Small School Back Row All-Stars

We had the opportunity to highlight the the 4A-6A liberos a few weeks ago, now lets talk about our 1A-3A liberos that have stood out this season. These 8 liberos have shown they are some of the best in the small school division, with most if not all of them in line for some post season honors.   Now lets dive into some of these liberos and what makes them great!    Scottsdale Christian is known for having amazing liberos. From Emma Whitehead to Bella Anderson, the Eagles have had their fair share of amazing passers. However you can make the argument that Lucy might be the best of the bunch.   Lucy was 1st team all conference last year and a big reason why is her ability to consistently pass perfect passes to the setter every time she touches the ball. She has top level control of her platform and creates the perfect angle to the ball whether it is serve receive or defense. She has a vast range of the court and quick feet to make up for any mistakes.   She has a great serve and is consistently able to put the ball on target and uses the corners and her seams well when she serves. She executes her serve in late game situations by placing the ball where needed and keeping the other team out of system. She is the vocal leader on her team, and plays with a high intensity and energy that is contagious to her teammates. She is the ultimate libero with her energy, technique, and high IQ.   She was 1st team all conference last season, and will probably repeat that feat this year. SCA is currently ranked #1 in 2A and a big reason is the top level play of this All-Start libero!     Asia has been patrolling the back row for PCDS for the last few seasons, and has been on varsity since her freshman season. She has been a part of multiple state championship teams and has been a starter almost her whole career which makes her an easy pick for an all star.   Asia is a high IQ libero who has a high motor as well. She has advanced defensive defensive range and is able to get to a lot of balls most liberos would miss. She also has a very advanced and well developed technical game with her form as she effortlessly passes balls to the setter to keep her team in system.   On the serve and serve receive game Asia is the model of being consistent. She is never too flashy and always seems to be in the right spot at the right time. That is attributed to her court awareness and vision to see things as they are happening. Her court IQ is through the roof and she is able to communicate to her teammates what she sees in real time. She also does a great job with her lateral movement getting to balls in the seams and being explosive enough to get the tips when they happen.   She is a great all around player who can do it all for the defending state champs. She has been a winner her whole career at PCDS, and a big reason why is her ability to pass, serve, and play defense at one of the highest levels in the small schools.     Emma is having another great season for Arizona Lutheran and is currently 3rd in the sate in digs with 460 digs. She has over 1500 digs in her career as well which demonstrates how consistent and well she has done over her 4 years. She was also named the 2A conference defensive player of the year last year which shows us how well the state sees her.   One of the best parts about Emma's game is her ability to read the hitters on defense. She anticipates the attack early and is always in a defensive position before the hitter is even contacting the ball. She seems to know where the ball is going before it gets there. She is always getting the ball to a playable area to keep her team in system and can defend both right side and left side attacks with precision.   A great leader as well, the Coyotes have a good one in Emma as she is a vocal person who takes control of the team in serve receive and defense. She is relentless in her pursuit of the ball and is always so excited and energetic when big plays happen. She does well with her serving game keeping opposing teams guessing and hitting the targets the coaches calls. She has over 150 aces on top of her 1500 digs showing how versitle she is as a libero.   I don't know if there is a fundamentally more sound libero in the 2A conference right now over Emma. She does everything so effortlessly and with elite level accuracy and precision when she passes a ball. She could start on any team in the state right now and an easy pick for a back row all star.     Ellie is having a great senior season and currently has 451 digs and recently just passed 1000 digs in her career for Valley Christian. She currently ranks top 10 in the state and top 3 in the 3A conference in digs. She is a big reason for Valley Christian being undefeated and number 1 in 3A for powerpoints.   Ellie passes with a strong platform and makes it seem so effortlessly as she moves in serve receive to pass the ball. She has the ability to read servers early and always maintains good balance while contacting the ball. She frequently delivers in system balls for her offense which is helping them hit a very high mark this year. You can make a case that she is one of the best if not the best serve receive passer in all of small schools.   In defense she is great with her reaction time and recovery skills. When there is chaos (which is rare for Valley Christian) she thrives in it, she does well with her ability to keep the ball alive in those situation when most players would have the ball hit the floor. She is relentless in her pursuit of the perfect pass and does well even when the ball is deflected off the block because she has such good balance in her footwork.   