Pins Who Create Offense Shot up in the 2027 Rankings

There were 14 Pins who shot up the ranking ladder. One reason for that rise is their ability to generate offense. Below are the pins who powered the ball down to rise up the rankings. [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'] looked stronger and more confident in her outside play and moved up one spot in the class of 2027 rankings. She looks ready for Vanderbilt. [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] appeared to get stronger as well with her spikes and rose up two spots. She also earned a commitment to Elon along with [player_tooltip player_id='490759' first='Ivy' last='Wirth'], an ex local Virginia player who moved to North Carolina. Her older sister played for Bishop O'Connell.    Olivia rose five spots from 20 to 15. She has committed to South Florida. She looked like she got into excellent playing shape for club this year and was banging the ball well from the right side for Metro. It would not surprise me if she reached 10 foot with her approach jump before the year ended.   For high school Olivia made first team Class 6 all state leading her high school to their first state appearance in seven years. When she played for West Potomac she hit left side. That versatility will help her at South Florida.   West Potomac lost a number of seniors last year. Olivia will carry a heavy load to get the team back in the state bracket.     Lacey has been written about a number of times. The greatest point of discussion is her 5'8" height. However, her 10'1" approach jump gives her advantages when she hits from the left side. Her consistent performance of putting the ball away moves her from 58 to 43 in the rankings. Only 14 outsides are ranked higher than her and 10 have committed.   For club Lacey drives the [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] offense. She also does the same for Potomac Falls. Last year they made it to the State bracket but lost in the first round to Midlothian. She earned a spot in the Class 5 state all tournament second team.   The big challenge will be replacing setter Camille Ciambruschini. That could fall on junior Olivia Page. For Olivia the easy part will be to find Lacey on the outside and let her take care of the offense.     Kennedy moved up from 53 to 47 in the rankings. She got a little boost up with her commitment to Seton Hall. For National Cathedral Kennedy was their offensive machine, which earned her a first team selection in the Independent School League (ISL). She led her team in kills with an impressive .307 hitting percentage. In addition, she was one of their top servers as well as a six rotation player.   That play received attention from the Metro coaches. She played for the newly created Metro National 17 team. She came close to reaching 10 feet with her approach jump.   Next year Cathedral will be losing two Kennedys. setter/outside Lilly Kennedy will graduate and move to Pepperdine (no volleyball) while her younger sister libero [player_tooltip player_id='892024' first='Claire' last='Kennedy'] will transfer to Bishop O'Connell.     Madalyn took one of the bigger jumps moving up from 90 to 59. Last year was an exceptional year for her leading Stonebridge to an undefeated 38-0 record. She led the team in kills and was second in the state of Virginia with 475 kills. She also hit at a .425 clip. That won her the player of the year in the VISAA Division II. Her junior year was her first year of attending high school since the previous two years she was home schooled. Madalyn has committed to United States Coast Guard.   Madalyn was also one of the top hitters for [program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] Black as well. They had a rough go of it at Junior Nationals. Playing in the American Division they finished 77th out of 96 teams.   This coming season should be another strong season for Stonebridge since they return all their players. They carried no seniors on their 38-0 team last year.     Willa bumped up ten slots from 70 to 60. Her play at right side for [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] at the East Coast championships impressed. It resulted in a first place finish in the Beast of the East. They battled it out in the National Division of Junior Nationals, struggling to a 31st place finish out of 48 teams.   This is actually her second big jump in the rankings. Early in her career she won a top performer award at a Prep Dig showcase event. At that time her approach jumped reached 9'11". She has now reached the 10 foot level. Her hands reach high over the net with the block.   Riverbend struggled last year with a 2-22 record. Willa got an opportunity to hit outside for them increasing her versatility. They do have a number of starters returning from last year, including her club 540 teammate [player_tooltip player_id='536957' first='Ava' last='Young'], who also made this list of top risers.     Benisa rose from 72 to 62 in the rankings. She is another smaller outside listed at only 5'7". A top performer award winner at our Prep Dig showcase in Richmond. What she brings to the court is a high volleyball IQ, slicing the ball off blocks. Her approach jump reaches 9'8" with a block at 9'4"   Benisa played for Grassfield last season. They made it to the state bracket for Class 6 before losing in the semi-finals to the eventual champion West Springfield. Benisa earned a spot on the Class 6 all state first team. Grassfield will return a number of solid starters including libero [player_tooltip player_id='471714' first='Ryann' last='Bothof'] as well as junior middles [player_tooltip player_id='918928' first='Caitlin' last='Fogarty'] and [player_tooltip player_id='745055' first='Cailey' last='Wieck'].   For Club Benisa played for 757 Volleyball Club. 757 did not earn a bid while playing in a number of Qualifiers. They instead played in AAU where they finished 51st out of 61 teams in Wave 3.     [player_tooltip player_id='720452' first='Brianna' last='Douglas'] moved up from her 85 ranking to 72. She has committed to Randolph Macon. She went from a middle to outside when she transferred to SERV.   Brianna won a top performer award at our Prep Dig showcase. She also performed well for SERV hitting left side in their 38th place finish out of 64 teams in the Freedom Division at Junior Nationals. SERV finished third in the Old Dominion AES rankings.   