With length for days and a relentless motor, Ainsley attends the equivalent of Middle Blocker High School—-otherwise known as Zionsville. If you’re looking for a middle in this class, none have accomplished at the club level what Miss Sauder has already done, and she gets better every year. Constantly and consistently available to attack on nearly every ball, defenses are required to account for her in every rally. Rarely taking plays off, her defense and offense are nearly identical in efficiency, and has that extra volleyball IQ to make up for any slight errors in her game.

From what I like to call “Middle High School”, Ainsley is one of many long-and-lean middles that annual come out of Zionsville ready for open-level ball. Miss Sauder’s length is her strength, and she can defend from pin to pin as well as she can attack as an M1 or an M2 in any situation. She’s going to see plenty of high-end competition this spring, and her challenge will be what to do when bigger middles come along. I’m looking forward to her adjustments against size and speed in her opponents, as there’s not a lot of either in central Indiana in her class in the middle.

From a high school I like to call Middle Senior High School, Ainsley is a long and lean middle from a stable of middles that play for the Eagles. Her spot on Circle’s 15 Purple (read: 15-1) is well-earned; quick on the transition, length to play exceptional net defense and the ability to whip her attacking arm through the hitting zone to terminate. Freshman this long and lean in their freshman years are usually playing like newborn giraffes—-Ainsley is far from a newborn. She might still be growing, but that hasn’t stopped her from terminating regularly from the middle on every team she’s been a part of.

Long, lean and springy, Ainsley has a whip of an arm that can hit every angle from the middle. My favorite trait of hers is her constant and consistent ability to be available to hit on every play, regardless of location of the pass. This is usually the LAST thing middles learn as they develop from good to great, and Ainsley already has that aspect to her skill set. That availability, coupled with her athleticism, makes her very recruitable in the near future. Coming from a high school known for their high-end middles, she should be part of the next wave of “bigs” for the Eagles.