2030s Breaking Out at Colgan Jamboree

The 2030 rankings have made their debut. A number of those ranked players battled on the Colgan gym floor this past weekend, perhaps competing for the final roster spot. Three high schools North Stafford, First Colonial and Colonial Forge did not have rosters up so I could not identify all the frosh on the court. Below are the frosh from the eight teams who participated who made our 2030 rankings.   Also, the volleyball season is in full swing in Virginia. Some of the matches that were played last week are highlighted below.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Colgan</h2>    Lydia was the lone frosh on the Colgan roster. This past season she played club for American. While her height lists at 5'4" watching her video appears to show she is taller than 5'4". For Colgan she is listed as an outside/opposite.   When watching her video it appears she needs a little more work on using her core to get more power in her swing. As a frosh she still has time to work on those fundamentals.   The player who matched her number was playing middle in one of the sets. That player definitely stood taller than 5'4". Lydia debuts at number 81 in the rankings. This is based on watching her video as well as her ability to make the Colgan varsity as a frosh.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Flint Hill</h2>    Last year Asli played for Marshall as a frosh. She reclassified with her transfer to Flint Hill remaining as a frosh. Her older sister is a setter for Marshal. This past club season Asli played for Metro 14.   Asli swings well from the right side. It would not surprise me if she could hit the ball from either pin. This could add to her versatility. The Metro 14 team carried two strong left sides that limited her opportunity to play there.   At 5'10" she is taller than her older sister with an approach reaching 9'6". She debuts at 19 in our rankings. The early rankings tend to fluctuate the following year when more girls are discovered and added to the rankings.     Zenaia plays for a Metro travel team that carries two quality class of 2029 back row players in [player_tooltip player_id='888626' first='Blake' last='Ahn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='777558' first='Kayla' last='R Tutoni']. Now with Flint Hill she will play the defensive specialist position with [player_tooltip player_id='784849' first='Delaney' last='Malloy'] playing Libero.   Zenaia is one of four frosh on the roster. She will be the number two player in the back row with Delaney starting at Libero.   Zenaia debuts at number 73 in our rankings. I did not see her play at the Colgan Jamboree.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">First Colonial</h2>    First Colonial did not have rosters available. It appears Julia was starting left side in the first set of each match. They graduated a number of their pin hitters from last season. Based on how she played for [program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] she still may have started even if they had not graduated.   Julia is a six rotation player who shows a good platform when passing. She also exhibits quickness when playing defense, despite her 6'0" height and hits the ball well. She has all the tools to become a solid player, proving that by winning a top performer award for her outside hitting at our Prep Dig Junior National showcase.   Julia debuts at number 8 in our class of 2030 ranking, placing her as the number three ranked left side hitter.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Forest Park</h2>    Liana is a 6'0" middle who proved key to [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 14 winning the gold in the American Division at Junior Nationals. After her performance she was selected to the All Tournament Team. She also dominated at the Junior Nationals winning a Prep Dig Top Performer award.   At the Colgan Jamboree she put some balls down while playing left side and middle. Forest Park graduated their top blocker and number two hitter in kills last season. It would not surprise me to see Liana equal her production. She has the long arms to get quality extension when she puts the ball down. This helps her to reach high over the net when blocking.   Liana debuts at number four in our class of 2030 rankings, the number three ranked middle in the class.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kellam</h2>    It was pretty obvious every time Sophia pounced on a set where she belonged in her class. The shouts came from the bench "she's a freshman". At 5'6" she still needs some growth for her to stay in the front row. While smaller players can survive as outside hitters in high school as they play at the higher club levels they can be a bit overmatched, especially when it comes to blocking.   When on the court she plays all six rotations. If the height does not occur she has the skills to succeed as a back row player. Of course, a couple inches of growth would make her a solid six rotation outside.   Sophia debuts at number 53 in our class of 2030.     Payton stood out for her setting at [program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] during the Junior Nationals. She combined with [player_tooltip player_id='983815' first='Natalie' last='Fisher'] to set a 6/2. She stands just 5'5" making her ideal to run a 6/2.   I did not make note of her when watching Kellam at the Jamboree. [player_tooltip player_id='946005' first='Emmie' last='Irving'] is their main setter but at 5'5" she would be used in a 6/2 as well. They also list another frosh on their roster Hudson Reich as a third setter.   Payton debuts at number 74 in our class of 2030.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Stafford</h2>    North Stafford is a young team with a number of frosh getting significant playing time. Despite her 5'6" height Nyla was one of the key offensive contributors on the court. She hit from both the back row and front row. She shows tremendous quickness on the court. Her athleticism is off the charts, allowing her to show off skills taller players struggle with.   She earned the MVP award in the American Division at Junior Nationals after Paramount earned the gold. Despite her height she brings an impactful game.   