A Sendoff For Seniors: Honoring The Class of 2020 One Photo At A Time

<p><span style="font-weight: 400">I’m in a unique position where I get to see a lot of volleyball from various parts of the country.  The high school season is primarily the states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, but for club the options are endless.  I get to tell the story of athletes, I meet families, high school, club, and college coaches.  Again, its unique, but the best part is being able to go beyond the the athlete’s number on a roster and the story behind what the picture says.  I will be highlighting pictures this week that focus on the the Class of 2020 and the story behind the photo honoring this group that has had anything but a normal end to their high school career. To the Class of 2020, we got you! </span></p> <p></p> <p><strong>The Louisville Legends</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Assumption High School, KIVA, and the city of Louisville definitely has names that run deep with volleyball lineage.  For [player_tooltip player_id="68017" first="Anna" last="DeBeer"], the Assumption and KIVA star who will be joining the Louisville volleyball program, has racked up the awards all throughout her career.  I was able to first see her play her 16s year at the GJNC in the Chicago area and once again at the Asics Challenge in Chicago this past fall.  This picture of DeBeer and legendary coach Ron Kordes shows him still teaching one of the top players in the state.  Always teaching. Always.  For the top coaches and the top athletes, they continue to rise when they are willing to challenge as a coach, but also for athletes to continually accept feedback.  This picture just shows the teaching and being able to accept the feedback to continuously find ways to always get better. </span></p> <p></p> <p><strong>Leave Your Legacy </strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">The Legacy 18s have been at the top of the volleyball world the past two seasons.  The 18s squad in 2019 won big qualifier after qualifier while also being crowned AAU 18 Open National Champions.  The 2020 18s squad was going to be good, really good, but good as the 2020 squad?  At the Triple Crown Invite in Kansas City, two Legacy teams caught fire and found themselves playing in big matches on Presidents Day.  After going 1-2 on day one, the 18s would go on to win six straight enroute to the title.  The toughest tournament in the country and Legacy would be standing at the top. </span></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p><strong>Hangtime for Hannah </strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">[player_tooltip player_id="61387" first="Camryn" last="Hannah"] is something special to watch.  There are so many highlights to the Asics Challenge held at Mother McAuley in Chicago where Hannah’s high school squad Marist High School of Chicago won the championship over Skutt Catholic out of the Omaha area.  Hannah could swing, set, and created so many positive touches for her team.  Watching her fly through the art is pure artistry, with her ability to adjust and find a way to score points.  Hannah will be heading to Clemson to start her Freshman year this fall. </span></p> <p></p> <p><strong>Making History </strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">[player_tooltip player_id="78322" first="Rylee" last="Fay"] is at the peak of her jump as she celebrates with her Iowa City Liberty High School teammates.  Liberty is a new high school in Iowa City where they most recently made their first ever state tournament appearance as a school.  Fay will be heading to Missouri State as one of the top setters out of the class of 2020 in Iowa.  There is always something special about celebration photos, but this one really captures the emotion behind the moment while competing in a state tournament. </span></p> [caption id="attachment_93636" align="aligncenter" width="455"] McNabb #4[/caption] [caption id="attachment_93637" align="aligncenter" width="443"] Malik[/caption] <p><strong>The McMalik </strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">[player_tooltip player_id="56005" first="KJ" last="McNabb"] from Sun Prairie High School and [player_tooltip player_id="56006" first="Milla" last="Malik"] of Waunakee High School outside of Madison, WI were two of the first athletes I wrote about seeing them take the court together for Capital Volleyball Academy at a local scrimmage to start the club season.  These two just brought a spark to the court.  McNabb is a former elite cheerleader which you can see with her jumping ability and celebrations and Malik just has this fire she plays with from her physicality and her violent arm swing to the emotion and passion she had on the court (always up for an intellectual discussion with the up ref :).  McNabb will head to Loyola in Chicago and McNabb will head to Buffalo.  They have skills that I’m not sure you can always teach with how the energy they have just seems to be so contagious.  Truly a joy to watch the past few seasons! </span></p>