2027 Prospects Climbing up the Draft

Setters set the stage for this class as well. Normally, when a high school wins a state championship, especially when running a 5/1, the setter is at the forefront of that success. West Springfield, Howard, Glenelg are three schools who won state championships running a 5/1. A number of middles also broke out. Below are the twenty one players who made the biggest or most significant jump in the class of 2027 rankings.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Setters</h2>   27-13 [player_tooltip player_id='698761' first='Imagine' last='Peltier'] (Howard) - She stands 5'11" which is a good height for a setter. When I saw her play at Junior Nationals she played right side, putting a number of balls away. Howard has a number of weapons, so it gives Imagine a lot of choices as well as opportunities to achieve success. Based on their undefeated season, she made all the right choices. She appears very calm on the court, even when things get a bit chaotic on it. Her serve also drops significantly as it travels over the net putting her on top in the aces category. Her uncle is quite tall with most of his growth occurring during his senior year. Next year will be Imagine's senior year. She has committed to Middle Tennessee State University.    19-14. The start of the season did not go so well when a sprained ankle sidelined Anna with a boot for a couple weeks. She set a 6/2 her first match back subbing out when in the front row. They lost that match to Langley, their first loss of the season. After that, things got much better. They lost just one more match, a three setter to Yorktown. Other than that, it was winning a state championship.   In the state championship match against Colgan they lost the first two sets. With Anna at the helm, they came back and won the next three sets. She finished with 36 assists and 17 digs. After that rough start to the season getting crushed in the first two sets in the championship match did not look so formidable.   Another taller setter at 5'10" who can be impactful at the net. This year she will set a year down with [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 16.     35-29. In their five set championship victory over Williamsport Jessica put together an incredible 60 assists, throwing the ball up 161 times. For the season she ended just shy of 600 assists.   Jessica is a complete player who serves tough, plays a good defense and even at 5'7" can put the ball down if the defense ignores her in the front row. She moves quick to the ball allowing her to use her hands to consistently set the ball to the hitters. That quickness also comes into play when she plays defense. She also likes to run her offense quick.   Jessica will play for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] where they have added height to an already stacked team.     110 - 91. There is still a lot she can do to enhance her game. At 6'1" she could be a more impactful hitter. Her swing has improved from last year adding some velocity to her hits, but it can get better.   For a tall girl her hands are soft. The consistency in location needs to improve but the touch is there. With more repetitions that consistency will improve. She reaches 9'8" on her approach jump so she puts up a strong block when in the front row.   Looking forward to seeing her at the exposure tour in Richmond to see how she has progressed.    169 - 105 - [player_tooltip player_id='749757' first='Dakota' last='Pentorn'] (Annapolis Area Christian) - At 5'5" Dakota sets in the back row for Annapolis. Her older sister Daisy set Urbana to a state championship. Dakota set Annapolis Area Christian to an IAAM championship. She was one of two nonfrosh who started for the team. Her strength lies in her consistency to put up a good set. Her sister Daisy goes to Virginia State University.   144 - 115 - [player_tooltip player_id='643814' first='Emma' last='Irving'] (Kellam) - With the ability of [player_tooltip player_id='484751' first='Riley' last='Erwin'] to hit right side Emma rotates into the back row to set the 6'2". At 5'5" she is another smaller setter better suited for the back row, even though she swings left handed. Emma led the team in assists and aces this past season. She moves quickly across the floor while also playing solid defense. It would not surprise me if she played a good libero if given an opportunity.   WL - 199 - [player_tooltip player_id='775943' first='Destiny' last='Lewis'] (Stafford) - She took over the setting role for Stafford this year running a 5/1. While only 5'6" she did rise high enough over the net to get credit for 8 solo blocks. Last year Destiny played for [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'].   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Middles</h2>    79- 31. She stands tall at 6'1" allowing her to hammer the ball away in the middle. Riverside struggled with blocking her attacks in the semi-final of the Class 5 state championship. She has improved quite a bit since the last time I saw her play, putting much more velocity on the ball.   Lyla has the quickness and athleticism to play right side. She runs the slide really well from the middle. Playing the right side would just be a small extension of that. This versatility will increase her value as a player.   Her approach jump appears to have reached 9'11" up three inches from what was reported earlier this year. Lyla is a player rising fast.     48-32. For Olivia sometimes I think the game comes too easily for her. She has the height and arm extension to avoid almost any block. Her swing is just as effective whether going right or left. This year she finished third on her team in kills with an incredible .492 hitting percentage. She also tied for the team lead in blocks.   Her swing could easily translate to the right side as well. Because of injuries to a couple of key hitters during the playoffs O'Connell tried using Olivia on the pins to get her more involved in the offense. It was a challenging transition to make., especially with the higher sets.   Another year at Virginia Elite playing against elite competition will only make her game better. Finding a way to improve her reads on the set will improve her reaching the pins to enhance her blocking.    50 - 37, [player_tooltip player_id='720348' first='Milena' last='Kibret'] (West Springfield) - The strength for Milena is still with her block. She easily led the team in blocks, averaging close to one per set. At 6'3" she can cover a lot of ground over the net. While she finished second on the team in kills her hitting improved quite a bit from last year going from a hitting percentage of .280 to .405. It can only get better as she improves on her transition game in the middle. This year she will play with Virginia Elite sharing the middle responsibilities with two other middles on this list, [player_tooltip player_id='488812' first='Olivia' last='Boggs'] and [player_tooltip player_id='582293' first='Shannon' last='Treloar'].    91 - 72. At 9'10" her approach jump is the highest on the Virginia Elite 17 team. She lists at 6'2". Region 4c named her to their first team, one of two Heritage players to earn that honor.   