2028 Liberos Passing their Way to Division I

The class of 2028 rankings were the first class in the DMV ranking history to list three liberos in the top ten. They did not disappoint with all three committing to Division I schools early. Two Metro liberos [player_tooltip player_id='437443' first='Kaniyah' last='Ball'] (5) and [player_tooltip player_id='612399' first='Riley' last='Ko'] (8) committed to Tennessee and North Carolina respectively. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] libero [player_tooltip player_id='536716' first='Diane' last='Nzoupet'] (9) committed to Georgia.   Scouting liberos has been made more difficult now that clubs and this year high schools can rotate two liberos in the same set. In many cases one coach may use a libero for serve receive while using the second libero for defense. Other times a coach may have a main libero but switches to the second libero when the starter struggles. Finally, you may have the coach who just switches liberos to give both experience at the position as well as increase playing time for all their players.   The rotation of liberos creates fewer opportunities to watch their performance. Some of the skills I look for in liberos is their movement on the court from their base position to their defensive position. Once in that defensive position how they react if the middle is late or fails to create a block. Are they making an attempt to read the hitter? They also have to be good communicators on the court, identifying who's got the seams in serve receive. Finally, putting up that out of system set to their outside hitter, passing well with a quiet platform and covering their hitters after the hit will grab my attention.   Below are the liberos currently listed in the top 55 and one that falls closer to 200. It does not include the three liberos in the top ten that have already committed.    Lily impressed more with her libero play with [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. She communicates well with her teammates, moves quickly in the back row, creates accurate passes for the offense to stay in system and plays a solid defense. Lily possesses all the skills a coach wants to see in a libero.   I did not see a lot of play from Potomac but looking at the Max Preps data she finished second on the team in aces. This shows she fires off a good serve. She also led the team in digs and serve receive while finishing third on the team in assists. This tells me she filled the libero role as a sophomore for Potomac.   As a team Potomac struggled a bit with a record below .500 but they are a young team that will get better with experience. They suited up three frosh for their starting lineup this past season, their two outsides [player_tooltip player_id='935939' first='Maya' last='Peery'] and [player_tooltip player_id='762826' first='Avery' last='Nierenberg'] as well as their setter [player_tooltip player_id='763132' first='Raegan' last='Giuliani']. Lily was a sophomore last year.     Jaylin played on the Metro 15 team. For a 2028 she was playing a year down. This can have an impact on the rankings. Her libero play for Metro 15 earned her a best digger award in 2025 at the Capital Hill Classic as well as a best passer in 2026. She impressed one college coach at Junior Nationals with her defensive play in their upset win over Skyline that earned Metro a spot in the gold bracket. That leaves her as the lone remaining Metro travel libero still not committed from the class of 2028 and above. The others have all committed to Division I colleges.   Jaylin and [player_tooltip player_id='612399' first='Riley' last='Ko'] both play for Reservoir. Reservoir reached the semi-finals of the Class 3 Maryland state championships. Riley hits outside for Reservoir. She has committed to North Carolina. Jaylin appears to be the libero.     [player_tooltip player_id='612399' first='Riley' last='Ko'] is the primary libero for Metro 16 while their two left sides [player_tooltip player_id='536719' first='Katherine' last='Mitchell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='787533' first='Chika' last='Onukwugha'] normally play six rotations. That limits her playing time for Metro.   Delaney had a huge impact that carried Flint Hill to the VISAA state championship. Despite being 5'5" the coach used her as an outside because he liked her consistency at keeping the ball in play. She played so well in the playoffs that she earned a spot on the VISAA all tournament team as an outside. She also showed her leadership qualities by being named one of the captains of the team as a sophomore as well as winning the Flint Hill Husky Leadership award.   