Metro National Earns an American Bid

The Metro National team is a new travel team created by Metro. They formed the teams in the 15-17 age groupings. While the season is past the halfway point, the more talented team appears to be Metro 15. They recently qualified for Junior Nationals in the American Division by finishing third in the Chesapeake Regional Bid championships.   Metro National 17 qualified to play in the Chesapeake Regional Bid championships but they fell short of earning a bid, finishing 7th out of 12 teams. They will need at least two teams to win higher bids or play in a qualifier to win one of their own. The Metro National 16 team did not even qualify as one of the top 12 teams in the Chesapeake Region to compete in the Chesapeake Regional Bid championship. They had to earn a bid on their own in order to qualify for Junior Nationals.   It appears the Metro 16 team did just that. They won the American Blue Division in the Northeast Qualifiers to earn an American bid. They went 11-0, 22-2 for the tournament. Their biggest win to drive them to the gold bracket included a three set victory over SPVA Galaxy. A win advanced them to the gold while a loss dropped them to the silver bracket. They won 20-25, 25-16, 15-5 to advance to the gold.   Once in the gold bracket they had to beat two local teams to advance to the finals. The first was against [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Alec, which had won one of the Freedom Bids in the Chesapeake Region Bid tournament. Metro beat them fairly easily 25-18, 25-19. The semi-finals would be against MVSA Sparks. They finished in sixth place in the Chesapeake Regional Bid championships, just one place short of earning a bid. Metro pulled out the win in three sets 25-20, 25-27, 17-15. Even after playing such an emotional semi-final match they were still able to beat Iowa United Elite in the finals 25-23, 25-20 to become the eighth Metro team to earn a bid to Junior Nationals..   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/06/109_-Eva-Bujanauskas.jpg?w=838" alt="" class="wp-image-781932" style="aspect-ratio:0.8183743280664604;width:320px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">EVA Bujanauskas</figcaption></figure>   Metro National 16 is led by the setting duo of [player_tooltip player_id='749358' first='Eva' last='Bujanauskas'] and [player_tooltip player_id='739977' first='Elizabeth' last='Hemberg']. Elizabeth is finally giving setting a try after being restricted to just a right side hitter. At the Prep Dig showcase she showed an ability to set. At 6'0" with a 9'10" approach jump she brings good length to the position. Metro can also keep her in the front row to hit right side. Watching her video it appears Langley will have a pretty good setter next year.   [player_tooltip player_id='545725' first='Abisola' last='Adeyemo'] and[player_tooltip player_id='623092' first='Anwuli' last='Okafor'] cover the middle. Okafor lists only 5'9" but she has an approach jump of over 10 feet. [player_tooltip player_id='960051' first='Caroline' last='Freeman'] seems to be the primary libero but I like [player_tooltip player_id='731631' first='Zalikah' last='Pabalan'] from North Hagerstown as well. It certainly looks like a team that is putting it all together.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Chesapeake Region with their Big Ten and SEC Connections</h2>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/140_-Hunter-Ross.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-589282" style="aspect-ratio:1.501502019107653;width:492px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross']</figcaption></figure>   For the class of 2028 Division I colleges can begin contacting athletes on June 15. That is when the fun begins. A college athlete can go on five official visits for Division I. Unfortunately, those visits cannot occur until August 1 of their junior year. Who makes up these rules?   Finally, not until mid-November of their senior year will students actually get a written letter of acceptance. This explains why high schools always have these formal official signing ceremonies during a student's senior year. I compare it to a road that ends after two miles. To continue your journey you travel a dirt road for another two miles before you reach another paved road to travel across. To complete the journey you will have to travel across another unpaved road before you meet your destination.   Most students really do not have a clue what college program they want to attend. However, when a college makes their first offer there is a wave of acceptance that crashes over the student. They almost feel an obligation to accept that first offer rather than wait and hope another offer will come through in the future. A student should wait and balance their needs first. As a wise person once said, "Would you still go to this college if an injury occurred and you could no longer play volleyball".   There are stories of colleges pressing students, telling them they have one available scholarship and three athletes on their list. You are one of those athletes. The first athlete to contact me with their acceptance gets this verbal offer. That is probably not a college you want to attend. Would you go to a prom if a boy said "you are one of three girls I'm considering going to the prom. The first one to accept my invitation will go to the prom with me." At least for the prom you would have to endure for only one night. A college carries a four year commitment.