Three middles exceeding expectations

<p>A fair chunk of the 2021 high school volleyball season in the state of Washington is already behind us as teams and players have been battling it out all across the Evergreen State for more than a month now.</p> <p>Some of the state’s most popular names in the high school volleyball scene have confirmed the high expectations about themselves, producing another season of elite-level performances while some freshmen have also started their careers in the best possible way.</p> <p>There’s also a third category which is absolutely worth following, which is the one with players who are having career years. These prospects have been with their teams for a season or two but have never produced at the level they are this time around.</p> <p>In our second article, let’s take a look at some middle blockers who are exceeding expectations:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Riley Clark – Middle Blocker – 2022</strong></p> <p>Riley Clark has noticeably stepped up her game in her last year of high school volleyball. The 5’11” middle blocker has always been a piece for Lakes but her production with the team reached levels unseen before this season. Her offensive production is already the most significant of her career, with her 155 kills, the average of 3.4 per set and her 64.6% kill rate being all the highest she ever registered for the Lancers. Her blocking has also substantially improved, as her average moved from 1.7 per set last season to 2.6 now and her total is already at 119 stuffs. Even her defense and passing improved as well as she tallied 178 digs and 264 serve receives already in the season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Makayla Herrera – HS: La Conner - 2023</strong></p> <p>Makayla Herrera is another athletic middle blocker who learned how to use her physical tools over the years and has become a key contributor for her team this season. Also a basketball player, the 6’2” Herrera has been in great form with La Conner this season, having already tallied 92 kills this season, to an average of 2.2 per set and a 45.3% kill rate. Herrera has been able to improve her game at the net (going from 0.3 to 0.6 blocks per set, to a total of 23) and from the service line (improving from 0.5 to 0.7 aces per set, to a total of 27) as well.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="97101" first="Anna" last="Knyphausen"] – HS: Shorecrest - 2022</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="97101" first="Anna" last="Knyphausen"] is not holding anything back on her last season of high school volleyball. The Shorecrest prospect has entered this year’s campaign in great form and became a more valuable offensive piece for the Scots, improving both her kill average per set (from 1.5 to 1.9) and kill rate (from 28.8% to 44.4%). A six-footer, she’s become more lethal from the service line too, having registered 16 aces this season, and her blocking presence is clearly more effective, having generated 63 points for her team, to an average of 1.7 per set.</p>