coming in for the other. A slap of the hands, a banging of the hips they are free to come and go as they please. No official can stop them from making their switch, even if a team has run out of substitutions. For the most part they are bonded as one as we will bond them here, seven middles and five liberos who made a big jump in our class of 2026 rankings.