IHSA Weekly Rankings: Spotlight teams

<p>We are finally starting to move into the final weeks of the regular season for IHSA and have been extensively watching new and returning faces on the court improve and showcase their talents. This week we are taking a look at some impressive teams who appeared on the top 5 rankings for this week’s rankings and their contributing athletes.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Coming in at the #1 ranking for this week’s list is <strong>Benet Academy</strong> of Lisle, Illinois, who currently has an overall record of 10-0 and a 5-0 record for conference.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61572" first="Kyla" last="Kenney"]</strong> is a 5’10” senior outside hitter/defensive specialist who is a very important asset to the team as she is a leader in kills for her team. Kenney secured 19 kills against Marist April 21^st, 2021. Kenney is a consistent athlete and has a powerful right-hand swing. Kenney’s ball handling, movement across the court and athleticism is something to continue watching as we prepare to move out of the regular season and start moving into the state qualifying tournaments. Kenney has a phenomenal skill set offensively and defensively and is going to be something to watch as we prepare for state.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Sam Buckley </strong>is a 5’9” setter and has an impressive skill set as a setter yet has a strong swing when needed. Buckley has a soft touch when it comes up to setting up a kill but is an aggressive and competitive hitter. The diversity in her craft between setting and having the potential of being an outside hitter is something that is going to be one to watch as we move into the state tournaments. Buckley is an athlete that does not back down from competition and that is what we are looking for in athletes.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mater Dei High School</strong> sits at #2 in the ISHA rankings with an overall record of 11-0. Mater Dei has their fair share of athletes who are being contributors to the team’s success in securing the second position in the Illinois rankings.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Tori Mohesky </strong>is a 5’11” outside hitter and defensive specialist who has a very impressive swing and quick senses when it comes to playing on defense. Mohesky moves across the floor well and is one to watch out for in the corner as she works with her setter in hopes of setting up and perfectly executing a consistent kill. She is going to be one to watch as we are starting to move into state tournaments. Mohesky made an appearance last season at the state semifinals and hopefully we will see her back in action.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kenadi Barriger </strong>is a 5’11” senior and middle hitter for Mater Dei who is an important key asset to her team in assisting with a secured win. Barriger assisted the team with sweeping Highland high school in their season finale. Barriger is an aggressive and attentive athlete when it comes to getting the ball over the net and making sure that she is able to cover her grounds at all times. Barriger is going to be one to watch as we move into the beginning of the state tournaments.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Jessie Timmermann </strong>is a 5’11” senior and setter whose defense abilities are ones that we are going to be looking forward too as we are moving into the beginning of state qualifying matches. Timmermann is an impressive athlete has she is an multi athlete and that shows in her athleticism and competitive mindset. Timmermann is going to be the athlete that her team is going to heavily rely on as she plays a major role to setting the perfect set to allow for her offense to kill the ball over their components.</p>