Initial 2028 Rankings: Solid Middle Blockers to See

Sound middles are blessings to teams since not every team has one. The ones that do try to set them a good bit. It's a bigger blessing if they have come around as sophomores or younger and could dominate another two years such as these five.    Clark (pictured) used her size well her sophomore season to improve her numbers up front. She takes good rips from the middle and the outsides depositing balls to different parts of the court, especially when setters hit the peak of her swing. Clark also forms sound double blocks and has great reactions on blocked balls to keep plays alive. A quicker arm swing will help Clark take her game to the next level. Clark had 243 kills, 80 solo blocks, 62 assisted blocks and 77 digs to help Johnson Central make it back to the 15th Region Tournament.     Grant may not have quite developed the consistency the Generals hoped for this season, but it could come in the next two seasons. Grant has the size to turn into a dominant middle. Lafayette has strong outsides so it opened up a number of one-on-one opportunities for Grant. She can deposit balls to the back row quickly. She also does a good job getting touches on if not blocking balls. Grant has a nice arm swing. However, a quicker one could take her to that desired next level. Grant had 85 kills, 32 assisted blocks and eight solo blocks for Lafayette this past fall.     Stansbury picked up her game several notches this year and turned into East Jessamine's kills leader. Stansbury makes things happen from the pins and middle. She has tough crosses and mixes up her locations well. Stansbury is also a sound passer. She backs up plays well and reacts quickly with a nice platform to make good two to three-point passes. Improved blocking will help Stansbury take things to another level. Stansbury had 154 kills and 207 digs for East Jessamine this past fall.     Sandfoss has turned into a nice option at the net for the Thoroughbreds. Her court awareness skills are good. She lands good crosses to the point defenders lean that way. She can then improvise and hit one down the line or tap one near the shallow line for big Thoroughbred points. Improved blocking and first touches could help Sandfoss become a more versatile player these next two seasons. Sandfoss had 100 kills for NewCath this past fall.     Amburgey may have been overshadowed some because Nicholas County had a sound senior class. However, she has the opportunity to take next steps for the Jackets next season, who are coming off the first district championship in program history. Amburgey is a sound blocker and showed a lot of potential offensively with nice swings. Amburgey had 60 kills and led Nicholas County with 27 solo blocks and six assisted blocks.    Note from the Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for nearly two years and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in both Kentucky and Ohio. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @prepdigkentucky or @prepdigoh on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky rankings, please email Mike at pnmikeg@yahoo.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. For a 30% discount, enter code graham30 at checkout.

Sound middles are blessings to teams since not every team has one. The ones that do try to set them a good bit. It's a bigger blessing if they have come around as sophomores or younger and could dominate another two years such as these five.