Standouts at the 15 Chesapeake Regionals

I did not watch enough of the 14s to get a sense of players who stood out. Most of my time was spent watching the 15s. Below are some of the players who stood out from the rest.   It appears that the Chesapeake Region received an extra American bid since I last reviewed it. Bid info is a bit murky right now for the 15s but from what I've figured out - National ([program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']), USA ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Nick), Metro National (American), Maryland Juniors (American), Virginia Juniors (Freedom), BAVA Blaze (Freedom).    In the first set of the finals in the Chesapeake Regional bid Kennedi kept finding the block put up by [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. Kennedi lists 5'8" while the two blockers list over 6 foot. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] won the first set 25-15.   It did not appear she let that phase her for the next two sets. She took a different approach hitting the ball higher spraying the balls off the block while also finding the gaps. [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] took the next two sets 25-21, 15-13. In the last set it was her hit off the block that scored the final point to win the championship.   Last year [player_tooltip player_id='877850' first='Kennedi' last='Bower'] made the James Wood varsity team as a frosh. With [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid'] and [player_tooltip player_id='181280' first='Brenna' last='Corbin'] the primary left sides she still received enough playing time to finish fifth on the team in kills.   For James Wood there is a new Kennedi in town, only she spells her name a little differently to add to her own style of play.     Charlotte made the North Hagerstown varsity team as a frosh, playing middle. While Maryland Gatorade player of the year [player_tooltip player_id='303701' first='Caydence' last='Doolan'] was the star on the team, Charlotte still finished second on the team in kills. She finished with an impressive .315 hitting percentage.   The game is a little different for Charlotte at Paramount. They are using her a little differently, moving her to the right side. Her 6'1" height puts up a pretty good block whether she is middle or right side. However, at the tournament she was a machine putting the ball to the floor.   [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] shows her with an approach jump of 9'9". It appears she carries the versatility to make a difference whether she plays the right side or middle.     Las year [player_tooltip player_id='762829' first='Angela' last='Zhang'] played for MVSA. I was told this was her first year of club volleyball. If that is accurate she picks the game up pretty quickly   She now plays for the Metro National team and acts as their floor captain. For the tournament she may be the only player to finish off a least two matches with kills in the third set. Since I did not watch every match there may have been more.   In their first match against Maryland Juniors she pummeled a kill and finished the set off with a redirect to end set three 15-11. In a third set match against BAVA Blaze the last two points in their 15-13 win were delivered by Angela with game winning spikes.   She does carry a sixth sense where she appears to know where to spray the ball, whether it is just to keep rallies alive for the next kill attempt or to find the open spot on the court. It is rare to see her make a hitting error.   At 5'11" she brings an approach jump of 9'9". Good numbers for an outside.     Reagan is also fairly new to volleyball, entering her third year of playing club. When you are 6'1 and athletic some things come easy to you.   Last year Reagan played right side for Maryland Juniors, normally playing just three rotations. This year she has moved to left side and stays in for six rotations. She appears to have a smooth and easy delivery to her spikes bringing good velocity to her hits.   While she plays a year down from her grade her age is equal to those playing on the 15 team. [player_tooltip player_id='748487' first='Sierra' last='Thomas'] is still the star on this team but Reagan makes for an excellent supporting cast.     She set a 5/1 for Virginia Juniors. One of those new players who have yet to appear in our rankings. She is not especially tall and last year played on the Oakton junior varsity team. However, she stood out for her play running the offense, even jumping high enough to put up a solo block on the right side.   A coach has to really like how a setter runs their offense when she is not especially tall but she is still used in the front row to set. [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] for Virginia Juniors is that type of setter. [player_tooltip player_id='238357' first='Claire' last='Mo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum'] both from Metro are two others. Perhaps soon the name of [player_tooltip player_id='947249' first='Eileen' last='Kim'] will be added to that list.     It is rare to see a middle blocker in one year transforms into a setter the next year. That defines the transformation of Neely this year. She has done an excellent job taking over for [player_tooltip player_id='762823' first='Brie' last='Mouton'] running the BAVA offense. It appears she is the tallest player on the team, but her hands are soft and her sets are accurate.   Even with that height she doesn't focus on putting the ball over the net in two when in the front row. She distributes her sets well and on occasion generates a kill in the front row to force the defense to keep an eye on her.   It will be an interesting dilemma for the Broadneck coach next year with three quality setters on the roster. Last year they had three setters but [player_tooltip player_id='750053' first='Alexis' last='Luscomb'] shifted to the libero role. This year they may also have three setters with [player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter'], Alexis and Neely with a fourth setter [player_tooltip player_id='850662' first='Lexi' last='Britton'] who rarely gets an opportunity.

I did not watch enough of the 14s to get a sense of players who stood out. Most of my time was spent watching the 15s. Below are some of the players who stood out from the rest.