Who Pulled Out the Charm in Baltimore

Who were some of the players who stood out in the Cjarm City Challenge in Baltimore? For this piece I tried to pick some of the more obscure players who stood out. Players either ranked low or possibly not ranked at all who played well in the tournament. While these players may not carry a high ranking they did power their way to a good tournament. Below are some of those players who surprised me in the tournament, one from each team selected, though not every team may have been included.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">18 Open</h2>   Molly McCall Outside ([program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] 18/Fluvanna - It is difficult not to ignore a 6'1" left side who plays six rotations. She made an incredible defensive play crashing into the benches to make a save. Her passing in the back row was also very accurate. She still needs some work on her offensive game to create more power with her swing. For high school she also played basketball and softball so there is athleticism. It appears some college was already paying attention to her because she committed to VCU. [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] finished third in the 18 Open Division, eventually losing to eventual champion [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] in the semi-finals.    At least Riley made our class of 2026 rankings at number 115. She lists at 5'10" but she doesn't bring an extraordinary jump. What she masters is the ability to use the blockers hands to create a kill. Sometimes it might be best not even to go up to block her. On a tight set she went straight up with one of her hits, glancing off the blockers fingerss while the ball landed 40 to 50 feet out. Fortunately, the officials were able to see the touch.   An extremely high volleyball IQ to play front row. In the games I watched 540 only played her three rotations. To date, she is the only player yet to commit on the 18 team but that should change very soon from what I hear.    [player_tooltip player_id='710426' first='Emerson' last='Combs'] Outside (River City/Midlothian) - Emerson plays with her Midlothian teammate [player_tooltip player_id='519343' first='Dylan' last='Cline'] for River City. At 5'9" Emerson is a bit undersized for an outside but she plays a solid six rotations. She plays excellent defense when covering the back row. Her placement shots on her kills show good location. She even had a platform pass kill that finished off a set 25-21, placing it in the area where the right side, setter and middle let it drop between them. Riverside qualified for the gold bracket but lost in the first round to [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] in the third set 15-13. Emerson has yet to commit. She would make a good Division III outside.   [player_tooltip player_id='377334' first='Josephine' last='Seekford'] outside (Virginia Elite/Loudoun County) - Josephine has always impressed me with her ability to hit. Her 6'2" height allows her to put many a ball away by reaching high over the block. Her approach jump reaches 9'9". This gives her a pretty high ranking at 45. What impressed me most about the improvement in her game was her ability to play defense in the back row. On a couple occasions she fell to the floor to make one handed saves to keep rallies alive. That ability to play defense opened up a spot for her in the back row to also create some offense. The couple times I watched her play it appears they hide her in serve receive. Josephine committed to Queens in North Carolina.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">17 Open</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='534058' first='Alexa' last='Bracey'] right side ([program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']/Bishop McNamara) - When you play for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 17 you will be overshadowed by players like [player_tooltip player_id='296486' first='Taylor' last='Harrington'], [player_tooltip player_id='528707' first='Annika' last='Dandridge'], [player_tooltip player_id='435745' first='Alyssa' last='Kumah'] and [player_tooltip player_id='435748' first='Aaliyah' last='Green']. However, when you list 6'0" with an approach jump just short of 10'3' with a pretty fast left handed arm swing that spotlight should shine on you every once in a while.   Consistency finding the court has always been her biggest challenge when I watch her. However, she ranks at 95 because of her tremendous potential. She showed that potential may be breaking out in this tournament, finding lots of playing time while also achieving success. In the finals against Metro after Metro had scored three points to pull within one point at 19-20 in the first game, Alexa buried a set to the floor to change the momentum of the game. In another game she also had an impressive kill where she bounced a ball in front of the 10 foot line for a kill. Those are becoming actions more frequent on the court as she gains confidence in her game. Alexa has committed to Delaware.    This girl plays with a lot of enthusiasm. At 6'3 she also creates a big presence on the right side. In the championship match, while others were having difficulty getting past the [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] block, Olivia generated some clutch kills to keep Metro in the game. She also can bring up a big block from the right side to help neutralize a left side attack.   