A top level libero who can do it all for the #1 ranked team in 3A. She is the all around libero coaches look for with her energy, IQ, and high level play. She was a great choice to represent the small school back row all stars.     Kendall is having a great season for San Tan Charter and is averaging over 4.7 digs per set. She has stepped into the libero well this season and is a big contributor for the Roadrunners.   One of my favorite parts about Kendall and her game is her elite ability to track hitters and read where the ball is going. She has amazing footwork and always seems to have good balance to take a hard driven down ball and react and get to the tipped ball as well. She takes the seams well and commands the back row with her leadership and vocal call outs.   In serve receive teams try their best to avoid Kendall as she is a top level passer this year. You can tell she does well reading the serve early and moving her feet to the ball before it even crosses the net. It doesn't matter the serve speed or trajectory, she always maintains good balance and form through the pass to deliver that ball on target. She is in the running for region defensive player of the year and has a chance to make the all conference team.   Overall, she has not only shown she is one of the best 2A liberos, but one of the best small school liberos out there. We look forward to seeing Kendall continue this form as San Tan heads into the playoffs and continue her all star form.     Tala is having an excellent season for the Titans. She is currently 9th in the state with 433 digs, and is averaging 6 digs a set. She is all over the place for Chandler Prep and is a standout for the small school libero.   She is all about effort but also has some top end athletic ability as well. She has a strong technique to her game which enable her to have explosive first steps to the ball along with her high IQ to read hitters as they attack the ball. She brings a fearless mentality to her game and will get to every ball she can, even ones no one has business getting too she will get touches on for her team.   In serve receive the best part of her game is how well she passes the ball as she is exceptional in her read and react game. She delivers repeatable and multiple high level passes each set that she plays. Her platform and footwork is second to none in serve receive and top level instincts make it seem so easy to play the position. She is vocal to her teammates and brings a lot of energy to the game which we love to see as scouts!   Overall, she can do it all. She can pass, play defense, bring the passion, and is relentless in her game. She is the type of player every coach can find a use for on their team. She has all the qualities of a top level libero, and an easy choice for a small school all star.     Mackenzie was just recently named to the PrepDig Dream Team for September and is an easy choice for a top libero for the small schools. She has helped lead North Valley Christian to an undefeated regular season so far and is 5th in 2A with over 301 digs.   Mackenzie does a good job covering space as she has great footwork and explosiveness for a libero. She is able to close gaps and any space that the hitter thinks is open because she has great vision to see what is happening before it does. She has a quiet and balanced platform that allows her easy contact on the ball and deliver it to the target.   On the court she maintains a low and steady base which allows her to pass the hard driven balls with easy. She sees things before they happen and can get to coverage very quickly even after passing a ball. She is never out of the play and the longer the rally goes the better it is for NVCA as it means Mackenzie is getting great touches on the play. She is steady and reliable for NVCA, she is a easy pick to have as a starter and does all the little things very well.   She was one of the top 10 players in the state for September so it was an easy choice to have her as a small school libero all star. She has all the attributes coaches and scouts look for in liberos and we look forward to seeing all those on display as NVCA makes a run to the title.     Shay is a highly skilled libero who has done well for Gilbert Christian this year and is currently ranked 5th in 3A with over 345 digs. She has been the libero over at Gilbert Christian since the beginning of her freshman year and is going to be one of those rare 4 year liberos for a team that we rarely see anymore.   Shay has exceptional footwork and speed which allows her to cover a big area of the court. She is able to read hitters well but is athletic enough to change her platform if the ball is deflected off the block and still get playable touches on the ball. In serve receive her footwork and speed allows her to cover the seams very well to give her hitters even more time to load and transition.   Her leadership is always on display even for a Sophomore. She is very vocal in serve receive and communicating with her teammates about what is going on. She brings some energy to the game that all players can look toward as an example of how they should react. Her teammates always seem to respond well to her and her game speaks for itself.   Shay is a great libero who Gilbert Christian can look to as part of the reason for their success these last two seasons. Gilbert Christian is building something strong and is in contention for the 3A title, a big reason for that is Shay and her play at libero.

We had the opportunity to highlight the the 4A-6A liberos a few weeks ago, now lets talk about our 1A-3A liberos that have stood out this season. These 8 liberos have shown they are some of the best in the small school division, with most if not all of them in line for some post season honors.