It comes as no surprise that Union’s top scorer, Bianca Grimm Bianca Grimm 5'8" | OH Union LaPorte City | 2027 State IA , was a standout at this event. Grimm did a fantastic job hitting the deep corners and powering through her blockers. Her defensive game was also one to remember; she did a great job filling the holes in the block and getting her feet to the ball. I think Banca is going to do an amazing job navigating her team through what should be a successful season for the Knights.

Grimm stood out to me pretty quickly when watching her compete at the Prep Dig Iowa Sizzle last August. Upon seeing her again at this year’s event, I’m convinced she’s among the state’s most entertaining volleyballer players to watch. It comes with a ton of production, too. A three-year starter, Grimm has appeared in all 151 Union Community High matches since arriving as a freshman in 2023. She’s amassed 934 kills, 718 digs and 97.0 blocks. The numbers tell the story of a kid with prodigious power at the pin with the quickness and skill to hold it down in the back row. Grimm plays hard all the time and has a great feel for match flow.

While I can’t scout as many club teams as I’d like due to time constraints, those occasions at least provide access to a lot of players at one time and place. I miss even more during the high school season because a lot of it is dedicated to two-team conference matchups, which are great. That leads me to Grimm, who I watched at the Prep Dig Sizzle last August. She was the engine for a Knight operation that would end up reaching the regional finals in another fine season. I hadn’t witnessed her progress since August, so I checked her Hudl page for clips from the campaign that saw her lead the team with 435 kills (.199), and add 321 digs and 43.0 digs. We see what impressed me at the Sizzle – a dynamic, quick-twitch athlete that plays hard and to win all of the time. A lot of the footage is of her attacking from the outside. It’s explosion off the court and a quick swing that generates power. She reads the block and holes in the defense well, increasing her odds of putting the ball down. While she doesn’t include back-row clips on her Hudl page, Grimm flashed a lot of potential there during the Sizzle.