Her libero play was key to West Springfield winning the state championship last year. Anna Dierks Anna Dierks 5'10" | S West Springfield | 2027 State VA sprained her ankle early in the season but when she got healthy the team ran a 5/1. That requires excellent passing to run effectively. Audrey provided that. As a result the team went on a 17 match winning streak to end the season.

They beat Colgan in five winning the last set 15-10. Audrey finished with a team high 27 digs, passed the ball 38 times with only three serve receive errors. She was a freshly oiled machine in the back row with her passing and defense.

They did lose 38 of their 46 kills from that match through graduation. That will be tough to replace.

And speaking of West Springfield, she was the libero that won the Class 6 Virginia state championship. She earned a spot on the second team of the Class 6 Virginia all tournament team. That pushed her up from 49 to 40 in the rankings. She has committed to Mary Washington.

Audrey played for Virginia Juniors 16 this past club season. They played in AAU after failing to qualify for Junior Nationals. Virginia Juniors seemed to play well together towards the end of the season.

For West Springfield they return their libero Audrey, their setter Anna Dierks Anna Dierks 5'10" | S West Springfield | 2027 State VA and middle Milena Kibret Milena Kibret 6'3" | MB West Springfield | 2027 State VA but they need to find new faces for the pins. Last year they won their last 16 matches to win the Class 6 Virginia state championship.

Since Jeremy was assessing liberos I recommended he look at one. Audrey impressed me playing for West Springfield and I sought a second opinion. Color us unanimous.

She sparkled, especially with her communication on the court. Teams do not win state championships without a good active libero. Two years ago when I watched West Springfield play she did not stand out. This past season she took command of the back row. In the class of 2027 rankings she made her first appearance at 51, the second highest debut in our most recent rankings (though Prep Dig historical records show she may have also made a January 2025 debut).

Audrey will take her skills to Virginia Juniors 16 where she will team up with another top performer setter Zeynep Anaz Zeynep Anaz 5'9" | S/RS Marshall-Falls Church | 2028 State VA and a number of prior top performers such as Reese Roberts Reese Roberts 5'9" | MB/RS Patriot | 2027 State VA and Mandela Masimini Mandela Masimini 6'4" | MB Flint Hill School | 2028 State VA to earn a junior national bid.

Audrey debuts at number 51, the second highest for the class of 2027. Coming into this season not much was expected from West Springfield. They lost their top hitter who accounted for more than 50 percent of their kills. However, what was not known was the improvement from their libero Audrey Busch Audrey Busch 5'5" | DS/L West Springfield | 2027 State VA who doubled the number of digs she collected last year.

She has the quickness to make some incredible digs. Prior to the state playoffs she was my sleeper to watch during the semi-finals. That proved prophetic as she scooped up 27 digs in the five set final.

A player not afraid to control the back row.