Top Players from Last Week Who Made an Impact

A little change of pace. Instead of summarizing scores from big games last week let's take a look at some players who stood out. All the stats are courtesy of MaxPreps. If you know of a player who performed well during the week drop me a line. Unfortunately, I will need more than just your statement.    It is not easy achieving double digits in aces. In a five set win for Northern Virginia Home School Kaitlin served up 17 aces and 30 points for her team against Covenant Christian Academy. It is rumored players on the bench got hoarse just from screaming out "ace" too many times that they had trouble talking the next day. The next closest player on her team with aces had 4 and points with 11, Kaitlin also strung together 9 kills, 20 assists and five digs. Just a few more digs and one more kill would have given her a quadruple double.   Kaitlin was a top performer at one of our Prep Dig showcases this past summer. She also sets for [program_tooltip program_id='477082' first='American' last='Volleyball Club']. It is no surprise by performance standards that she leads her team in aces with 90. The closest player to her has 39. As a setter she also finds herself third in kills and blocks while also second in digs. Her ,232 hitting percentage is tops on the team.   That 132 ranking may have to move up a notch.     Chloe may only stand 5'9" but after you see her hit you wouldn't think so. Because of that height she has been relegated to back row play where she is often fed sets. For Madison, they have recognized that she is perhaps one of their best hitters from the right side. Why waste a player in the back row when she can give you so much more in the front row.   In a big game against the undefeated South Lakes Chloe came up big with 16 kills in their four set win. She had more swings than [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick']. The last time these two teams played South Lakes beat them, so this was a must win.   Chloe shows a lot of versatility, with the ability to play right side as well as generate offense with her attacks from the back row. She is second to Laila in kills and despite her height second to [player_tooltip player_id='753047' first='Olivia' last='Schulz'] in blocks. She hits at a .233 clip.    [player_tooltip player_id='894199' first='Alyssa' last='Ellerbe'] outside/middle (Landstown/[program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club']) - For her high school the 5'11" sophomore blocks middle. That came in handy when she picked up seven blocks. It fell short as the team lost in four to Kellam. However, seven blocks in a match is rare. She leads the team in blocks and ranks third in kills with a team leading .460 hitting percentage. Scary to think that for club she hits as an outside. As part of a military family she has lived in volleyball hot spots like Hawaii and San Diego. A player not yet ranked in our class of 2028. That should change after the next ranking.   [player_tooltip player_id='752075' first='Julia' last='Kinney'] outside (Denbigh Baptist Christian/[program_tooltip program_id='498498' first='Virginia' last='Wave']) - Early in the season Julia earned the top player of the week honor for Virginia by MaxPreps. Julia ranks at 149 in our class of 2027. Last week she swatted 32 kills to help Denbigh win in four over Portsmouth Christian. Perhaps a tad undersized for an outside but she plays six rotations. She also shows her leadership capabilities by being one of the team captains. Julia clearly leads the team in hitting with a .408 hitting percentage. She also shows off her defensive chops by leading the team in digs, as well as being on top in aces. Her 450 kills lead the state of Virginia by more than 100. I have seen her play at MAPL for [program_tooltip program_id='498498' first='Virginia' last='Wave'] and Endless Summer for Denbigh. She is the real deal.   [player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin'] setter/right side (Kellam/757 Volleyball Club) - Riley is a 6'1" setter who can also provide offensive production from the right side. As both a hitter and setter it is not hard for her to achieve triple doubles. That is what happened in their five set win over 1st Colonial. Riley finished with 18 kills, 12 digs and 28 assists while also contributing 4 blocks. Kellam won the fifth set 16-14. Riley currently ranks second on the team in kills, second in service aces and second in assists. She also slides in third in blocks. With all that production from a 6'1" right side/setter it is hard to believe that she has yet to commit. Currently she ranks 43 in our class of 2026 but that should rise after our next ranking.    Normally, frosh have a tendency to struggle their first year in high school. That does not seem to be the case for [player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria']. She pulled off a triple double in the Knights big five set win over Paul VI, with 17 kills, 13 digs and 21 assists. She also added four blocks to that production.   As a frosh she is first on the team in kills with a team leading .432 hitting percentage. That hitting percentage also ranks as the second best in the state of Virginia. She also recently won MaxPreps player of the week honors for the state of Virginia.   Carolyn plays for Metro 14, which ranked as the top club for her age group last year. She sets and plays right side, which is a rarity for Metro setters. Normally, they run 6/2's with the setter being replaced by a right side. Carolyn ranks number 1 in our class of 2029 so there is no rising in the rankings for her.    [player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell'] OH (Richard Montgomery/Metro) - Katherine is our top ranked player in the class of 2028. Last year for Metro she led the team to a first place finish in the National Division at Junior Nationals. She was voted the MVP based on her contributions. With those kind of accolades it is no surprise when Katherine finishes a match with 32 kills. That was more than half of the Rockets total of 53 kills in their four set win over Walter Johnson. Katherine also finished with 12 digs. She leads the team in kills while her top spin serve puts her on top in aces as well. She also ranks third in digs and blocks. For the state of Maryland she is fourth in kills. Richard Montgomery will need that production if they hope to win their third consecutive state championship.

A little change of pace. Instead of summarizing scores from big games last week let's take a look at some players who stood out. All the stats are courtesy of MaxPreps. If you know of a player who performed well during the week drop me a line. Unfortunately, I will need more than just your statement.