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/03/leni.jpg?w=687" alt="" class="wp-image-186082" style="aspect-ratio:0.6715657791297809;width:528px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">leni stanton parker</figcaption></figure>   The Big Ten seems to have a big connection with the Chesapeake Region. Currently, there are a number of players on Big Ten rosters who began their volleyball play in the Chesapeake Region. The first four that come to mind are Emerson Sellman and Alexis Ewing who are at Penn State and Isabelle Bardin and Lameen "Mimi" Mambu, who are at Purdue. Also, there is Leni Stanton Parker at Michigan who made her verbal commitment when she played in this area. Her senior year she moved to Florida to go to the IMG Academy.   Two players ranked in the top two from the class of 2027 have also committed to Big Ten schools. [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'] has committed to Penn State while [player_tooltip player_id='437441' first='Hunter' last='Ross'] has committed to UCLA. Sydney Bryant is the one local girl who is currently playing for the University of Maryland.   In the Southeastern Conference (SEC) the biggest name to play there would be Macari Spears, who played two years for Metro before moving to Texas. Not a lot of people knew who she was until her return to Texas. Akasha Anderson, who finished her high school career as the number one prospect for Prep Dig back in 2022 began her career at Auburn however finished it at Purdue, mixing in both SEC and Big Ten.   The classes of 2026 and 2027 have a number of future SEC recruits. The number one team from last year Kentucky will have [player_tooltip player_id='555602' first='Bryah' last='Breaux']. Don't be surprised if the 6'4" right side red shirts her first season. The number three team Texas will suit up Macari Spears. At number 4 Tennessee carries the 6'4" right side [player_tooltip player_id='227251' first='Morgan' last='Williams'], who in my opinion still carries upside.   Auburn may have lost Akasha but they still carry Virginia Juniors now 6'4" middle Jasmine Okeoma on their roster. She finished ranked number 14 in our class of 2023. She is a red shirt sophomore. Oklahoma has to wait a couple years before they can play Gatorade Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'].   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/11/sophie-taylor-with-trophy.jpg?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-909850" style="width:397px;height:auto" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: [player_tooltip player_id='452562' first='Sophie' last='Taylor']</figcaption></figure>   Ole Miss will get two talented players from Virginia. The first is [player_tooltip player_id='452562' first='Sophie' last='Taylor'] an outside hitter who currently ranks number 7 in our class of 2026. She carries the high school career kills record for the state of Virginia. The second player is libero [player_tooltip player_id='471714' first='Ryann' last='Bothof'], a class of 2027 ranked number 24. Finally, you have Vanderbilt. They already have the 6'3" Maddy Bowser playing middle. In a couple years the 6'1" [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'] will join the team.   That is seven of the 16 SEC teams that will carry a Chesapeake or Old Dominion player on their roster. Of course, you do not have to play for a top level college to continue your volleyball career. Below are three players who found success at Division III or lower level Division I colleges.   You could take the path of Zoe Ryu. She chose the state of Maine to play for a Division III school the Bowdoin Polar Bears. Who? Doesn't matter. A year later she won Region I Frosh of the year as voted on by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). In 2025 she was the NESCAC Rookie of the Year leading the conference in service aces while also finishing seventh in kills. When she played for Paramount/Georgetown Day she ranked number 12 in the class of 2025.   Or you could travel the path made by Chloe Wilmot. She chose to go to Duquesne University after setting Alexandria City High School to a Class 6 Virginia state championship. The Atlantic 10 Conference voted her Rookie of the Year, only the second Duke player to ever win the award. Now Chloe enters her senior year at Duquesne 6th in Duke history with 2,924 assists. She finished 2023 ranked 9th for the class playing for Paramount/Alexandria City.   Finally, the Riley Debiec path. She chose to play for Division III Washinton and Lee, a local Division III school. She was named team captain her junior and senior year. Last year she earned a spot on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference first team. Washington and Lee reached the NCAA Regional Quarter finals before losing to Berry. For three consecutive seasons under her watch, they played in the NCAA tournament. Riley finished her career ranked ninth all time in kills with 1,236. Her younger sister Erin Debiec begins her second season with Colorado State. The team enters their first year as part of the new Pacific Coast Conference.   Erin finished the 2024 season as the number 2 ranked prospect in the class of 2024 playing for Metro. In that first year of Prep Dig in Virginia they neglected to rank Riley. However, that was before my time. She played her last year of club ball for Virginia Elite.

The Metro National team is a new travel team created by Metro. They formed the teams in the 15-17 age groupings. While the season is past the halfway point, the more talented team appears to be Metro 15. They recently qualified for Junior Nationals in the American Division by finishing third in the Chesapeake Regional Bid championships.