Maria shot up from 172 to 122 in the class of 2028 rankings. For Virginia Elite she was one of their stronger offensive players. Her block and redirect kill gave Virginia Elite a 19-17 win in the third set of the finals of a 19-17 win at the Shamrock Showdown. She also won a top performer award at a recent Prep Dig showcase.

Now her sights are set on high school where last year she played middle for a surprising Woodbridge team. While they lost in the first round of the Regionals the returning players extra year of experience should carry them farther in the playoffs. In their first game of the year (probably an exhibition match) they beat Mountain View, the team that eliminated them in the Regionals last year.

With Elliot Dorgan Elliot Dorgan 6'1" | OH/DS/L Woodbridge | 2029 State VA hitting outside, Caroline Freeman Caroline Freeman 5'5" | DS/L Woodbridge | 2028 State VA playing libero, Braylin Coacher Braylin Coacher 5'9" | S Woodbridge | 2029 State VA setting and Maria playing middle they have all the positions covered to take a run at the championship.

Maria was clearly one of the top middles at the Stock up Showcase. She buried a number of balls hitting the quick tempo sets. Blocking is always a difficult skill to measure at these events since you don’t see a lot of that until the six-person occurs near the end.

Virginia Elite 16 won the Shamrock Showdown taking the third set in the finals 19-17. Maria scored the last two points of the set with a block followed by a redirect kill to end the match. That gives me a good read about her ability to block.

Last year Woodbridge brought in a number of frosh who contributed to a successful season. They lost in the first round to Mountain View in the Regionals. They do get another year of experience from some of their younger players. While Maria led the team in blocking last year as a sophomore she hopes to make a greater contribution with her offense. Last year she was fifth on the team in kills, but she carried the second best hitting percentage among the hitters.