Top Performers for the Week of August 22

The past week still included some scrimmages, but for many of the public schools the season started last week. Below is a review of some of the teams I was able to watch and the players who stood out or results that stood out from games I was unable to see.   Hidden Valley   They are a high school in Roanoke, as we try to expand our Virginia base. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='196556' first='Caleigh' last='Ponn'] is a libero for her travel team. She is listed at 5'7". At the 2019 Capital Hill Classic she won the best digger and the MVP award in the 15 Patriot Division playing as a libero. There are some who might say she would be too short to be an outside hitter. Just don't tell that to Caleigh. In the high school opener for Hidden Valley she played outside and led her team to a 3-0 sweep with 23 kills and 9 digs. In her next game she had 17 kills in a second sweep. Her approach jump gets close to 9 feet, which is not bad for an outside hitter. Libero may still be her ticket to college. Watch her videos and you will be impressed with her libero instincts.   Caleigh was not the only sophomore for Hidden valley who shined at the game last Monday. Setter Cali Anderson also had a good day in the opener with 24 assists and 7 digs.   Alexandria City <img class="wp-image-211276" style="width: 150px;" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2022/07/chloe.jpg" alt="">   They have gone 54-1 in their last two seasons with one state championship. I assumed that because they had two superb setters on this team they ran a 6/2. Wrong. I got to see them play on Monday and they run a 5/1 with [player_tooltip player_id='181179' first='Chloe' last='Wilmot'] setting. [player_tooltip player_id='181178' first='Milan' last='Rex'] is their outside hitter. When she plays for Metro she sets a 6/2 and hits on the right side. When she plays for Alexandria City she hits on the left side. And while setting could be her position when she goes to UC Santa Barbara, she can put some mustard on the ball when hitting on the outside. In their opener Milan buried 17 kills and picked up 14 digs. Chloe dished out 31 assists. That will be a powerful duo for teams to overcome this year.   If they are going to repeat as Patriot champions they are going to have to get contributions from other players. I was impressed with Zana Royster as the libero. She seemed to be in the right place to make a number of nice digs on driven balls and she passed well. The 5'10" junior Bridie Wendling appears she can provide some production from the other left side. She had eight kills in their opener.   McLean High School   Last year they upset Langley High School to advance to the regional finals for the first time in school history. They have big shoes to fill after the loss of Nicole Mallus and Ella Parks. Their replacements lose close to a foot in height at the net, so that is a measurable loss.   Left side Zaylie Tamashiro will be asked to do the brunt of the outside work. The 5'8" hitter does not rely on power but more on placement to get her kills. She also plays a good back row and can provide some offense behind the ten foot line. In the game against Madison too many of those back row sets were placed seven feet beyond the 10 foot line, making it more difficult for her to put the ball away. The 6'2" [player_tooltip player_id='180298' first='Alice' last='Holoubek'] (pictured above) provides some height in the middle. When she gets her set she can put the ball away. That requires passing and McLean did not have that in their game against Madison.   The 5'8" sophomore Goldie Woods provides some hope for the future at the left side. She is still inconsistent but has a fast arm swing that multiple repetitions should correct. She distributes some pop to her kills.   Madison High School   The first time I watched them was in a scrimmage. That does not give you a sense of who the starters will be. Coaches do not play scrimmages to win. This game against McLean counted. For Madison it appears the two setters will be frosh AnaSofia Zanellato and senior [player_tooltip player_id='111510' first='Natalie' last='Lauer']. Both were back row players but Zanellato has the length to play the front row on the right side. Restricting her to just back row allows her to fit into the lineup slowly. Natalie has a strong left handed serve and will act as a mentor for Zanellato. Both did a good job distributing their sets against McLean.   [player_tooltip player_id='209800' first='Sydney' last='Pham'] is a solid libero with strong hands to platform pass or use her hands to receive serve. She also did a good job putting up out of system sets. In one rotation the coach had enough confidence in her to use her in a two person passing rotation. The middles are young but tall. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='209796' first='Camille' last='Pomeroy'] and sophomore Riley Lynch can put up good blocks to neutralize an area of the court. They can also put the ball down when given a quick set in the middle. This team will be in the thick of the Concorde District race.   Bullis High School   Patrick Ewing made an appearance in the gym to watch his 6'2" daughter [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] play. The sophomore is a talent that has a lot of rough spots along the edges. A little more work on the arm swing and approach will develop more consistency, but when it is there she can hit the ball as hard as anyone. At Virginia Juniors she was not used in the back row. In the scrimmage she played back row but needs a lot of work there to get proficient. Alexis reminds me of a Rembrandt painting that has just begun to have the first strokes placed on the canvass. Just wait for it to finish.   It is a young team filled with sophomores and frosh. They may go with frosh setter [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'], who stands just 5'6" but is quick to the ball with good hands. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='184604' first='Nia' last='Thomas'] is a strong libero. Bullis still does not have rosters up so it was difficult to identify the players.   Chesapeake Chirps: Frosh [player_tooltip player_id='181302' first='Kennedy' last='Spaid'] had a good opener for James Woods high school. She led the team in kills with 10....Last year's player of the year from Herndon Akasha Anderson has led Auburn to an early 3-0 start. She is second on the team in kills with 25. Another college frosh Laila Ivey is making an impact with Maryland.

The past week still included some scrimmages, but for many of the public schools the season started last week. Below is a review of some of the teams I was able to watch and the players who stood out or results that stood out from games I was unable to see.