The Biggest Climbers in the Class of 2025

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are the top climbers from the class of 2025. For these rankings, if you impressed in the Junior Nationals or the Prep Dig showcase you shot up in the rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["181298"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66bc3030e448d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ana went from number 6 in our class of 2025 rankings to number 4. When she</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">gets hot not many can stop her. Her early performance almost led Virginia Elite to a gold bracket appearance in the National Division of the Junior Nationals. They fell short, losing to the eventual second place team <strong>AVC Cle Red</strong> in a crossover match. A first round defeat in the silver bracket left them with a 13th place finish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ana has committed to James Madison. If she can increase the length when she finds herself in a zone, or the frequency of those hot spots she could become an impact player. Last year she led Langley to the Class 6 Virginia State championship. This coming high school season she hopes to make it back to back championships.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] OH (Bullis/Metro) - Alexis went from number 7 to number 5 in our 2025 rankings. She played a year up for Metro 18 replacing <strong>Emerson Sellman</strong> as the outside hitter opposite<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu']</strong>. Metro seemed to stay on course, qualifying to play in the 18 Open and ultimately finishing ninth in the tournament by winning the silver bracket. Her Metro performance resulted in a commitment to Penn State. Her father is basketball legend Patrick Ewing. It was fun watching him cheer for his daughter while on the sidelines during the Junior Nationals in Baltimore. Next on the agenda for Alexis is to lead Bullis to the Independent School Championship (ISL), which has been won by Flint Hill for eleven straight seasons (excluding 2020 when there was no ISL championship).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='248705' first='Zoe' last='Ryu'] OH (Georgetown Day/[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']) - Zoe moved from the number 32 ranking to number 17 based on her performance at the Junior Nationals. The 6'2" left side hitter led [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] to a 5th place finish in the Junior Nationals American Division. Zoe committed to Bowdoin College. Her next agenda will be to lead Georgetown Day to an ISL championship that has been owned by Flint Hill for the past 11 seasons. A solid six rotation player who really surprised me when she stepped it up a notch at the Junior Nationals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["181279"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66bc3030e4517"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kadi probably had one of the more impressive libero performances I have seen at a tournament. She seemed to be everywhere on the floor to dig a ball or pancake a tip. That gave her a jump in the rankings from number 46 to 26.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kadi has committed to Lafayette. Her next assignment will be to lead Flint Hill to their 12th straight ISL title. Her quickness on the floor is what impresses me most but her all out hustle to get to balls that seem out of reach is also exemplary. Love her attitude on the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kadi may have been my vote for All Tournament team if Virginia Elite had made the gold bracket. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='346735' first='Emily' last='Ryder'] RS (Smithsburg/Liberty Elite) - Emily earned a spot on the Freedom Division All tournament team after leading Liberty Elite to a fifth place finish. It also moved her up in the ranking from number 65 to number 30. Emily lists at 5'10" but brings a powerful left handed swing from the right side. It seemed almost everything she swung at hit the floor. Her move to the top 30 makes her just one of ten players who have yet to commit for this class of 2025. Last year Emily almost led Smithsburg to the Maryland Class 1 state championship, getting them to the finals before they lost to Clear Spring in five.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='183589' first='Angelique' last='Desamours'] OH (Bullis/[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']) - Angelique also earned an All Tournament team selection for leading [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] to a fifth place finish in the Junior Nationals American Division. That bumped her up the rankings list from number 57 to number 31. At 5'9" she is a bit undersized but when she swings, she puts some good velocity on the ball. Angelique is another quality 2025 that has yet to commit from the information I have. She plays opposite [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] on the left side for Bullis, giving them a powerful 1/2 punch. This could be their year when a team dethrones Flint Hill from the ISL championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["471627"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66bc3030e4584"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Allison spent her volleyball club season on the beach. She finished in fourth place in the 18 Open Junior National beach championship. As far as I know, that would be the highest ever finish by a Chesapeake team or player in a national championship event. The accomplishment earned her a ranking jump from number 40 to 32. Most important of all, she earned a commitment to play beach at Florida Atlantic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When she plays indoor her libero play stands out. She moves quickly on the court and is automatic with her passing. She also brings a potent jump spin serve that accumulates aces. