Setters Dominate Our Rising Stars in the Class of 2026

For the most part the rising stars are the seniors who performed exceptionally well this high school season. Of all the players named below, the vast majority played in the finals of their state championships. As is to be expected from the older age groups the setters dominated that rise. This is nothing unusual since the setting position is one of the more difficult positions to master. Preciseness is rewarded. Younger setters tend to lack that consistency with their location. When they get older their skills begin to shine.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Setters Rising</h2>   15 to 11 - [player_tooltip player_id='495264' first='Ela' last='Shepherd'] S/RS (Christiansburg) - Ela is one of those players who can beat you a number of ways. She finished first on her team in assists, her left handed cannon for an arm ranked first in kills while she also slid in second in blocks, service aces and digs. Her hitting percentage with her left handed swing played at an incredible .375. Her 5'10" height makes her a presence in the front row. Overall it would not surprise me if she finished her high school career with over 1,000 assists as well as 1,000 kills. Ela has committed to Radford.   43 to 13 - [player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin'] S/RS (Kellam) - Last year the player who seemed to produce the most triple doubles was Purdue bound Isabelle Bardin. This year it is the 6'1" [player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin']. Her last two years with Kellam she put together 934 assists, 465 kills, 218 digs and 108 blocks. Despite her height she can go low to scoop up the digs. The surprising fact about Riley is she has yet to commit. You can still catch a glimpse of her playing for 757 black this club season. She stands out as the highest ranked player in the class of 2026 who has yet to commit. And who could not use a 6'1" setter for their team?   128 - 57 - [player_tooltip player_id='377335' first='Mackenzie' last='Davis'] S/RS (Riverside) - Last year she did not play her high school season and lost out on a Riverside championship season. This year she played for them and contributed to a championship season. During her absence she dropped a bit in the rankings. This year she has climbed back up and then some. She is another one of those taller setters (5'11') who can attack the ball from the right side while still able to put up a set for others to attack. MacKenzie has committed to Christopher Newport.   105 - 76 - [player_tooltip player_id='721762' first='Sydney' last='Lawrence'] S/RS (Broadneck) - At 5'9" that height is at the lower end of what Division I colleges are looking for in a setter. However, this year Sydney was used to block middle when she was in the front row. The strategy paid off enough to win Broadneck a Class 4 Maryland state championship. Perhaps if Sydney set for a club that competed at a higher level this ranking would sit higher. Last year she set for Bay Area Volleyball Academy (BAVA). They did not receive a ranking in the Automated Event System in their age category. Last year she did play internationally in Spain. Sydney has yet to commit but her skill set should get some attention. It is still too early to know if she will play club this season.    Briana moved from 153 to 94 in the rankings. Normally you do not see a setter at 5'4' setting a 5/1. Briana was an exception to that rule. As her coach told me she is just too spot on with the location of her sets that it becomes difficult not to have her run the offense.   While it may have hurt a little bit in the blocking when she rotated into the front row, late in the game she would come out to improve that skill. Madison would then use [player_tooltip player_id='893325' first='Bella' last='Pham'] to set in the back row. With Briana running the show Madison reached the semi-finals this year, eventually losing to Colgan in five.   Briana has yet to commit. Last year she set for Volley Viet positioning them to a 9th place finish out of more than 100 teams in the AAU Junior National championships. It is unclear if she will play her final year of club.     Camille moved up from 140 to 95 in our rankings. At 5'7" she is one of those smaller setters who set a 5/1. Potomac Falls sacrificed some blocking in exchange for consistency with her sets. She finished the last two years with over 1,000 assists.   In addition to finishing with 1,000 sets this year Camille also led her team to an appearance in the state bracket. Unfortunately, they lost in the first round to Midlothian.   Camille has committed to Ithaca College     Kamora has come a long way as a setter. Early in her career she was a pint sized setter who lacked quickness. The next year I saw her she had lost some weight, grew a bit and moved much quicker as a setter. She debuted in our rankings in 2024. This year she moved from 120 to 97.   She also earned a spot on the "A' division all tournament team in the ISL for setting Holton Arms to the semi-finals in the "A' Division. I find it interesting that Kamora has also committed to Ithaca College as Camille above.   