Standouts from Saturday

Today I am taking a look at some standout players from the Freshman and Sophomore showcases on Saturday. These 7 girls were some of the most dominate players from their respective showcases and really are girls to watch this fall competing for all region and all state honors. These girls are not only standouts from this weekend but all have the potential to be college level players in the years to come. I would expect all these players to continue to rise in their respective rankings in the months to come as well!    You always know a kid is good, but seeing them in person, competing against kids their age.. really just shows how good they are and that is what Kora demonstrated at our showcase! Kora is every bit the offensive weapon you would think she is. She has a great vertical, high contact point, and swings with a ton of pace that beats most 14 year olds with ease. You won't guess by her range of shots that she is so young but she is just that far above the rest of the field with her offensive ability at this point. She can hit the hard angle, deep line, and abuse the block with her power. She demonstrated all of that during drills, game play, and even casually during queens.   However, Kora can do a lot more over just her offense, she is smooth with her footwork and has the athletic ability to be that 6 rotational outside hitter. She does a great job with her movement both laterally and in transition using her athletic ability to get a ton of touches on ball and create great passes when she does connect with the pass. She is a very high level passer and isn't afraid to step in front of other passers to take a ball. She plays with a lot of confidence that most Freshman don't develop until later. Kora is the definition of a future star, and someone who was dominate at our showcase this last weekend!     Macy is a gamer and someone who is going to turn a lot of heads in high school with her game play over the next few years. She can really do it all, from her passing, to her hitting, she is just a force to be known with her game play. I really enjoyed watching her on the offensive side when it came down to drills and game play. She has a great approach that allows her to get elevated fast and uses that height to hit around blocks and over blocks when needed (and tool as well). There wasn't a lot of girls at the showcase that were able to slow her down even when the block was there. She also made some great swings from the back row and out of system that are hard to find in pin hitters at this age.   On the other side of this, Macy also can contribute with her defense, serving, and blocking as well. She has all the tools coaches look for in a outside hitter that is needed to play 6 rotations. Her technique and form in defense/serve receive is excellent as she always has a good base and solid angles with her arms on contact to get the ball to the setter. She seems to anticipate well and even when she is late, makes up for it with her exceptional footwork. She has the potential to become a dominate pin in the years to come, but for this weekend was one of the best from Saturday with her all around play!     Emma had a great showcase and was one of the top hitters, correction... one of the top players at the showcase. She is what you would call a dominate pin and plays to a level well above her age. She has the all around game down, and throughout the drills and game play she was contributing in areas that weren't just her offense. She is a great defender, especially on the block where she is going to be a dominate pin blocker in the years to come. She gets great elevation and takes away a ton of space with her press over the block while rarely getting tooled by a hitter. Having a pin who can block is essential as you get to older ages and Emma really has that aspect down!   As for her offense, this is where she shines! She is a great hitter and generates a lot of pace on the ball and scores at a very high clip for an outside hitter. She also is very good at seeing the court and hitting open spots and won't just rely on the power all the time. She has the full arsenal of shots and will take what the defense gives her throughout the game play portion. Lastly, she has great footwork that allows her to get a great transition and proper depth on her load for both in and out of system plays. Overall, a dominate pin and play at the showcase and we are excited to see what she can do this fall season!     Kylie was one of the best setters on the floor, if not the best at the showcase. Multiple coaches highlighted her as one of the standouts including myself with her overall game play. She is someone who plays the game so well and makes all of her teammates better when she is on the floor. It didn't take long during game play, or in drills for her to be making connections with all kind of hitters and putting the ball in the right locations that her hitters needed.   On top of that her technique and athletic ability is what really separates her game, as she is able to get her hands and feet to almost all the balls during game play which in turn leads to more scoring opportunities for her teammates. She always seemed to know which hitters to give the ball too, and made good connections with her middles throughout the showcase. Her IQ is just so high and she does well making the right call each time. She also is a great defender and blocker when the time calls for it. She can chip in with so much at the setter position it is easy to make her a standout from this weekend!     Riley did not disappoint at the showcase and really made it be known she is a force that is going to be tough to slow down here in AZ. Throughout the showcase Rylie was on another level with how well she was ripping at the ball. She was hitting around, through, and over blocks at times during the showcase. Rylie has a big tool bag when it comes to scoring and can take what the defense is giving her or just out power them. She connected with all different types of setters which really shows how well her game and IQ is by making that happen.   She isn't just known for her offense, she can contribute with her defense and energy as well. She was very vocal throughout the showcase, being a good teammate, having a lot of energy, and calling out what was happening during game play. She also was great on defense, taking up space with her blocks, and digging any type of ball that came near her. Rylie also did well after playing defense, of being able to load and transition and being a threat to continue to score. She has the all around package that we look for in a pin hitter and was an easy choice to be a standout at our showcases.     Mia was another standout from this weekend and someone who might be one of the better middles we had show up. She was dominate in every aspect of her game, from her offense to her blocking, to her ability to be a leader on the floor. Mia was a game changer in a lot of drills and showed a lot of talent in the game play portion as well. Mia has blocking down so well for someone her age, as she really gets over the net and presses with full extension to take a way a ton of angles from pin hitters. She is most importantly able to win a lot of one on one battles with middles which makes the life of her defenders that much easier. You could make an argument she was the best blocker at her showcase and won't find many people who would argue with you.   As for the offense... well good luck slowing her down as MIa can do it all from the offensive side. She can run in front, behind, away, on the pin, wherever the setter needs Mia can take a swing a score at a very high clip. Not only that, but she doesn't need to 10 foot you (although she can), she has the ability and IQ to take the deep corner shots and hit away from defenders to take those free points. Throughout the showcase she was easily the best player on her court almost every time and was an easy choice as a standout based on her ability to play offense and defense to such a high level.     One of the best defenders in my opinion through all 4 showcases was Ella. I had the chance to see over 80ish liberos throughout the two days and can tell you that Ella has a claim to be the best one out of all of them. Her game is just at another level and she was one of the best passers in every drill. She moves very easily on the floor, and use her athletic ability to get to a spot very early to make the passes even easier in defense. She also moves well enough to take up a lot of space in serve receive or when she undercuts in defense as she is always reading the hitters and anticipating where the ball is going.   Her form and technique is some of the best out there as well. She repeats her amazing form each and every time she contacts the ball and is able to always get touches on balls that most players wouldn't even dream of touching. She is all about hustle and effort as well and made some really impressive plays and digs during game play. It wasn't just myself, but a lot of coaches were impressed with her ability as a back row player. Ella is someone who can serve receive, defend, and serve with the best of them and is someone that should see her stock rise in the coming months. It was an easy choice to pick her as a standout and someone you all need to get to see over the course of the fall season!    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   The 2026 Summer Showcases were an incredible way to wrap up the club season, and we couldn't be more excited about the talent we saw on display. Thank you to every athlete, coach, and family who helped make these events such a success. The future of Arizona volleyball is incredibly bright, and we're grateful to have had the opportunity to watch so many players compete.   This is just the beginning. As we shift our focus to the high school season, be sure to follow @PrepDigArizona on Instagram and subscribe so you never miss rankings updates, player spotlights, showcase announcements, or our latest coverage from around the state. We can't wait to see you back in the gym soon!

Today I am taking a look at some standout players from the Freshman and Sophomore showcases on Saturday. These 7 girls were some of the most dominate players from their respective showcases and really are girls to watch this fall competing for all region and all state honors. These girls are not only standouts from this weekend but all have the potential to be college level players in the years to come. I would expect all these players to continue to rise in their respective rankings in the months to come as well!