Freshman Setters Already Directing College Interest

<a href="https://prepdig.com/subscribe" data-type="link" data-id="https://prepdig.com/subscribe">Use code Coachable247 for 30% off. Subscribe to follow these setters as they take control of their varsity offenses this fall.</a>   Every offense runs through one player who has to see the whole floor before anyone else does. After the SoCal Freshman Showcase at Momentous Sports Center, nine incoming freshman setters showed just how early that instinct can show up, in how they talk about running an offense, reading a block, and keeping their hitters in rhythm. Here's who they are, and how they think the game.    Siena Klitzing knows she is one of the youngest players in her class, and she hopes that is not the first thing coaches notice. What she wants them to see instead is her maturity, her leadership, and her love for the game. She calls herself a defensive-minded setter who takes pride in consistency and competing for every point, and she says the goal every time she steps on the court is simple, be the teammate every coach wants, steady, positive, coachable, willing to do whatever it takes to help her team win. Klitzing credits positive self-talk and visualization with changing how she handles pressure. Visualizing herself executing plays successfully before they happen has made her a more resilient player, someone who trusts the work she has already put in rather than second-guessing herself mid-rally. Heading into her freshman season at Orange Lutheran, she is looking forward to testing herself in the Trinity League, and her goals for this season stretch beyond the court, she wants to keep her grades up while also evolving into a more offensive-minded setter who looks for chances to score. Her long-term dream is Division I volleyball at a school that fits her academically and athletically, with a team-first culture and a genuinely fun, competitive environment. She wanted to be part of this showcase to compete alongside the best players in her class and to give college coaches an early look at the kind of teammate and competitor she is working to become.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Aanya Kulkarni is a vocal setter who brings a ton of energy to the court. What sets her apart is that she tends to make the right decisions, and one thing to notice when she is on the court is her awareness and her ability to make a bad ball better. When things get tough, she does not shut down, she gets louder, cheering on her team and staying in constant communication with everyone around her. She makes sure to uplift her teammates when they make mistakes, and she holds herself accountable in the same breath. One standout fact about her freshman year: Kulkarni is stepping straight onto a varsity team as an incoming freshman. Her motivation to compete comes from the girls around her, the ones who make her smile and hold her accountable. During a private lesson, she was struggling with her blocking because she felt she was not jumping high enough, and her coach explained that getting into the right spot and penetrating over the net mattered more than getting up high. That adjustment allowed her to block more balls and funnel plays to the correct spots on defense. Her goal for this high school season is to grow as a leader and play higher-level volleyball, and she is looking to help her team win a league title by running a fast, smart offense. Kulkarni came to the Freshman Showcase wanting to display her skills and start building real exposure.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Addison Lawrence plays both right side and setter for Mater Dei's JV program, and she points to that combination as what sets her apart, her hitting and her ability to read the court paired with real setting ability, even as a taller athlete who could easily be limited to hitting alone. One phrase has stuck with her since a coach gave it to her: take a breath. It sounds simple, but she says it carries her through every hectic rally, and as a setter she has learned that staying controlled matters more than anything else, since launching the ball out of frustration helps no one. She shows up for her teammates by talking to them directly when she sees them starting to doubt themselves, believing that letting that doubt sit unaddressed is the worst thing a teammate can do, and she backs that up by trying to be someone reliable both on the court and off it. Lawrence is excited to compete alongside strong athletes and test herself against other programs as she begins her freshman year, and her goals reach in two directions at once, a strong start at Mater Dei where she can both set and hit, and a landing spot down the road at a strong academic college. She came to the Freshman Showcase hoping to sharpen her game against real competition, make new friends in the volleyball world, and build more confidence in herself as an athlete.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Catherine Liu enters her freshman season with two years of team captaincy already behind her, and that experience shows in how naturally she talks about leading. She points to her coachability as much as her leadership, saying she is not afraid to be uncomfortable in order to get better, and she wants a college coach to notice her determination to win every single play. As a setter, she has learned the position never gives you a break, the setter touches every ball in every rally, and not every one is going to be perfect. Her adjustment has been to reset immediately, shake off a bad set, and come back confident on the next one, and she extends that same message to her teammates, reminding them "you got the next one" whenever their confidence dips. Liu is excited for the chance to play alongside classmates she has known outside of club volleyball, and whether the stakes are a scrimmage or a championship, her motivation stays the same, she wants to win. She is looking for a college program that is competitive and values hard work and character, and she came into the Freshman Showcase wanting a clear read on where she stands and a real chance to be seen.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Ella Davenport thinks about the setter position the way a puzzle solver thinks about a table full of scattered pieces. She describes finding, grabbing, and placing the right piece to set up a teammate to score as the best feeling in the world, and that analytical mindset carries into everything she does on the court. Playing both setter and hitter has sharpened her instincts for what a hitter actually needs in the moment, and she has learned that the best setter-hitter communication happens when feedback is both positive and direct at the same time. Davenport sees leadership as built into the position itself. She uses her voice, eye contact, and touch to constantly check in with her hitters, calling plays proactively and helping teammates move past a dropped ball rather than dwell on it. Heading into her freshman season at Torrey Pines, she is looking forward to being pushed by more experienced players inside a top-ranked program, and she is balancing that ambition with a serious academic track, aiming for a college that offers both competitive volleyball and genuine academic rigor. The Freshman Showcase, for her, was a chance to raise her visibility in the recruiting community and start building relationships with the coaches who will one day be recruiting her.