New Faces and Rising Stars at the Harbor

On the first day of a two or three day tournament I try to watch sets from teams I normally don't get a chance to watch. You can identify a number of new faces when watching those sets. Unfortunately, these are still sets played at the Open level. Sometimes to identify the best players you have to watch the top teams. An exception to watching just Open level teams might be at the Qualifiers where good teams could still play in USA, National or American divisions.   Below are some of the new faces discovered at the National Harbor tournament, including some ranked players who stood out.   Class of 2024   [player_tooltip player_id='517498' first='Ziqing' last='Zhou'] left side (Maryland Jrs) - Don't really know where she came from. Her name does not appear on any rosters for Maryland Juniors on their website but clearly, she was one of the top players at the National Harbor tournament. Her jump spin serve was difficult to pass, hitting the seams or the deep corners pretty consistently. She was able to find all areas of the court with her kills, striking them with excellent velocity. Finally, she played a superb back row, making all the defensive plays and passing well. She could easily rise into the top 20 for our rankings for the class of 2024 if she is from the Chesapeake area. A google search finds an identical name from Beijing class of 2024 who has a similar jump spin serve and similar style of game.   [player_tooltip player_id='515534' first='Jocelyn' last='Torres'] setter (Maryland Jrs.) - Jocelyn is named on the Maryland Jrs website roster with her other 18 elite teammates. During the first day of pool play she rotated setting a 5/1 with [player_tooltip player_id='478765' first='Amy' last='Ye']. When the playoffs started Jocelyn was used as a setter in the back row while Amy set in the front row. Jocelyn does a good job working the offense in a 5/1 using her weapons well. She played at Georgetown Day which had [player_tooltip player_id='180285' first='Clara' last='Yu'] as a setter, so most of her court time may have been seen as a defensive specialist. Her height lists at 5'8". I came away impressed with how she ran the offense. Tempo seemed good in the middles as well as outside.   [player_tooltip player_id='235278' first='Aava' last='Shingler'] libero/defensive specialist (Virginia Jrs) - This is actually the second time I have seen her play. For Battlefield High she regularly earns a spot on the District first team for her libero play. She played as a defensive specialist for Virginia Jrs, playing a solid back row. Juniors showed a lot of confidence in her passing, even setting up a two person passing scheme with her and libero [player_tooltip player_id='181239' first='Lanie' last='Goff'].   Rosemary Degn middle/right side (Virginia Jrs) - Rosemary shows on the roster as a right side, but she occupied the middle when I saw her play. She ran the quicks well and seemed to glide smoothly from pin to pin when putting up a block. At 6'2" she brings the length to play the middle. Rosemary played at McLean high school.   Class of 2025   [player_tooltip player_id='520352' first='Daja' last='Warren'] middle (Chesapeake Elite Academy) - Daja brings some length to the middle at 6'3. She can easily fly over ten feet with her approach. There is still some rawness in her game, but she ran a good slide and her quick middles were timed well. While she played for the 18 team she lists as a class of 2025. She goes to Eleanor Roosevelt high school where creating rosters appears to be a second thought.    [player_tooltip player_id='181245' first='Anisa' last='Flowers'] setter (Virginia Juniors) - Anisa ranks number 66 in our class of 2025. Last year she ran track, delaying her setting for East Coast Power until later in the season. She also filled more of a defensive role at her high school with frosh [player_tooltip player_id='448705' first='Danika' last='Swanson'] doing most of the setting (third on the team in digs). This year she shares the setting role with [player_tooltip player_id='284195' first='Daisy' last='Pentorn']. The two of them combined to set Virginia Jrs to a second place finish (see picture above). Listed at 5'3" Anisa will probably be restricted to back row play when setting but she shows her diversity by being able to also handle the defensive specialist role as well.    [player_tooltip player_id='453965' first='Taylor' last='Hansen'] left side (VAVA) - Technically, Taylor is not a new face, ranking number 71 in our class of 2025. She did have a breakout season last year for Briar Woods high school, finishing second on the team in kills. At 5'8" some might consider her short for an outside. However, she packs plenty of wallop to the ball, and comes through in clutch situations. She powdered a match winning kill to give VAVA a 15-13 upset match win over Virginia Juniors on the first day. A very emotional player who rallies her team to play at the highest level.   [player_tooltip player_id='520354' first='Brianna' last='Thompson'] middle ([program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite']) - Brianna impressed with her middle play. Listed at 5'9" she may be better suited to play at a pin. She does show a nice tempo to hit the quicks in the middle. Brianna plays for Potomac Falls high school as a right side/middle.   [player_tooltip player_id='399509' first='Lauryn' last='Allen'] left side (Maryland Jrs) - Lauryn shows a good vertical, which she will need with her 5;8" height. She put together three critical kills at the end of the first set to finish off a 26-24 victory. Another player who showed some success with a jump spin serve that accumulated a number of aces. Lauryn plays at McDonogh high school. She currently ranks 121 in our class of 2025.   Class of 2026   [player_tooltip player_id='464562' first='Elizabeth' last='Gordon'] middle (American) - Elizabeth appears on our watch list for the class of 2026. At 5'11 she brings some length to the middle but further growth would be ideal. In one game she was successful hitting three straight middles from her setter [player_tooltip player_id='448705' first='Danika' last='Swanson']. She also contributed a block during that streak. For Patriot high she put together the top hitting percentage for her team.   [player_tooltip player_id='525333' first='Riley' last='Stever'] libero (American) - Riley played a solid back row, showing off a good, quiet platform for passing. She also played a significant role in the back row for her Gainesville high school team. American went undefeated the first day and rang up a victory on the first game of day two. Two straight losses after that dropped them to the silver bracket. They have some talent on this team to have success, especially with Riley smothering the back court with her defensive plays.   [player_tooltip player_id='377336' first='Callie' last='Agniel'] left side (Virginia Elite) - Callie ranks number 142 in the class of 2026. That will rise after her performance at the Harbor. An injury prevented her from playing a high school season this past year. At the Harbor she showed the ability to play six rotations, providing some key hits to get Virginia Elite into the finals. During the semi-final match she had at least six kills in their win over MVSA Sparks. I was impressed with how quickly she drops down to get low on defense or to receive a pass. Excellent anticipation.   Class of 2027   [player_tooltip player_id='438043' first='Katherine' last='McLaughlin'] left side (Virginia Elite) - Last year she played for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] but did not get a lot of playing time. She brings a fighter's mentality to the game. If given a choice she would rather be battling it out on the court than cheering from the sideline. Virginia Elite provides her more playing time to show off her game. She delivered one spike that was about as hard a hit as you will see on the court. Last year during her frosh season for Paul Vi Katherine got a lot of playing time. This year she should play more of a starting role. She ranks number 67 for our class of 2027 but that could rise based on her performance over the club season.    [player_tooltip player_id='484960' first='Kinsley' last='Zebatto'] right side (Virginia Juniors) - There are a number of talented players on this roster that rank high for the class of 2027. Kinsley sits at number 49, a little lower than most. She played for Battlefield as a frosh last year, which earned their way to the finals of a state championship. At 6'1" Kinsley has the length to play middle or right side. Kinsley played right side for Juniors and brought some offense to help bring home the gold.   [player_tooltip player_id='471485' first='Kaelyn' last='Wharton'] left side ([program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite']) - Kaelyn provided [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] with some significant offense hitting from the left side and back row. She played for Independence High as a frosh last year and appears on our watch list. For her high school team the roster shows her as a setter. Her height is a little short at 5.8" but she hits the ball hard. Setter may be a better opportunity for her but [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] already have three on their roster.

On the first day of a two or three day tournament I try to watch sets from teams I normally don't get a chance to watch. You can identify a number of new faces when watching those sets. Unfortunately, these are still sets played at the Open level. Sometimes to identify the best players you have to watch the top teams. An exception to watching just Open level teams might be at the Qualifiers where good teams could still play in USA, National or American divisions.