An undersized and overachieving middle from Franklin Community, Miss Lilly has a spring to her step that beats more large blockers than one would think. Her fast transition and ability to outjump most of her opposing blockers sneaks up on defenses, and Ava’s quick arm swing is tough to defend on each and every transition opportunity. Yes, she a little undersized on the block in the middle. However, I’d take a super-athletic kid like Ava over any of the slower options in this graduating class.

Two things stood out to me first about Ava, her blocking and her serving. Middles don’t ever get enough credit for the great serving they often bring to the table (ummm, hello Natalie Foster!), so I want to highlight Ava’s. She is super consistent in driving hard through the back of the ball, to keep the serve low and with a heavy float. And good luck when it crosses the net because that ball is going to DROP and drop fast. I look for her Circle City team to score runs of points when she serves this season. Secondly, her blocking is very solid – she closes well and fast from side to side and puts up big strong hands. If Ava can work on staying off the net when attacking, she is really going to become a solid middle blocker who can score points on offense AND defense.