It was a pleasant experience watching Kamora improve her skills over the past couple years. Early on when I first saw her play she was quite raw. Clearly, she has put in a lot of work to get to where she is at.    171 - 126 - [player_tooltip player_id='722276' first='Kenstin' last='Phelps'] S/RS (Liberty Christian) - Kenstin played opposite the left side [player_tooltip player_id='845472' first='Emily' last='Cook']. Frosh setter [player_tooltip player_id='881169' first='Elyse' last='Ballengee'] came in the back row to set. This allowed Kenstin to roam the front row hitting either pin. She ranked second on the team in kills while listing on top in assists and digs. Her athleticism on the court gives her a lot of versatility. For her three year high school career Kenstin totaled just over 1500 assists with 820 kills. At 5'9" she brings a decent vertical to enhance her offensive game. Kenstin has yet to commit.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Liberos Rising</h2>   81 - 32 - [player_tooltip player_id='322106' first='Bailey' last='Loving'] (St. Catherines) - Bailey seems to have an uncanny ability to read hitters. She always seems to be in the right spot making the dig.You rarely see her having to dive for a ball. Her libero play earned her a spot on the first team in the VISAA Division I. She scooped up over 500 digs, which ranked sixth in the state of Virginia. At 5'8" she brings good height for a libero. In our top 50 she is the seventh highest ranked player who has yet to commit.   99-58 - [player_tooltip player_id='374421' first='Miranda' last='Ball'] (Howard) - Liberos are tough to measure. In order for Howard to win a state championship they received good play from Miranda, who kept the passing on point and played solid defense. She also serves the ball well, leading the team in aces per set. Miranda has committed to Frostburg State.    This was her first year taking over the libero role for Kellam. She handled it well, leading the team in digs by falling just 33 digs shy of 500. This moved her from 100 to 69 in the rankings.   This is a player groomed for volleyball. As she states in her fun facts her mom played Division I volleyball, her grandfather is a Brazilian Olympian and her uncle coaches at USD. That is an impressive set of relatives.   Giulia has committed to Catawba.     South Lakes was one of the surprise teams in volleyball this year, winning their first 14 matches. Towards the end of the season during the playoff chase they lost four of their last five, including three straight five set losses.   That success would have been difficult to achieve without the solid libero play from [player_tooltip player_id='754929' first='Keira' last='McManus']. She moved from 152 to 130 in the rankings, making her rankings debut with her libero play for [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] during the club season. Her play helped earn the club their first ever Junior National bid. Her ability to move quickly in the back row to gather digs extends rallies.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pin Hitters</h2>    Soleil went from 26-19 in the rankings, not a big jump but when you are already ranked high a seven point swing is significant. She earned Player of the year honors in the Cedar District as well as Region 6b for leading Patriot to an appearance in the class 6 state championship. Ultimately, they lost in the first round to eventual champion West Springfield.   Soleil led the team in kills. She also played six rotations, leading the team in serve receptions while also finishing third in digs. Last year she played for Metro 17, a team that finished third in Nationals in the Open Division. Unfortunately, Soleil found herself stuck behind pin hitters who have committed to Baylor, Kentucky, Tennessee and Marquette. With her current ranking she is now the second highest ranked player who has yet to commit.   It is unclear if Soleil will return to Metro to play this club season. With all the departures playing time should be much easier.    90-23 - [player_tooltip player_id='484970' first='Sofia' last='Barnes'] LS (Kellam) - When Sofia is on her game Kellam is tough to beat. The Knights have appeared in back to back state finals but lost to Riverside both times. Sophia has been the top hitter on the team with a .364 hitting percentage. She also plays a solid six rotations, finishing second on the team in digs as well as serve receive. At 6'0" she brings good height to the pin. Sofia has committed to South Carolina-Aiken.   42 - 24 - [player_tooltip player_id='721753' first='Kennedy' last='Smith'] LS (Broadneck) - The right arm of the 6'0" [player_tooltip player_id='721753' first='Kennedy' last='Smith'] has given Broadneck a class 4 state championship. Kennedy is the main offensive weapon for the Bruins. She is our third highest ranked player yet to commit, but her focus appears to be on academics rather than volleyball. Perhaps a school with high academics could convince her to play volleyball while still receiving a good education.    