Stat It Up- The Series: The Next Five Blocking Leaders

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As I said earlier, I got a lot of love for this series, so I am just going to continue writing about these studs. In this article, we have the next five blocking leaders in the state. This is a hot list, and these players ranked #6-10 are golden! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#6, Mallory Porter</strong> <em>(Powell County)</em>- A senior middle blocker for Powell County, Mallory Porter was an unstoppable wall defensively with 159 blocks in 98 sets. Averaging 1.62 blocks per set, Porter did such a great job moving from pin to pin yet also staying neutral when the opposing team was in system. Porter also helped the team with 239 kills, averaging 2.44 kills per set and even added the team-high of service aces with 70. Mallory Porter was undeniably one of the best blockers in the state! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#7, Sarah Russell </strong><em>(Grant County)</em>- When an athlete plays all the way around, you normally wouldn't think that they are one of the top blockers in the state. However, junior middle blocker, Sarah Russell breaks that trend where she had 87 blocks in just 56 sets yet also tallied 71 kills, 143 digs, and 11 service aces. To add the icing on the cake, this 5'9 volleyball player is also a stud in basketball for Grant County. Russell is just a pure athlete and has a bright future ahead! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"left","id":270558,"width":151,"height":228,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-16-at-1.42.28-AM.png?w=681" alt="" class="wp-image-270558" width="151" height="228" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Ray Justice </figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#8, [player_tooltip player_id='158351' first='Clara' last='McNamee'] </strong><em>(Belfy)</em>- Leading her team to a district championship with a record-breaking performance of 20 kills, 4 blocks, and 22 digs, [player_tooltip player_id='158351' first='Clara' last='McNamee'] clearly proves herself to be on this list. As a junior middle hitter, McNamee racked up 109 blocks in 75 sets and averaged 1.45 blocks per set. Plus, she aided the team in every category with 277 kills, 331 digs, and 29 service aces. McNamee was obviously the stud for Belfy's squad, and the best part about this kid.... she's still got a whole senior season to show off her skills next year! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":270559,"width":165,"height":247,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2022/12/Screen-Shot-2022-12-16-at-1.45.25-AM.png?w=682" alt="" class="wp-image-270559" width="165" height="247" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Kennedy Lafoe</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#9, [player_tooltip player_id='533358' first='Ann' last='Ashley Atkinson']</strong> <em>(Barren County)</em>- The second freshman to be in the top 10 Kentucky blockers goes to [player_tooltip player_id='533358' first='Ann' last='Ashley Atkinson'] of Barren County. As a freshman, Atkinson started in all 35 games played by Barren County and in 83 sets, she scored 117 blocks which made her average 1.41 blocks a set. Atkinson also helped in the middle position offensively with 118 kills and aided the team defensively with her willpower to block any ball. With 3 years left in high school, [player_tooltip player_id='533358' first='Ann' last='Ashley Atkinson'] will be a force to watch for years to come! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#10, Maddie Loveless</strong> <em>(Woodford County)</em>- To end the top 10 blockers in the state, we have junior middle hitter, Maddie Loveless from Woodford County. Loveless blocked 42 balls and averaged 1.40 blocks per set. Woodford County won in a quick sweep in the district championship over Collins and then lost first round in a five set battle against South Oldham where Loveless tallied 2 solo blocks. Loveless would come into the game and be that dominant blocker you needed the most. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->