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Kaitlin Nguyen wants a college coach to notice two things first, her leadership and her volleyball IQ, specifically her ability to control the tempo of a match and keep her team steady when things speed up. She has built her game around consistency and quick decision-making, and she credits one piece of coaching feedback with rounding out her game completely. Told to play defense first, even as a setter, she learned to stay disciplined in the back row before worrying about getting to her setting spot, and that discipline has made her a more complete player who reads hitters better and holds up under pressure. Nguyen is entering her freshman season at South Pasadena ready to compete at a higher level with older teammates, and what motivates her is simple, she loves the game and wants to keep improving. She is targeting a high academic program down the road, somewhere she can be challenged in the classroom as much as on the court, surrounded by driven, competitive teammates. She came into the Freshman Showcase wanting exposure and the chance to compete against high-level players, the kind of environment she says pushes her to get better.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Mia Corona calls herself a true all-around player, someone equally comfortable setting, hitting, and passing, and she is stepping directly into the deep end as the starting varsity setter at Claremont High School in her very first season. That is not a small assignment for a freshman, and Corona says what motivates her is exactly the challenge of it, the chance to be part of a team that pushes her outside her comfort zone. She has learned not to dwell on mistakes and to move straight to the next play, a mindset that matters even more given the responsibility she is stepping into. She shows up for her teammates with high fives and steady energy, making sure the mood stays up no matter the scoreboard. Corona is looking for a college program that is competitive but also supports growth as an athlete and as a person, and she came to the Freshman Showcase wanting to meet other freshmen chasing the same goal she is, competing at a high level.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Sasha Fiallo wants a college coach to notice her volleyball IQ before anything else. She describes herself as always trying to stay ten steps ahead when she is running an offense, a skill she considers a real advantage at the setter position, where the amount of thinking required every single point is enormous. A footwork clinic reshaped her game more than she expected. Told that better footwork would make setting easier, she started focusing on squaring up and getting her feet to the ball rather than relying only on her hands, and the payoff was bigger than just cleaner sets, it made her more deceptive about who she was setting and sharpened her game across the board. Fiallo's goal for her high school debut is to get to the point where she can jump set every ball regardless of the pass, and her college dream reaches high, she is aiming for a program like Stanford or an Ivy League school where elite academics and elite volleyball exist in the same place. She credits her family's sacrifices as a major source of her motivation, saying their faith in her pushes her to put in extra reps and extra time in the gym. She wanted to be part of the Freshman Showcase to start becoming a recognizable name in her graduating class, and she was hoping it would bring exactly that, recognition and exposure in front of high-level coaches.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247     Shelly Mendoza leads with communication, and she says it plainly, what sets her apart is her communication, her leadership, and the way she celebrates and encourages her teammates. She takes pride in making smart decisions and putting her team first on every play. A turning point in her development came when a coach pushed her to be more assertive running the offense. She learned to trust herself to get the ball through the zone and to communicate with confidence rather than hesitation, and that shift did more than improve her sets, it made her teammates trust her more, which in turn made her a stronger leader. Mendoza is excited to be surrounded by new people and older competition heading into her freshman season, and what keeps her motivated is straightforward, she loves the game and wants to play in college one day. She is targeting a program built on hard work and strong team culture, somewhere players compete for every point. She wanted to be part of the PrepDig Showcase for the chance to compete against talented players and learn from experienced coaches, and she was hoping it would bring feedback, exposure, and the start of real relationships with college programs.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">If You Enjoyed This Article, Help Us Keep the Momentum Going</h2>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">🔥 Athletes</h3>   Take time to explore the player profiles featured in this article. Look at how these setters talk about running an offense, reading a block, and staying composed when a set doesn't come out perfect. If you're a setter yourself, this is not the time to compare your timeline to theirs. It's time to look at what's actually transferable: the footwork drills, the mental reset habits, the way they communicate with hitters. Take what applies and start building it into your own game now.   📣 Club Coaches & Directors Celebrate the setters from your program who were featured, and use this list as a real conversation starter with your younger setters. These are freshmen already talking about tempo, IQ, and running an offense with real intention. Use their habits as a coaching tool, show your developing setters what it sounds like to think about the position at a high level this early, and help them build those same habits before high school volleyball even starts.   🎯 College Coaches These profiles represent incoming freshman setters already showing the decision-making and floor awareness programs look for years down the line. It's early, but the habits on display here, tempo control, composure, communication with hitters, are worth tracking now. Use PrepDig to start building a book on this class as their setting continues to develop over the next four years.   🙏 Parents & Supporters This is one of the most exciting stretches in your athlete's journey, the very beginning of it. Thank you for supporting her through it. Take a moment to appreciate what it means for your freshman to already be running an offense with this kind of composure. Share this article, look through the featured profiles together, and use it as a conversation about where her game is headed next, not as a measure of where she stands against anyone else. There's a long runway in front of her, and this is just the start.   🚀 <a href="https://prepdig.com/my-account/subscriptions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Upgrade to a PrepDig+ Subscription</a> Access exclusive rankings, deeper analysis, and the full Prospect Index to follow every athlete's journey.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prepdig.com/recruiting-resources/"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/07/image_3e909a.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1003951"/></a></figure>   Thank you for making today's wins matter — one article, one player, one memory at a time.   ~ Michelle Bamford @Coachable247

Use code Coachable247 for 30% off. Subscribe to follow these setters as they take control of their varsity offenses this fall.