Ten Who Stood Out at East Coast Championship

Below ten players who stood out at the East Coast Championship. In some cases it was the first time I have seen them play or perhaps they have added some new skills to enhance their game. Either way I came away impressed with how their game has developed.    It has been a year since I last profiled her. One fact remains the same - she still wears two different colored shoes when playing libero. However, she has moved from American to 540 Club Academy. She will be showcasing her skills in the American Division in Junior Nationals.   There appears to be a bit more intensity in her game. She seems to follow the ball well then read the hitter to identify the part of the court to cover. She is also quicker at identifying when she needs to perform an out of system set. Her court sense is also good knowing when to let the ball go out or keeping it in play.   Sadie delivered on a number of clutch digs to allow 540 Club Academy to win their semifinal game against Synergy Uranium 25-27, 31-29, 18-16. On a number of occasions Synergy had match point with the opposing hitter rifling the game point on the other side of the court. Sadie was able to read it, pop the spike up and let her teammates finish it off.   540 will play in the National Division in Junior Nationals.     Sierra was a big force in the middle for [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] this past weekend. Not really a tall girl for a middle at 5'9" but she really made a difference. Her quickness and agility to move around the net can create blocking misassignments.   In the tight three setter against Synergy Uranium she drove a ball to the floor to give 540 a 30-29 lead. A hitting error by Synergy that Sadie let pass her by gave 540 the win. In the third set she slammed a critical redirect kill to tie the set 16-16 and then finished off a long rally with a kill to give 540 their first over time lead. An ace by [player_tooltip player_id='760183' first='Keely' last='Kwiatkowski'] gave them an 18-16 win.   Sometimes the smaller middles are tougher to block becasue the opposing middle needs to wait longer to begin their block. She hits all variety of sets including slides, shoots and normal quick tempo sets in the middle.   Sierra plays for Massaponax High School. She lists her position as middle/right side.   540 will play in the National Division in Junior Nationals.     The last couple times I have watched Virginia Elite play Madalyn has impressed with her libero play. She shows good hustle when chasing after balls. Her passing is consistent while she moves her feet well to the ball and her reads look pretty good. She always seems to find the right place to anchor to complete the dig.   For Gainesville High she is used as an outside hitter. She finished second on the team in kills as well as contributing to both serve receive and digs where she finished second. Her serving is pretty tough as well where she also finished second on the team in aces.   Virginia Elite will play in the American Division in Junior Nationals.     Lucille now lists at 5'10" which would give her nice height while hitting the pins. Her older sister Charlotte also sets for Churchill while Lucille hits right side. Charlotte has committed to UC Davis, though it is not clear whether she will play volleyball there.   Lucille is a six rotation player and clearly likes her sisters sets. She leads the team in kills. She also shows her defensive skills finishing second on the team in kill. Churchill pulled off a big upset knocking off two time defensing champ Richard Montgomry in five. Lucille led the team in kills with 17 and contributed 10 digs.   What impressed me about Lucille at the East Coast Championship was her top spin serve. She served five aces, putting up good velocity to the serve. This is an added offensive weapon to her game. Don't know at what point she broke that out or how frequently she uses it but I would not want to see it against my team.   MVSA Blaze will play in the National Division in Junior Nationals.     MVSA is always full of surprises. Because they frequently lose a number of girls to Metro, especially this year since Metro added three new travel teams, the club has second and third teams that they can use to call up replacements.   This was my first look at Karolina. While she struggled a bit with her passing she was used in six rotations. At 5'11" she has good length for the front row. She hit the ball hard as well as showed some finesse with a roll shot.   She moved here from Prague, where she focused on beach volleyball. Last year she played for MOCO. She has been a starter for Walt Whitman for the last two years.   MVSA Sparks will play in the Freedom Division in Junior Nationals.     The Go Volley team did not have the best of tournaments at the East Coast Championships. That did not prevent me from seeing Callie take a whack at the ball from the right side. She swings left handed which is a good fit for a right side and has decent length. At this age you just don't know how fast they will develop.   They are scheduled for Wave 2 for AAUs in Orlando.     River City played in the Select Division at the East Coast championship. Since the Beast of the East had not started their playoffs yet I stopped by to watch them play.   At 6'0" Lauren played left side. She hit the ball hard, especially when she went down the line. Still a bit raw, but when you consider she is a class of 2030 there is plenty of time for development. She was also playing a year up on the 15 team.   It appears Lauren will attend Midlothian next year. It would not surprise me to see her make the varsity roster as a frosh.   RCVA is scheduled to play in AAUs in Olando in either wave 4 or 5.       Virginia Juniors has two top notch back row players in Olivia and [player_tooltip player_id='887998' first='Jenevieve' last='Crowder']. Juniors sometimes uses them both at libero or uses one as a defensive specialist. It appeared Olivia got most of the play at libero in the sets I watched.   Both are the kind of players you wish to use in a libero role. They hustle for the ball, have a quiet platform and move their feet well. Olivia's older sister played for me and you could not ask for a better attitude. Olivia seems to have those same attributes.   Olivia also shows a good serve leading Oakton in aces. When I watched Oakton play she went in as a defensive specialist. It would not surprise me to see her take on more of the libero role next year.   Virginia Juniors will play in the National Division at Junior Nationals.     The MVSA 14 team impressed with their height. [player_tooltip player_id='990792' first='Ella' last='Liu'] played left side and hammered a ball from the back row. She also fired off a bullet serve. While she lists at 5'9" she appeared a shade taller.   MVSA Force will compete in the National Division at Junior Nationals.     I first watched Zeynep set last year when she played for Go Volley. She now sets for Virginia Juniors. I'm impressed with those setters who can get to the ball and jump set almost every ball. Especially for the middle, it makes the ball so much easier to hit while also being a faster pace for the offense. Zeynep looks pretty smooth with her setting ability.   Last year she set for Marshall getting them to the State bracket playoffs for the first time in school history. They eventually lost to Grassfield in the first round.   From what I have been told next year Zeynep will be going to Madison, while her younger sister, who also played for Marshall will go to Flint Hill. As good a connection as Zeynep has with [player_tooltip player_id='728971' first='Mandela' last='Masimini'] in the middle I'm sure Mandela would like to see Zeynep at Flint Hill. Mike Carroll, who has been coaching for Marshall for the longest time has decided to focus on teaching this year.   Virginia Juniors had a rough time at the Chesapeake Regional Bid championships while also failing to earn a bid in the Qualifiers. They are scheduled to play in AAUs in Orlando in Wave 3.

Below ten players who stood out at the East Coast Championship. In some cases it was the first time I have seen them play or perhaps they have added some new skills to enhance their game. Either way I came away impressed with how their game has developed.