O’Connell opened the season with their match against Holy Cross. Normally, these two wait until the end of the season to play their match but a scheduling issue moved the match up. O’Connell swept the Tartans.

One key piece missing in the match was Ana Woods Ana Woods 6'1" | RS/OH Academy of the Holy Cross | 2028 State VA . She was unavailable for that match. That put all the pressure on Emerson Wolfe Emerson Wolfe 6'0" | OH/RS Academy of the Holy Cross | 2028 State VA to provide the bulk of the offense. You could not expect frosh Aniston Williams Aniston Williams 6'0" | MB Academy of the Holy Cross | 2029 State VA to be ready in her first high school match of her career. Holy Cross finished the match with 24 kills and 24 errors in the sweep.

A more experienced Aniston Williams Aniston Williams 6'0" | MB Academy of the Holy Cross | 2029 State VA and the availability of Ana will help the offense if they meet in the finals. Even though Ana hits right side Holy Cross relies on her back row play. In addition to her offensive presence she is second on the team in digs. She is also one of their best servers.

Ana has committed to Connecticut.

As a frosh Ana finished fourth in kills and third in blocks for a rebuilding Holy Cross team that still found its way to the WCAC championship match. At 6’0″ she provides an effective block to neutralize the left side hitter. Her approach jump reaches 9’10” so she can be difficult to block. With more experience her consistency at finding the open spots in the court will increase.

As a right side she normally comes out for the setter so her back row play is limited. While she could play some back row I have not yet seen it.

Ana ranks number 6 in our class of 2028. She played mainly right side for Metro. At 6’0″ she brings good height to the pins. She won a top performer award at the Prep Dig frosh showcase.

Last year Holy Cross went undefeated and finished number one in the rankings according to the Washington Post. This year they appear to be reloading. Ana has only recently been contributing to the action. She ranks third on the team in kills per set and fourth in kills playing in 11 of the team’s 32 sets. In those sets she appears to play all six rotations.

With Ana in the lineup the team has won their last four matches.