State Launch: Five 28s that are Producing on the Court

Clubs from the Volunteer State have ventured north to Indianapolis and Louisville this month. These five sophomores made huge impressions in two tournaments.    Heisig (pictured) is a solid, athletic six-rotation player that has learned how to use her height well. She takes solid rips from both the front and back row. Heisig has great downward trajectory on those hits. She records awesome, timely blocks and can adjust to attempted tips over blocks. Opponents can't go soft on her or she sends balls the opposite direction. Heisig can improve with accuracy on her jump serve and serve reception, but that will come with her dedication.     Pickering does a good job anticipating where balls are going and doing a great job beating them to their destination on the floor. Pickering makes sliding save after sliding save under control. She does not hesitate to back up on balls, yet maintain a steady platform to send balls to the desired zone in the front row. Pickering also sends sound line drive serves across the net to different zones for solid aces.     Haake is a huge force at the net for Clarksville. Haake is in a great rhythm with her club setter. That helps her put a lot of power into balls. Haake has good attacks on ones, gaps and slides among other shots. Haake is so fundamentally sound on swing blocks, she gets down the line quickly to defend pin shots. Haake gets up quickly and denies balls from coming over the net like clockwork. Haake also forms sound double blocks with teammates.     Messenger is effective for Central in many ways. Clevinger rips the seams hard and constantly splits double blocks for big points. Clevinger also takes nice swings from the back row. Clevinger can turn her body in different directions in the air to angle balls off blocks. Clevinger is also not afraid to use her off hand to surprise opponents. Clevinger also does a good job running the offense trying to involve as many hitters as possible. Clevinger puts balls in her hitters' power zones.     Willeford executes her hits at a high level using her size to her advantage. Willeford mixes in hard and soft hits. Teams have to respect her rips so much it gives her the opportunity to tip balls to the middle of the court. Willeford makes opponents defend every square inch of the court with her hitting options. Willeford also mixes in tips over blockers, capitalizing when teammates draw blockers away from her with sound fakes. Willeford will be a force for the Lions these next two years.    Note from the Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for two years and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. 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, Tennessee 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.

Clubs from the Volunteer State have ventured north to Indianapolis and Louisville this month. These five sophomores made huge impressions in two tournaments.