The Week Ahead: September 2-6

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My scouting schedule is always tentative and flexible, but this season I want to start letting athletes know where I intend to be and preview some players before matches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My schedule this week has me at Jefferson West on Tuesday, September 2, at Beloit on Thursday, September 4, and at St. James Academy on Saturday, September 6.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["551804"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68b22d2dc80e2"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I have scouted Jefferson West road matches, but I have never been to their home gym. Therefore, I decided that my first matches of the year would be to catch a Tigers' home match in Meriden. Schwinn is ranked No. 34 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026. She is an athlete I have seen play quite often and, in my opinion, is one of the top uncommitted middles in the class of 2026. The Tigers will be hosting the St. Marys Bears and Nemaha Central Thunder. I expect to watch the Tigers' first match against St. Marys.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["556362"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68b22d2dc8187"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">An early-season match, the caliber of Ellinwood versus Beloit is few and far between. This match will serve as a measuring stick for these two programs, and one of the teams will come away unsatisfied with the loss. Maxwell is ranked No. 16 overall in the Kansas Class of 2028. Both teams are loaded with talent, and I am sure they will put on a show worthy of a 344-mile round trip to see them meet. Unfortunately, one athlete I will miss seeing play is Beloit's [player_tooltip player_id='553835' first='Brecken' last='Boudreaux']. She suffered a lower-body injury on the first day of practice this season and is expected to be out for four weeks. Boudreaux is ranked No. 33 overall in the Kansas Class of 2026, and college coaches will not want to forget her name, even though she will have an injury-shortened senior season. The Tojans went 5-0 in the first tournament of the season and did not drop a set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["775583"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68b22d2dc8207"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">While I have not yet seen the schedule for the round robin tournament at St. James Academy on September 6, one team I will be sure to check out is the Olathe South Falcons. Steele returns as one of the leading kill leaders from last year's squad. She finished her sophomore season with 104 kills in 73 sets played. The Falcons lost their top two attackers in terms of total kills to graduation, so look for Steele's hitting attempts to increase. She is ranked No. 50 overall in the Kansas Class of 2027.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["483915"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68b22d2dc8283"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Another team I hope to catch at St. James is the Maize South Marvericks. In fact, having the Mavericks travel this far north and east is the main reason I picked this event over others on the same date. I have not seen Cook play much, and I want to catch the Iowa State Cyclone commit this season. She is coming off a sophomore season in which she recorded 215 kills and 80 blocks. Just for future reference for coaches and athletes, I am limited by the number of reports I can post on a single day, so when I cover Saturday prep tournaments, I tend to watch one to three matches early in the morning and then head home to write in the afternoon so that I can spend time with my wife in the evening. That does limit the number of teams and athletes I watch at a weekend tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->