Brianna goes to Salem high school. She chose not to play for the high school team last year to focus on training. Now that she has committed I don't know if her decision will change. Glass swept past Salem in the Quarterfinals of the Class 4 Regionals.     Lora jumped from 84 to 76 in our rankings. A big part of that jump may have come after her commitment to Old Dominion. I usually bump a girl up a couple spots after a commitment, depending on the players ahead of her.   Lora also brought a good performance for Virginia Juniors at the East Coast championships. She plays for the 16 team. At 6'0" she brings the height that allows her to power the ball down the line. Virginia Juniors finished second in the East Coast championship. They also went to AAUs where they finished 27th out of 114 teams in the Premiere Division.   With James Wood graduating their dynamic duo of Kennedy Spaid and Brenna Corbin Millbrook could return to dominate the Northwest District. Lora will make a strong contribution from the right side if that proves true. Last year Millbrook lost to James Wood in the semi-finals of the Regional Virginia playoffs.     This is her second climb up in the rankings. At a Prep Dig showcase she rose from 106 to 96. A couple years passed and she again rose from 109 to 92. She impressed with her play on the right side after SERV won the Grand Prix championship. She also played well in the Freedom Division at Junior Nationals. Overall SERV finished as the third ranked team in the Old Dominion Region per AES. Marcy has committed to Rowan University.   Last year Great Bridge lost in the opening round of the state Regional playoffs to Kellam. Great Bridge does not appear to be very good about putting roster information together.     Madelyn improved quite a bit when I saw her play for Maryland Juniors. She put a lot more velocity on the ball. That was the main reason for her jump from 120 to 102 in the rankings. She has always been a solid six rotation player. Her 5'9" height could restrict her to Division III.   Maryland Juniors qualified for the Freedom Division in Junior Nationals. They finished 49th out of 64 teams. The previous week they played in the AAU Premier Division where they finished 84th out of 110. Overall, they finished ranked 17th in AES for the Chesapeake Region. After libero [player_tooltip player_id='547072' first='Victoria' last='Small'] (44) Madelyn was the second highest ranked player on Maryland Juniors 17.   Madelyn plays for Archbishop Spalding, which plays in the IAAM bracket. Last year Spalding lost to Maryvale Prep in the first round, which is Victoria's school. The match lasted five sets. Maryvale eventually lost to Annapolis Area Christian, which should dominate this division for the next three years.   Madelyn is the top hitter for Spalding.     [player_tooltip player_id='831636' first='Ella' last='Grove'] moved up from 144 to 133 in the rankings. A smaller outside at 5'8" who plays six rotations, providing offense hitting in the back row for the Metro National 17 team. They did very well in the Freedom Division in Junior Nationals finishing 19th out of 64 teams. They also rank 8th regionally in AES.   Despite her height she brings a nice 9'8" approach jump. This could make her an effective defensive specialist who could hit from the back row if the front row play does not pan out.   Ella was the leader in kills for her high school Saint Johns Catholic Prep. They struggled during the season, ending it by being swept by Annapolis Area Christian in the first round of the IAAM championship.     [player_tooltip player_id='891350' first='Kennedy' last='Walls'] climbed from 173 to 148, one of the biggest gains of any player on this list. Love her enthusiasm on the court. She played middle for Ocean Lakes in the playoff game I watched when they played Riverside. Her specialty was her quickness for running the quick tempo sets.   She also impressed at a Prep Dig showcase, falling just short of winning a top performer award. At that time she played right side showing off a good right turn of the wrist where she could plant the kill down the line. Her volleyball IQ is high, knowing where the open spots are on the court. Her beach play where she is a top rated player could address her volleyball savvy on the court. She played a year down on the [program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] Black 16 team.   Last year Ocean Lakes reached the semi-finals before being swept by the eventual champion Riverside. Ocean Lakes should be loaded next year, especially if they get a couple talented incoming frosh. This could be the year a Virginia Beach club wins a state championship.     Olivia jumped from 177 to 157 in the rankings. She has committed to Shenandoah. She impressed with her outside hitting at the Junior Nationals for Virginia Elite. They had a solid run in the American Division finishing 25th out of 96 teams. Not bad when you consider their top left side was not available for the tournament because of injury. That gave Olivia a shot at increased playing time.   Loudoun Valley lost in the first round of the Virginia Regional playoffs to Woodgrove. They lost a number of seniors to graduation but none were highly ranked in the class of 2026.     Another [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] player who jumped from 180 to 163. While not tall for a pin hitter at 5'8". She strung together two key kills in 540's big 31-29 win over Synergy Uranium in the semi-finals of the East Coast championship. In the third set she popped another key kill to tie the third set at 15-15. They would go on to win that set and advance to the finals where they won the championship.   Ava also plays for Riverbend where she teams with [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] teammate Willa Votto. They hope for a little better year this year. Last year they finished 2-22.

There were 14 Pins who shot up the ranking ladder. One reason for that rise is their ability to generate offense. Below are the pins who powered the ball down to rise up the rankings. Annika Dandridge Annika Dandridge 6'1" | OH TCHS Of Baltimore | 2027 State VA looked stronger and more confident in her outside play and moved up one spot in the class of 2027 rankings. She looks ready for Vanderbilt. Ayla Sayd Ayla Sayd 6'0" | OH Marshall-Falls Church | 2027 State VA appeared to get stronger as well with her spikes and rose up two spots. She also earned a commitment to Elon along with Ivy Wirth Ivy Wirth 6'0" | OH Croatan | 2028 VA , an ex local Virginia player who moved to North Carolina. Her older sister played for Bishop O'Connell.