As a six rotation player she was second on her team in digs and first in serve receptions. Despite her height she still managed to finish fifth on her team in kills.   A strong player to put on the court no matter what position she plays.     Clara appears to focus on beach during the summer. She plays for [program_tooltip program_id='893362' first='Capital' last='Volleyball Club'] 15. They finished second in the Chesapeake Regional non-bid Championship. That was the last tournament they played in April. After that Clara hit the beach.   She finished in 35th place at the Junior Nationals beach tournament partnering with Paul Vi teammate [player_tooltip player_id='941986' first='Coco' last='Lewis']. She finished in 9th place at the Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach with [player_tooltip player_id='536738' first='Avery' last='Fauver'] ([program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']) as her partner.   This past season Clara followed her mom to play for Paul VI. She led the team in digs averaging 3.4 digs per set. Paul VI ended a six year drought by winning the WCAC championship. Unfortunately, they fell short in the VISAA state championship, losing to Flint Hill in the finals.   [player_tooltip player_id='777558' first='Kayla' last='R Tutoni'] will be transferring to Paul Vi. That will improve the Panthers back row significantly. However, Clara has been working on her outside hitting. This could free up Tutoni to play libero. [player_tooltip player_id='333650' first='Louise' last='Neuhart'] is not available to play this coming season opening up an outside spot.     It appeared Zalikah shared the libero duties with [player_tooltip player_id='960051' first='Caroline' last='Freeman'] for Metro 16. Both are quality liberos. Caroline appeared to get the most playing time in Junior Nationals.   Zalikah played libero for North Hagerstown leading the team in digs by averaging over four digs per set. She played an epic back row during the finals of the Maryland state championship making a number of spectacular digs, crashing to the floor numerous times to keep a rally alive. She even sustained an injury, delayed appearing on the floor while being treated for the injury and then receiving a huge ovation when she ran to her position. Unfortunately, North Hagerstown fell to an undefeated Howard in four.     Unfortunately for Bella, she shared the back row defense with [player_tooltip player_id='722541' first='Lily' last='Gurney'] at Paramount. Lily got most of the starts at the libero position. Bella came in as a defensive specialist. She is still a quality libero.   This past high school season Bella led her team in digs while also covering the court during serve receive. She also brings a difficult serve to the court, finishing second on the team in aces. Glenelg won the Class 2 Maryland state championship in five. Bella strung together three aces and 17 digs in that match.   Next year Glenelg will graduate their two top offensive performers, Avery Hubbard and Isard Bernades. A repeat championship will not be easy if they can't replace that offense. The good news is with Bella at libero the passing and defense will remain solid.     Isabella is one of those players who went from my watch list to the bench because of a lack of exposure. It is not easy to travel to Virginia Beach though I am making attempts to see more tournaments in that area. Once I witnessed her play she executed a perfect dolphin dive to make a save (it takes some upper body strength to successfully execute that technique). She also showed some good hustle on the court while playing in the Junior Nationals.   She plays for Cape Henry Collegiate. No stats available to assess her contribution there.   Isabella shows that a triple digit Prep Dig ranking does not eliminate you from finding a Division I college. She recently committed to Old Dominion. Three class of 2027 DMV players have committed to Old Dominion. Middle/Outside [player_tooltip player_id='435745' first='Alyssa' last='Kumah'] (Paramount), Libero/DS [player_tooltip player_id='744269' first='Arianna' last='Murphy'] (SERV) and right side [player_tooltip player_id='530280' first='Lora' last='Totcheva'] ([program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'])

The class of 2028 rankings were the first class in the DMV ranking history to list three liberos in the top ten. They did not disappoint with all three committing to Division I schools early. Two Metro liberos Kaniyah Ball Kaniyah Ball 5'6" | DS/L Frederick | 2028 State VA (5) and Riley Ko Riley Ko 5'9" | DS/L Reservoir | 2028 State VA (8) committed to Tennessee and North Carolina respectively. Paramount libero Diane Nzoupet Diane Nzoupet 5'3" | DS/L Westfield | 2028 State VA (9) committed to Georgia.