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["235289"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66bc3030e45ec"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Adalene had a solid performance at the Junior Nations jumping her ranking from number 68 to 55. She played right side and strung together some critical kills. At one time she was a setter and right side but now her performance for Virginia Elite comes strictly as a right side.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">She also plays for Potomac, which plays in Division I of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA). The top eight ranked teams qualify for the state playoffs. Potomac finished eighth last year resulting in an opening day match against the eventual champion Flint Hill. They also play in the ISL. Adalene earned an honorable mention spot on the ISL All Tournament team last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='309024' first='Caroline' last='Lang'] MH/RS (St. Anns Balfield/Metro) - Because of an injury to <strong>Madison Bowser</strong> Metro used [player_tooltip player_id='309024' first='Caroline' last='Lang'] in the middle. Normally she plays right side. At 6'3" Caroline brings the height to play middle. She may have been a little rusty with the quicks, but she played well in that spot to help Metro finish ninth in the tournament. That helped her move up in the rankings from 94 to 62. Like [player_tooltip player_id='181300' first='Alexis' last='Ewing'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='181297' first='Lameen' last='Mambu']</strong>, Caroline played up with the 18s and could return to them next year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["393939"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66bc3030e4650"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Gabreille appeared on my top ten prospect list for National Harbor and Capitol Hill Classic for players who had yet to commit. She also made an appearance at the Stock Up showcase in which Rebecca Russell made a comment about how can a 6'2" outside that can hit like her not be committed. Well, we can now say that Gabrielle has committed to Hampton. Although she did not make the top performer list her performance at the Stock Up Showcase moved her up in the rankings from number 73 to 63.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gabrielle has always been very pro active in her pursuit of a volleyball opportunity in college. Getting the exposure while playing at a small high school is always the challenge, as well as being forced to play middle because of her height when her athleticism exists to play outside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='528451' first='Sadie' last='Gladhill'] L/DS (Linganore/Metro) - Sadie played well as a libero for Metro in the Junior Nationals in the National Division. Because [player_tooltip player_id='238358' first='Evie' last='Huang'] was not available to play Sadie was the primary libero for the tournament. Metro finished with three wins to begin the tournament and three wins to end it. It was in between when they could win only one of their four matches that toasted them for the tournament. Sadie bumped up in the rankings from 86 to 75. She has committed to Buffalo.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='428533' first='Isabel' last='Morales'] L/DS (Freedom/[program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']) - Isabel was used as the primary libero in the Junior Nationals for Paramount when they finished fifth in the American Division. They could not have done that without her elite passing and steady defense. This pushed her up from 124 to 76 in the rankings. Isabel has committed to Little Rock.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='326533' first='Shiraz' last='Benyoucef'] L/DS (Georgetown Day/Virginia Elite) - At a clinic for young kids trying to learn to play the sport, Shiraz impressed me with her patience with them. With the older kids she was used as a demo person for showing the kids how to pass, and even showed off her hitting prowess. At the clinic she indicated she would be playing libero for Georgetown Day. That could bump her up a notch more since I have only seen her as a defensive specialist for Virginia Elite. [player_tooltip player_id='181279' first='Kadi' last='Pynchon'] (see above) has a pretty tight hold on that libero spot. In the meantime, Shiraz impressed enough to go from 114 to 100 in the rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='399509' first='Lauryn' last='Allen'] OH (McDonogh/Maryland Jrs) - At 5'9" Lauryn is an undersized right side. She recently committed to Lehigh. An athletic player with a solid jump she has climbed from number 139 to 121 in our rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='395684' first='Jessica' last='Ding'] S (Basis Independent/Renaissance - Jessica set a 5/1 for Renaissance in the Patriot Division at Junior Nationals. She showed some good hustle, as well as a good ability to dictate the pace of the game. Her play gave her a jump up in the rankings from 149 to 137.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chesapeake Chortles</strong>: Based on statistics from last year recorded in Max Preps they named the top 50 players in each state to begin the high school season. For Maryland it was [player_tooltip player_id='235748' first='Ema' last='Djordjevic'], for Virginia [player_tooltip player_id='196556' first='Caleigh' last='Ponn'], [player_tooltip player_id='181763' first='Jada' last='Aksu'] was named for DC and [program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge'] outside [player_tooltip player_id='181299' first='Ada' last='McCoy'] was named for West Virginia. <strong>Macaria Spears </strong>played for a couple years in Virginia for Flint Hill earned the number one ranking for Texas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->