Last year Ocean Lakes reached the semi-finals in the Class 5 state championship. They lost to eventual two time champion Riverside in three. This year the Class 5 Division is open for a new champion. While I picked Independence for the championship, I learned they had moved to Class 6. Ocean Lakes is now my pick to win Class 5 after watching them play.

Lyla Shannon Lyla Shannon 6'1" | MB/OH Ocean Lakes | 2027 State VA is their team leader. She will play a critical role in leading them to the championship. The coaches were impressed enough with her play that they voted her to a spot on the All Tournament team. She stands 6’1″ with a 9’11” approach jump.

Currently ranked at number 31 in the class of 2027 puts her as the highest middle yet to commit. She is the fourth ranked middle in that class with the top three going to Penn State, UCLA and Old Dominion. She appears to be an excellent team player on the court.

Lyla is the second ranked middle that has yet to commit. It was quite the battle with Ocean Lakes playing Riverside in the semifinals of the Virginia Class 5 state championship. Lyla was quite adept at running the slide to avoid the block of Gabriella Vizek Gabriella Vizek 6'0" | MB Riverside | 2026 State VA in the middle. Unfortunately, Riverside swept them in three.

Lyla stands 6’1″ and puts up a nice block with an approach jump of 9’11”. She won a top performer award this year at the exposure tour at Richmond Volleyball Club .

Lyla has yet to commit.

I’d already watched her play recently when Ocean Lakes went to play Riverside in the semi-finals of the Class 5 state championships. Lyla hit a variety of balls at different spots along the net with different heights. She looked especially effective when hitting the slide.

Lyla makes hitting the middle sets look so easy. Even when she had to set the middles she showed some quality hands. When the setters came on the court rarely did she miss tempo. Unfortunately, I did not see any of her blocking.

Her approach jump reaches 9’11”. That can work from either the middle or right side. Riverside had difficulty stopping her. After her performance against Riverside she moved up in the rankings from 79 to 31. Add a top performer to her accomplishments and the climb up the rankings should continue.

Lyla will play this season for Club 757 . Lots of improvement since the last time I saw her play as a sophomore. She was actually the lone non senior named to the Class 5 All State first team.

79- 31. She stands tall at 6’1″ allowing her to hammer the ball away in the middle. Riverside struggled with blocking her attacks in the semi-final of the Class 5 state championship. She has improved quite a bit since the last time I saw her play, putting much more velocity on the ball.

Lyla has the quickness and athleticism to play right side. She runs the slide really well from the middle. Playing the right side would just be a small extension of that. This versatility will increase her value as a player.

Her approach jump appears to have reached 9’11” up three inches from what was reported earlier this year. Lyla is a player rising fast.

At 6’1″ Lyla brings height to the net. She has the versatility to play both right side and middle. Her approach jump currently hits 9’8″but with a little more physical conditioning that should rise.

For Ocean Lakes she was able to make the Region 5A first team. A little more explosiveness and faster arm swing could make her an impact player either in the middle or on the right side. She appears to play a decent back row creating a good platform for passing.

757 has mostly played in JVA tournaments but they have beaten some talented teams in Blue Ridge 16 and Virginia Elite 16. They did play in one Qualifier, the Mideast Qualifier, finishing 69th out of 128 teams