Setters Taking on New Roles and Responsibilities

Below are a couple position players switching to setter, or setters who have made the decision to play for a different club. Switching clubs is not an unusual occurrence, but when the switch involves an upgrade or increased playing opportunities it is certainly noteworthy.    When Bay Area Volleyball Club (BAVA) lost setter [player_tooltip player_id='762823' first='Brie' last='Mouton'] to Metro National they needed to find another setter. It appears to have come from a very unlikely source in 6'1" middle [player_tooltip player_id='766895' first='Neely' last='Olish'].   At our last Prep Dig showcase she won a top performer award as a middle hitter. Now she is turning her attention to setting. Like [player_tooltip player_id='762823' first='Brie' last='Mouton'] did last year she is setting a 5/1.   It is not an easy transition however Neely seems to have a fondness for setting. That is half the battle. For Broadneck [player_tooltip player_id='721762' first='Sydney' last='Lawrence'] graduated leaving three setters in [player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter'], [player_tooltip player_id='850662' first='Lexi' last='Britton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='750053' first='Alexis' last='Luscomb']. Last year Alexis played libero for Broadneck but she has returned to setting for Metro. It will be interesting how this all works out.   The biggest skill Neely needs to work on is consistency of location. If any setter can master that they are gold.     As a frosh Zeynep was a pretty potent hitter for Marshall but she did not see a lot of playing time because there were two hitters ahead of her. The following club season she set for Go Volley. As a sophomore she shared setting duties with [player_tooltip player_id='778213' first='Ellie' last='Nguyen'], who sets for [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite']. The one time I went to see Marshall play Zeynep was injured.   After a slow start in which Marshall only won one of their first nine matches the Statesmen bounced back to win 17 of their next 22. They got to the quarter finals of the Virginia Class 6 state championship before losing to Grassfield. You never would have expected that after the start to their season. After the season Zeynap won a top performer award for her setting at the Prep Dig Exposure tour.   This year Zeynep will set for Virginia Juniors. The one tournament they played in was the City of Oaks Challenge where they finished a respectable 9th out of 48 teams. They were supposed to play in MAPL this weekend but that got snowed out.    [player_tooltip player_id='612396' first='Natalie' last='Hobson'] Bishop O'Connell/Metro Travel - As a coach if you have more givers than takers you have a pretty good chance of having a championship season. Natalie falls in the giver category, always available to set up a net or volunteer to do a chore other players will do their best to ignore. Those are the best players to have. The fact that she is a talented setter is icing on the cake. In previous seasons she set for Virginia Elite, remaining on the right side to hit. Last year as a sophomore for O'Connell she set a 6/2 with [player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria']. During the playoffs she set a 5/1 after Carolyn was injured.   While she lists at 5'7" you put her on the right side and she will pop the ball pretty good. She still needs a little work on dumping the ball if called on to set a 5/1 again. She also has a strong serve, though a little hitch in her arm swing creates a little inconsistency. If called upon she can also break out a top spin serve that carries decent velocity. Definitely a player you want to keep on eye on in her journey setting for Metro travel. They have already won one local tournament in addition to a second place finish in City of Oaks Challenge in North Carolina. After the cancellation of MAPL, next on the agenda is Charm City in Baltimore.    Last year Brie stood out for her setting playing for Bay Area Volleyball Club (BAVA). She set a 5/1 leading them to a bid in the Junior Nationals. As a frosh she also set for Annapolis Area Christian, usually setting in the front row of a modified 5/1. The Eagles went on to win the IAAM Bracket A championship.   That led to the opportunity to set for the newly created Metro National team. For the first tournament she was not available because of injury. However, their team is loaded with offensive players acquired from other clubs.   After finishing 5th in the City of Oaks Challenge Metro will next play in Charm City. Watch for Brie to evolve as a setter with so many weapons at her disposal.     Danika ranks at number 19 in my class of 2027, the fourth ranked setter in the class. The only three setters ahead of her all led their high schools to state championships setting 5/1s. Danika was close, getting Patriot into the state championship bracket before losing to the eventual state champions West Springfield in the Quarter finals.   As far as I can remember Danika has always set for American. This year she will make the move from the Chesapeake Region to Old Dominion to set for [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy']. So far so good. [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] is ranked number 1 in the 17U for the Old Dominion Region and number 38 nationally.   Next, they will compete in the Charm City 17 U Open Division this weekend. It appears she also brought with her libero [player_tooltip player_id='530368' first='Sadie' last='Barrera'] from American. Those are two valuable pickups for [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'].     From a technical standpoint, Eva is a quality setter. All she need is the opportunity. Last year for Maryland Juniors 14 she lost playing time to [player_tooltip player_id='748513' first='Scarlett' last='Netherton'], who was used at the setting position. For high school Glenelg won the Maryland Class 2 state championship but [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li'] was the main setter. Eva did get some opportunities to set while also getting experience at the libero/ds position.   Metro must have liked what they saw in her because they asked her to set for Metro 16. At Prep Dig we also liked what we saw from her setting awarding her with a Top Performer award at a showcase last year. This year she will also be playing her grade.   While Metro 16 struggled in their first local open tournament failing to get in the Open, they bounced back at the City of Oaks Challenge finishing 5th. Their next challenge will be the Charm City Challenge this weekend.     In previous club seasons Ava has always played a year down. She has also had to share setting duties with a trio of setters. After setting a 5/1 for Flint Hill and winning a state championship she now will play her grade level as well as be one of the primary setters for MOJO. After setting Flint Hill to a state championship she earned second team All State at the VISAA.   While some may consider a move from Virginia Juniors to MOJO a downgrade for Ava it is more an opportunity. For one, she will be playing her grade and for two she will be given a lot more opportunities to set. For setters, constant repetition is critical.   In their first tournament Ava led MOJO to a third place finish in 17 Open. Their next big tournament will be the Northeast Qualifiers in March. Until then, they will fill their schedule up with a couple local tournaments.     This year [player_tooltip player_id='374420' first='Sadie' last='Fester'] set Georgetown Visitation to a second place finish in the Independent School League (ISL) one game behind Georgetown Day. She and the DC Gatorade Player of the Year have one thing in common. They both earned first team honors in the ISL as setters. Sadie also earned honorable mention on the Washington Post all tournament team. However, most important she earned a spot on the first team of the Prep Dig DC all state team with [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum'] as the two setters.   After setting in obscurity for Academy for a number of years she will upgrade to Maryland Juniors this year. It appears the team will carry three setters in [player_tooltip player_id='754942' first='Xinyuan' last='Cui'] and [player_tooltip player_id='238376' first='Anasofia' last='Zanellato']. All three setters have yet to commit. While Sadie has 15 setters ranked ahead of her in the class of 2026 rankings, 13 of those setters have committed.

Below are a couple position players switching to setter, or setters who have made the decision to play for a different club. Switching clubs is not an unusual occurrence, but when the switch involves an upgrade or increased playing opportunities it is certainly noteworthy.