High Level 2025's Playing Up On 17s

When I watch matches, I take notes putting the team name and number of the athlete with descriptors of the athlete.  I'll go back to look up the name and information and am surprised to see some of them are actually playing up an age group.  I know it can be a tough call on when to pull up an athlete for a higher age group, there are a lot of factors that play into this decision.  My own personal belief when it comes to this is that if they are playing up, they should probably be heavily contributing to the team, a key player.  These athletes are playing up and succeeding.     I know there are a lot of high level athletes who are playing an age group up.  These are all athletes I have seen live, most of them multiple times.    [player_tooltip player_id='181296' first='Macaria' last='Spears'] - Outside Hitter - TAV 17 Black - Class of 2025 (Title Photo)   <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/02/DSC09890.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-327491" width="388" height="258" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Maya Evens</figcaption></figure>   Spears is no secret to the volleyball world.  The TAV 17 Black court was lined with all of the top college programs with Spears being one of the top recruits in the Class of 2025.  She has physical gifts that very few athletes have with her explosiveness, speed, and finesse where she can pass, attack, and makes quite a presence in the front row with her physicality.  This will be a very exciting process for Spears where she will have her pick of what school she can contribute to at the next level.    [player_tooltip player_id='199763' first='Fallyn' last='Blotzer'] - Outside Hitter - Wave 17 Juliana - Class of 2025   Maya Evens - Libero - Wave 17 Juliana - Class of 2025   Watching Wave 17 Juliana score a win over A5 on Saturday night was extremely exciting.  This team has a lot of ball control, balance, and a whole lot of spark.  During this match, I had no idea that these two were playing up as 2025s on the 17s team.  Blotzer is a high flyer, she is so smooth and just glides on the court.  When she approaches and leaps, she just hangs up there where she has her pick of shots to take.  Evens is definitely a leader on the court, she commands the backrow and has such a presence on the court with incredible intangibles.     <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/02/DSC00025.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-323367" width="347" height="231" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='153933' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] </figcaption></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='153929' first='Maya' last='Witherspoon'] - Pin Hitter - Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite - Class of 2025   Morgan Dumm - Setter - Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite - Class of 2025   [player_tooltip player_id='153933' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] - Pin Hitter - Rockwood Thunder 17 Elite - Class of 2025   I knew Witherspoon was playing up on 17 Elite.  Her speed and athleticism makes her so dangerous because she can run any route to attack in the front row.  She can score from the outside, the right side, or out of the middle - incredibly dynamic.  Dumm has great footwork, smooth hands, and a great feel for the game where she can find a favorable matchup for her attacker.  Smith was extremely impressive on the right side.  A really heavy swing allows her to score points and be a really tough match up.  This offensive is solid where they can really spread out the front line.    Ryan Hunter - OPP - Triangle 17 Black - Class of 2025   Hunter looks like she is ready to enroll in a college program this fall.  At 6'2 and left handed, she is a mismatch nightmare on the right side.  Her game reminds me a lot of Noemie Glover of Coast 17-1 who is committed to Oregon and was of the top 18s players this weekend.  Hunter has length, athleticism, speed, and a big time upside to her game where she could be thinking red, white, and blue.  An exciting athlete and a fiery competitor, I saw her compete in a crazy good match at Triple Crown against Houston Juniors - plenty of power between these two teams.    <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/02/DSC09869.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-327486" width="326" height="217" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mullen and Messer</figcaption></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='153930' first='Abigail' last='Mullen'] - OPP - Dynasty 17 Black - Class of 2025   [player_tooltip player_id='154039' first='Reese' last='Messer'] - Setter - Dynasty 17 Black - Class of 2025   These two have been on the radar for a while, since they started the 2022 club season with Dynasty 16 Black where they dominated winning Triple Crown, which then lead to multiple National Qualifier championships.  Messer is a pure point guard - literally, she has a basketball background and knows how to command the court and has great vision.  Mullen is extremely smooth, making things that are difficult look easy.  She has an all around game where she primarily scores on the right side, but she is also a weapon from the outside and backrow. She can do it all and with great poise.    Isabelle Brown - Setter - Circle City 17 Purple - Class of 2025   Brown is playing up on the the Circle City 17s squad this year after being a huge leader for the Circle City 15s in 2022.  Great footwork and hands, Brown has all the training and fundamentals that you see in all Circle City setters.  However, there's a lot of intangibles that Brown has that others do not.  Her grit, ability to get her hands on the ball, and make the big set in the big moment is special.  She thrives in the big moment and is the type of athlete you want in your program.    <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/02/DSC09977.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-327496" width="380" height="253" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Musgrove</figcaption></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='179889' first='Kirra' last='Musgrove'] - Houston Skyline 17 Royal - Class of 2025   Take your pick as to what you want [player_tooltip player_id='179889' first='Kirra' last='Musgrove'] to do for your team.  She's a long, athletic 6'2 left handed right side and setter.  I saw her this past weekend swing from the right side, but I know she can set as well.  The more I watch, the more convinced I am at letting these athletes play multiple positions as long as they can.  She can be utilized in so many different ways.  Houston Skyline 17 Royal will be one of the top teams in the 17s field this year.  Texas has some gnarly 17s teams where they could potentially take over the 17 Open field.    Ashlynn Tafoya - Setter - Rocky Mountain Elite 17 National - Class of 2025   Tafoya is a little under the radar in the Class of 2025, but I'm buying stock in her game as well as many of her teammates that I was able to see win a state title in Colorado this past fall.  She has a high IQ, great feet and hands, and like many of these athletes - she's a winner, she gets it done. She was a key piece for her team to advance to the Challenge Round at Triple Crown and will be one to tag in UA as 2025 setters to watch.

When I watch matches, I take notes putting the team name and number of the athlete with descriptors of the athlete. I'll go back to look up the name and information and am surprised to see some of them are actually playing up an age group. I know it can be a tough call on when to pull up an athlete for a higher age group, there are a lot of factors that play into this decision. My own personal belief when it comes to this is that if they are playing up, they should probably be heavily contributing to the team, a key player. These athletes are playing up and succeeding.