Nyla debuts at # 20 in our class of 2030.     Ava was one of the two setters for North Stafford in the tournament. She set in the back row, running a 6/2. At 5'7" she does not bring tremendous height to the front row, but at American she sets in the back row while staying in the front row to hit. She has the ability to put the ball away as a hitter.   Ava brings good energy and enthusiasm to the court. Those are the kind of setters you want to run a 5/1. In addition, her work ethic will allow her to continue to improve on her skills.   While it is still early in the ranking process Ava makes a nice debut at number 25.     At the East Coast championship she played a solid six rotations. She also fires off a dancing serve that leaves liberos guessing. She needs a little more growth to her 5'7" height to remain in the front row but she carries the skills to become a solid libero.   Mackenzie can still generate good velocity on her spikes. High school play is littered with liberos finding success as pins. The club season can be more competitive. Blocking becomes more of an issue.   Mackenzie debuts at number 45 in our rankings.     One trait you like to see in a libero is that she communicates well to her teammates. Kaylee is a good communicator. When she plays libero you know what seams she will cover. She also reads the blocks well sliding over to the open spot on the court to generate a dig. Her hands are strong and her out of system sets carry height.   At the Jamboree I was impressed with the libero playing for North Stafford. Club 540 always develops good liberos, however without rosters I don't want to assume it was Kaylee. When rosters are posted I will confirm it. The coach did mention that this year she will be carrying a number of frosh on her team.    <h1 class="wp-block-heading">Significant Game Results from Last Week</h1>   Two time Class 5 defending champion Riverside got off to a rough start to the season, losing their first four matches. They lost in four to Woodgrove, Battlefield and Loudoun County and then lost in five to Independence. They play the winless Patriots next.   Oakton got off to a good start sweeping their first two opponents. [player_tooltip player_id='754650' first='Madison' last='Meiring'] led the team in kills with 13 in their sweep over Yorktown. In the sweep against Woodson the Cavaliers failed to get into double digits in two of the three sets.   Wakefield started the season off with a sweep against South Lakes, who was playing without their big left side hitter [player_tooltip player_id='437448' first='Eva' last='Collingham']. In their next match Wakefield was swept by Chantilly.   Chantilly has swept their first three matches against Robinson, McLean and Wakefield. They are led by frosh setter [player_tooltip player_id='1037500' first='Sofia' last='Harris'] who dished out 26 assists each against McLean and Wakefield. She also banged out 8 aces against McLean. The big hitters on the team are left side [player_tooltip player_id='716365' first='Skyler' last='Riley'] and right side [player_tooltip player_id='455102' first='Erin' last='Green']. Erin has committed to Christopher Newport while Skyler has committed to Florida A&M. Sofia is a player that did not make our 2030 rankings but is now on the watch list. She played club for Paramount Priscella 14 last year.   George Marshall pulled off a shocking sweep over Madison. [player_tooltip player_id='438068' first='Ayla' last='Sayd'] led the charge with 14 kills and 10 digs. [player_tooltip player_id='778213' first='Ellie' last='Nguyen'] contributed 7 aces and 13 assists. After winning their first four matches Marshall was finally beaten by Class 6 state champion West Springfield. The Spartans have jumped out to a 4-0 start.   Ocean Lakes got off to a good start with sweeps over their rivals Frank Cox and Kellam. Ocean Lakes won the last two sets against Cox 26-24, 27-25.   South County received 11 kills and 3 aces from frosh [player_tooltip player_id='941779' first='Jordin' last='Guthrie'] and 11 assists from a second frosh [player_tooltip player_id='768588' first='Eliana' last='Butler'] in their sweep against Woodson. South County then swept their next match against Mount Vernon. Jordin and Eliana both played for Metro 14 last season.   Briar Woods won their first three matches with wins over Independence, Woodbridge and Loudoun Conty.   First Colonial defeated Kempsville in five then followed that up with a sweep of Bayside.   Lightridge won their first three matches against Independence, Broad Run and John Champe. Their match against Independence went five.   Woodbridge won their opener in four sets against Colonial Forge. [player_tooltip player_id='833164' first='Jayne' last='Clark'] won player of the match with 23 kills while [player_tooltip player_id='747560' first='Elliot' last='Dorgan'] contributed 14 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='960051' first='Caroline' last='Freeman'] scooped up 34 digs while [player_tooltip player_id='747031' first='Braylin' last='Coacher'] dished out 45 assists.   Landstown beat Kellam in five, taking the first two matches 27-25, 26-24. They are now 3-0.   Christiansburg pulled off a reverse sweep against Lord Botetourt, taking the last three sets 26-24, 25-19 and 15-7. [player_tooltip player_id='919417' first='Blair' last='Self'] handed out 34 assists with 18 digs while [player_tooltip player_id='819657' first='Tatum' last='Trotter'] contributed 6 blocks along with 6 kills.   Last year Stonebridge finished the season 38-0 winning the Division II VISAA championship. They completed a big sweep over Norfolk Academy last week to improve to 3-0. Their season has now started with three consecutive sweeps. [player_tooltip player_id='887042' first='Madalyn' last='Wartick'] banged out 13 kills with 5 aces while [player_tooltip player_id='887038' first='Selah' last='Telfer'] contributed 26 assists.

The 2030 rankings have made their debut. A number of those ranked players battled on the Colgan gym floor this past weekend, perhaps competing for the final roster spot. Three high schools North Stafford, First Colonial and Colonial Forge did not have rosters up so I could not identify all the frosh on the court. Below are the frosh from the eight teams who participated who made our 2030 rankings.