When playing middle her game is a mixture of finesse and power. She has the ability to bury the quick sets. However, there are times when a tip becomes the best strategy. Her knowledge of the open locations on the court enhances her success.       103 - 80. This past August she made her debut in the rankings. Her early focus on basketball gave her a late start to the volleyball scene. Now that her focus has turned to volleyball her game should improve rather quickly.   Kiya led her team in kills with an awe inspiring .564 hitting percentage. She also led the team in blocks. One of those players who will improve quickly the more she plays.   Last year she played for Maryland Juniors. This year she will suit up for Paramount. She will play a year up with the 18s team.     This is my third evaluation of her. At this point you would think she would be ranked higher. Each time I watch her she leaves me impressed. Good athleticism, quick arm swing, runs the quick tempo sets at different areas of the net.   This year her high school team fell one win short of playing in states. They lost in five sets in a semi-final Regional match to Colgan. A win there would have qualified them for states. Once at the dance anything can happen.   Definitely a player I need to seek out to take a longer look at. Watching Colonial Forge play in the Colgan Jamboree brought out some bangers who hit well from the middle and right side. At that time I did not have names to associate with numbers but looking back at my old notes she was one of those bangers in the middle.     Ava moved from 155 to 126 in the rankings. Her play at the net for South Lakes was a key reason for their 14-0 start to begin the season. They slumped a bit towards the end of the season. They started competing against playoff teams, losing 4 of their last 5, three of those losses lasting five sets.   Ava played right side where she finished third on the team in kills. She still needs a little more work on that arm swing to get more consistency and power in her hits. Her strength is in her blocking where she can get her hands high over the net. She finished third on the team in blocking, which is good for a pin blocker.   She only started playing the game a couple years ago so there is still plenty of growth in her game.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pin Hitters</h2>    Skyler carried the unfortunate task of replacing Lameen Mambu as the go to hitter for Chantilly. While that stands out as a huge task in my opinion she handled it well, rising in the rankings from 58 to 36. When set, she did an excellent job of putting the ball away. She led the team in kills and finished third in blocks.   Clearly, she stood out as an impact player from the left side. Most important of all, she showed a lot of improvement from her game as a sophomore. If you compare her stats to what Mambu did as a junior their numbers are comparable. Skyler generated more kills, but Mambu showed more consistency.   Another year of club, another opportunity for improvement. No doubt in my mind Skyler will rise to the top.     Kennedy rose from 76 to 59. I did not get a chance to see her play but the coaches I talked to spoke about her dominance. National Cathedral perhaps had their best season in school history and Kennedy was a key part of that.   She led the team in kills, was second on the team in blocks and service aces, third in digs and one of the primary passers in serve receive. She did it all. Perhaps their first time in school history they beat Flint Hill, taking them in five sets. Kennedy finished with 26 kills, 5 blocks and 19 digs.   This year she will move from Maryland Juniors to play for Metro. That should raise her game up a level.    75 - 60 [player_tooltip player_id='577516' first='Mariska' last='Ordonez'] RS (Howard) - Mariska was an occasional six rotation right side for Howard. She was a critical piece to their undefeated championship season, second on the team in kills as well as blocks, while third in digs. She also appeared to be their emotional leader showing off that raw emotion after each kill. This year she will take her game south where she will team up with a number of ex Maryland Junior players [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'], [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li'] and [player_tooltip player_id='753065' first='Isabella' last='Adcock'] to play for a loaded Paramount 17 team. At 6'0" she can bring some offense and blocking to the right side.   147-63 [player_tooltip player_id='608978' first='Francise' last='Ramirez'] (Langley) - One of the big surprises from this past high school season. Last year she barely saw the court. This year she transformed into a 5'8" hitting machine. If not for her height her ranking could be higher. Perhaps next year she will repeat her performance and rise again. There is also the club season. Because she plays six rotations she could still fill a libero role at a Division I college if she chooses that route. Regardless of where she plays, she should just embrace it and do the best she can.    166 to 104. Sienna was one of my sleepers to watch in the state semifinals this year. She did not disappoint. Her 5'9" height is undersized for a right side but Sienna does well with placement. She can really turn that ball when hitting down the line.   Sienna focuses more on the beach game than indoor. Indoor is something she can do at the high school level. When the weather warms up the sand is her destination. A smaller player who is a defender has a better chance of succeeding there. Sienna has already committed to Florida Gulf Coast to play beach.   Playing front row at a large Division I college would have been difficult with her height. She could always move to libero but then she could not hit. Even as a defender on the beach she can still play her offensive game. As a smaller player myself, sometimes you just love to hit.     175 to 120. At 5'9" she is another one of those smaller but talented left sides that can put the ball away. At Spalding Madelyn was their main offensive player who also filled all six rotations. I have gotten glimpses of her these last two years when BOC played them. It was clear that her game had improved a lot from the past season.   Jeremy likes her so that gives her an extra boost. It will be fun to see her improvement after playing at Maryland Juniors for one season.    WL - 134 [player_tooltip player_id='764659' first='Sophia' last='Harari'] (Maryvale Prep) - Another player who gets the Jeremy boost. I saw her when she played for Baltimore Elite. She impressed with her left side hits but only enough to be placed on the watch list. Now she moves to Maryland Juniors. At 5'8" she is another one of those undersized left sides making an impact, but she also plays six rotations. That gives her lots of versatility.

Setters set the stage for this class as well. Normally, when a high school wins a state championship, especially when running a 5/1, the setter is at the forefront of that success. West Springfield, Howard, Glenelg are three schools who won state championships running a 5/1. A number of middles also broke out. Below are the twenty one players who made the biggest or most significant jump in the class of 2027 rankings.