First Impressions: Academy Summer League, Week 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A little early to be figuring out starting sixes, of course, but June and July start to mold chemistry, top 12s on the roster and what the future might hold for each and every team that plays in summer leagues. Here are three teams I saw at Academy's first week of summer league, and two players from each that stood out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fishers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starting league play with only five players was interesting, but it got me thinking---who ya got? With so many graduations and kids prepping for (or already at) nationals, it was nice to see a few "new" faces in the crowd. Setter <strong>Myra Deal ('24, 5-8 S)</strong> looked the part of a 5-1 setter, and did well in her connections with hitters. <strong>Isabelle Bowman ('25, 6-1 RS)</strong> was pounding away at defenses regularly, and was tough to deal with at the net on both offense and defense. Should be fun seeing more of this squad as the summer continues.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Westfield Black</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not necessarily split evenly, but had enough there for me to pick out a few kids that nosed ahead in the skills department. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='261023' first='Isabelle' last='Jackson'] ('25, 5-9 S)</strong> is an athletic setter who defends her position well and led her side well in their two matches against Southport and Fishers. A surprising size addition, and a kid I hadn't recognized, was <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443848' first='Carsyn' last='Comer'] ('27, 6-2 MB),</strong> who is a Munciana kid and put balls away and defended with a maturity not yet seen in this class. I liked what I saw early on from Carsyn, and she'll definitely disappoint some returning varsity players when she takes the floor for real in the fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cathedral Gold</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another squad that was split was Cathedral. On the gold side, there was a ton of promise from younger players throughout. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='332515' first='Josie' last='Myers'] ('25, 6-3 MB)</strong> was dominant at the net against New Palestine and Mount Vernon. She was very physical offensively and blocked a ton of balls on defense. Another middle to keep an eye on for the Irish is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='506252' first='Sophia' last='Farah'] ('27, 6-2 MB)</strong>. Big and physical, she held her own on both sides of the ball and is another in a long line of strong volleyball players over six feet for Cathedral.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->