This year she led West Potomac to their first state appearance in seven years, earning a spot on the Class 6 first team. She will be a big force for Metro 17 on the right side. Her approach jump reaches 9'11". A player worth the watch.    [player_tooltip player_id='942702' first='Alivia' last='Jackson'] middle (Metro National 17/Reservoir) - The interesting result of a new travel team created by Metro is the exposure of different players to the tournament scene. Alivia is a 6'1" middle who played for Reservoir. The Gators had a pretty nice run to the semi-finals of the Maryland Class 3 state playoffs before losing to North Hagerstown. Alvia also played for Columbia Volleyball Academy last year. She put together a couple good blocks and a nice quick middle kill over the block against [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] to give the National team a good start to the tournament. They finished in a tie for third behind Metro Travel and [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. There did not appear to be any playing time when Metro Travel swept past Metro National in the semi-finals based on the notes I had.    For [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] [player_tooltip player_id='581553' first='Karinne' last='Goodrum'] tied with Jenna for putting out the most charm. Karinne powered some good hits but Jenna also had a couple combo blocks and kills that stood out. And at this point Jenna falls below Karinne in the rankings.   She actually finished off the second set against East Coast Crush with a kill to give them a 25-17 win. They went on to win the third set 15-13. Overall, a fifth place finish, although their last win against Triangle appears to be a forfeit.   This [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] has some talent to make some noise. What you will notice is on the volleyball court nobody can make more noise than Jenna.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">16 Open</h2>    Eireni played on the team last year. She bounces around between right and left side. Against Richmond Volleyball she served up three consecutive aces to put the game out of reach, During that set [player_tooltip player_id='554770' first='Rujuta' last='Singh'] and Eireni hit left side. [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] mixes and matches depending on need.   At 5'11" and ranked at number 11 in our class of 2028 Eireni ranks a little high for classification as an obscure player. However, she goes to St. Andrews Episcopal, which is a pretty obscure high school in the ISL. She was one of two players from her high school to make the first team. The team is not noted for its winning but perhaps Eireni can change that.    [player_tooltip player_id='612396' first='Natalie' last='Hobson'] setter (Metro Travel/Bishop O'Connell) - It is not often Metro Travel picks up a new player to fill a starting rotation spot. Natalie took over the setting responsibilities for Metro Travel, a pretty big task since they took first place in the Junior Nationals National Division last club season. Natalie rises to the occasion when setting under big game environments having played for O'Connell since her frosh season. For Metro 16 Natalie continues piling up the ace serves while also providing juicy sets for her hitters to tee off. Natalie is most adept at her timing for the quick sets. Metro has now won two tournaments while finishing second in a third for a number 7 national ranking. It appears the hitters did not take long to learn to feast on Natalie's sets.   [player_tooltip player_id='936618' first='Ryann' last='Owensby'] setter ([program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club']/Central Virginia Home School - [program_tooltip program_id='498495' first='Richmond' last='Volleyball Club'] finished third in the tournament. They were a little overwhelmed by Paramount in the opener, then battled much better in the semi-finals against Metro Travel before losing 25-18, 25-22. They have three big hitters in [player_tooltip player_id='768375' first='Alexis' last='VerMeer'], [player_tooltip player_id='464573' first='Blake' last='Crawford'] and [player_tooltip player_id='536717' first='London' last='Jones']. In order for them to be effective they need someone to set them. That is where [player_tooltip player_id='936618' first='Ryann' last='Owensby'] and [player_tooltip player_id='721139' first='Mollie' last='Wamhoff'] come in.   Both are very capable, running the quicks well and varying their locations at the net for the Big Three to more easily generate offense. Ryann has a little more height at 5'10'. She set for Central Virginia Home School which finished 36-4 on the season. They beat some pretty strong high school teams like Catholic, St. Catherines, The Covenant and Collegiate. Ryann is the main setter on that team. She also leads the team in aces. They have the number 6 prospect in the class of 2029 on that team, [player_tooltip player_id='768546' first='Eleanor' last='Jastrzemski'].   [player_tooltip player_id='787824' first='Isabella' last='Wright'] libero ([program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club']/Cape Henry Collegiate) - She was on the watch list but fell to the bench after the new rankings. After finally watching her play (or perhaps noticing is more fitting) she is back on the watch list with a strong opportunity to make the rankings this time. I came away impressed with her libero play against 757. She made a flying dolphin dive with a one handed dig to make an excellent save. You also have to love her hustle on the court. It is not often that a libero stands out for her play. East Coast finished in a tie for fifth.    [player_tooltip player_id='466369' first='Cailin' last='Connors'] was quite active hitting outside in 540 Volleyball Academies victory over Metro National. At 5'9" she is a bit undersized but brings a good vertical to her game that allows her to hit high off the blocks. She also plays some quality defense when in the back row.   [player_tooltip player_id='609590' first='Leah' last='Eggleton'] also contributed to the offense on the left side. She only stands 5'8" but she ranks one position ahead of Cailin in the rankings at number 74.   With the quality of 16 teams at this tournament a fifth place finish was a good result for them.     Miley still has some inconsistency in her game. At 6'0" she brings some good height to the outside. When her timing is there she can sting the ball pretty good. When she arrives a little early to the set she can bomb the ball off the court.   She played a good set against [program_tooltip program_id='489547' first='540' last='Volleyball Academy'] collecting a number of crucial kills to keep Metro National in the game. She made a big block on the right side that pulled National to within three points but then banged the next ball out.   The talent is there. Finding that consistency will put her among the elites.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">15 Open</h2>    At number 5 she ranks a little high for consideration as an obscure player. However, she played a monumental match against Metro travel in which they almost pulled off a big upset in the first set of their playoff match.   Sophia generated four kills and two aces as Metro National took the lead against Metro Travel 20-19. After a missed serve Metro Travel went on to score the next five points to take the set.   Sophia also played well in the second set with four additional kills, but Metro Travel won that one pretty easily 25-16. Sophia hits right side and plays six rotations. She says she likes hitting right side. At 6'0" she appears to have the height to play the position.    [player_tooltip player_id='903896' first='Nicole' last='McDermott'] Outside (Herndon/Virginia Elite) - Nicole brings some size to the middle at 6'1". She also brings a very impressive 9'7" approach jump. While she played middle for Herndon she hit left side for Virginia Elite generating a number of kills against TNT. Virginia Elite won 25-23, 16-14 against [program_tooltip program_id='450416' first='East' last='Coast Volleyball Club'] Black in the first round of the gold bracket playoff. They were swept in the semi-finals by a strong [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] team. Nicole is not yet ranked in our class of 2027 but she appears on our watch list based on her most recent performances.   [player_tooltip player_id='750047' first='Caroline' last='Conroy'] middle (Walt Whitman/Metro) - A 6'3" middle who can approach 10 foot deserves notice. Watching her last year she showed potential but there was a lot of inconsistency in her swing. She struggled a bit with the quick tempo sets. Early this season her connection with [player_tooltip player_id='746506' first='Carolyn' last='Maria'] seems unstoppable. She buried a number of quick tempo sets in the middle as well as a couple outside sets to leave her position at the net a mystery. She also strung together a couple aces when serving. Her game has seen a lot of improvement from last year.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">14 Open </h2>    Last year Mila played some right side for Flint Hill. She did not find herself too involved in the offense. Her hitting percentage of .055 is not what you want to see from a pin hitter, plus despite her 5'10 height she did not get credit for a lot of blocks as a right side. Those kinds of performances are not unusual for a frosh playing on the varsity team,   Her game has improved quite a bit as she plays down a year with Metro 14. With the talent level on the Metro 15 Travel team and even the 15 National team she is getting needed playing time and repetitions with the 14 team.   Miley showed a good ability to attack from the back row. This could make her a more potent offensive force next high school season.    [player_tooltip player_id='941767' first='Veronica' last='Barvick'] outside ([program_tooltip program_id='494409' first='Blue' last='Ridge']/Chelsea Academy) - Metro could not stop Veronica from hitting outside in the championship match. She and [player_tooltip player_id='941768' first='Randilyn' last='Hancock'] were virtually unstoppable from the left side. Veronica stands just 5'9" now but if she grows just an inch or two she could remind me a lot of her sister Greta who dominated as a right side/setter. One thing about the Barvicks is there are a lot of them and they all seem to have excellent volleyball IQs. What they lack in height they make up for in perseverance.

Who were some of the players who stood out in the Cjarm City Challenge in Baltimore? For this piece I tried to pick some of the more obscure players who stood out. Players either ranked low or possibly not ranked at all who played well in the tournament. While these players may not carry a high ranking they did power their way to a good tournament. Below are some of those players who surprised me in the tournament, one from each team selected, though not every team may have been included.