Five For ’25: Munciana’s Five Athletes You Should Watch From ’25

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Munciana is the quintessential home for all things volleyball in the state of Indiana. It's Mecca, Graceland and one of the volleyball wonders of Indiana all rolled into one. Muncie, Indiana is so important to volleyball here that the high school state title matches moved to Ball State permanently from Butler University. So, when rosters from Munciana were released, I was not surprised in the least to find so many high level class of '25 athletes available. Here are five from two different rosters that should be seen this spring by coaches from the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">18 Samurai</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The term "samurai" means more than being a Japanese warrior here in Indiana. Year-in and year-out, the Samurai from Munciana are the top 18s club in the state, and the competition is rarely close. This season is no different, and two middles immediately stuck out to me. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='332515' first='Josie' last='Myers'] ('25, 6-3 MB, Cathedral)</strong> is a big and physical middle that would be an exceptional M2 at any D1 program. She defends from pin to pin with ease because of her length, read-blocks with some of the best middles in Indiana, and is big enough to make some blocks look obsolete. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='282018' first='Cienna' last='Lapsley'] ('25, 6-1 MB, Concordia Lutheran),</strong> albeit a little smaller, is very fast in transition and terminates quickly. Her whip of an armswing beats most blocks just because of the speed, let alone her attack height. I also like some of her attacks on the right pin, making her even more recruitable.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">17 Pandas</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 17-1s at Munciana have a roster <em>filled</em> with athletes ready to play at the next level. I could go on and on about the TEN kids that are available from the class of '25 on this roster, but I'll stick to three that should be making waves this spring. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='498057' first='Emma' last='Blanton'] ('25, 5-8 OH, Hamilton Heights)</strong> played the majority of her high school career in the middle, and her athletic and springy nature made this an easy choice---for high school ball. Now that she's in "big-girl" territory, her natural progression should be to the left pin, where she can take advantage of smaller blocks with that jumping ability of hers. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='239310' first='Grace' last='Drake'] ('25, 5-11 S, Southwood)</strong> just came off of a state championship run, and can do a little of everything for this group. She'll run the offense, but knowing that she's capable of attacking is a bonus (Aside: Grace registered a triple-double in the 1A title match in November.). <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='192113' first='Ava' last='Tindall'] ('25, 6-0 MB, Homestead)</strong> is a recent transfer from [program_tooltip program_id='430155' first='Team' last='Pineapple'], and is a welcome addition of size to this roster. She's a steady and reliable M2 that is smart on offense and consistently above-average on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->