Howard won the Maryland Class 3 state championship without losing a match. Last year their only loss was in the semi-finals. Perhaps the leader of that success the last two years is [player_tooltip player_id='702631' first='McKenna' last='Brown']. This success earned her a climb up from 85 to 55 in our class of 2026.   This year she led the team in kills. She also played a solid six rotations finishing second in digs and serve receptions. Only libero [player_tooltip player_id='374421' first='Miranda' last='Ball'] tallied more.   Mckenna will return to [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] to play with the 18 team. She has yet to commit.    179-91 - [player_tooltip player_id='609533' first='Madeline' last='Dumais'] RS (Colgan) - Perhaps one of the more underrated players on this list. She stands just 5'9", which is considered small for a right side. Yet her right arm packs some punch. While she finished fourth on the team in kills she also ranked second with a .252 hitting percentage. Despite her 5'9" height she still managed to work herself above the net for 16 solo blocks. Madeline has committed to Bridgewater.   169-142 - [player_tooltip player_id='354086' first='Nina' last='Schweigert'] LS (West Springfield) - Another one of my favorite players who I first spotted at a Junior National Prep Dig showcase at the in Chicago. At the time she played for [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] in the Patriot League. She brought a top spin serve but it lacked the velocity of her current version. Last year the Spartan hitters were secondary to Evelyn Jurden. While Nina led the team in kills this year, everyone assisted in carrying the offensive load. Nina though carried the bulk of it, finishing second on the team in kills with 14 in their state championship win over Colgan. Nina has committed to Brandeis.    Even though she played middle this year for Langley I still show her as an outside. She hit well there but [player_tooltip player_id='608978' first='Francise' last='Ramirez'] and [player_tooltip player_id='554770' first='Rujuta' last='Singh'] won the two left side positions. To get her arm in the lineup the Saxons put her in the middle. Surprisingly, she took to it quickly burying quick tempo sets as if she played the position for years. She climbed from 164 to 149 in our rankings.   At 5'10" she has good height. The experience in the middle will add to her versatility. Chloe has committed to Carnegie Mellon.    192 - 159 - [player_tooltip player_id='346816' first='Avery' last='Hubbard'] LS (Glenelg) - Glenelg won the Maryland Class 2 state championship in a wild five set win. Avery led the team in kills with 27 while also picking up 18 digs. Overall she ranks second on her team in kills and blocks. She can play either pin, though for Glenelg she lists as a right side. At 5'10" she brings good height for the position. Avery has yet to commit.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Middles</h2>   18 - 12 - [player_tooltip player_id='333652' first='Gabriella' last='Vizek'] M (Riverside) - Gabriella was a force in the middle for Riverside in the class 5 championship match against Kellam with 10 kills and 6 blocks. Only right side [player_tooltip player_id='301696' first='Nadiya' last='Johnson'] picks up more kills. However, no player comes close to her in blocks. She combines offense with defense in the middle. Gabriella has committed to American. I would be surprised if we don't see her playing for Metro 18 this club season. You can see she really enjoys playing the game when on the court.    One trait that has impressed me about Tessa is her athleticism. You normally do not find that in a player with her height. It allows her to move quickly to the pins. Another player who did not move a lot in the rankings inching up from 32 to 22.   She led Georgetown Day with a .629 hitting percentage, which could be padded a bit by the down year from a number of the teams in the ISL. Tessa can play either middle or right side. Her play led the Mighty Hoppers to their first ISL championship as well as a third consecutive DC state championship.   Tessa has committed to Tufts.    137 - 118 - [player_tooltip player_id='321676' first='Gabrielle' last='Wigglesworth'] M (Georgetown Day) - At first glance, her 5'9' height does not strike you as a middle. Last year she did not play much because she was plagued by injuries. This year she returned to health and plugged up the middle for Georgetown. She led the team in blocks while also finishing third in kills with a .612 hitting percentage. When she got on the court for metro 17 she also appeared to be the best blocker on the team. Gabrielle has committed to Denison.

For the most part the rising stars are the seniors who performed exceptionally well this high school season. Of all the players named below, the vast majority played in the finals of their state championships. As is to be expected from the older age groups the setters dominated that rise. This is nothing unusual since the setting position is one of the more difficult positions to master. Preciseness is rewarded. Younger setters tend to lack that consistency with their location. When they get older their skills begin to shine.