It was actually one of our scouts Mike Graham who first noticed Ava at a qualifier in Ohio. She was one of five players he profiled. For one, she is 6’3 which is difficult not to notice. Secondly, she has athleticism to go with that height. He was also impressed with her ability to play all six rotations with some degree of skill which means playing outside is a possibility.

That motivated me to watch some video on her. I came away impressed. Her long legs give her the ability to go from pin to pin in two steps. She gets her hands far over the net. On quick tempo sets she still needs some work on her approach, but she puts balls away consistently using the full length of the court. From a skill standpoint her blocking is still superior to her hitting.

She plays for Lord Botetourt. They had a solid season last year, making it to the semi-finals of the Regional Class 3 state championships. They lost to Christiansburg in four. Christiansburg eventually went to the state finals where they lost to Abingdon in four. Lord Botetourt played Abingdon twice during the regular season and lost both times.

It surprises me a 6’3″ middle from the class of 2027 has not yet been scooped up by a college.

Ava moves from the watch list to number 80 in the rankings. That is the highest debut of any player this year. She possibly could get ranked higher once I get the opportunity to physically see her play.

Stephens has exceptional size and athleticism and the teams try to take full advantage of that net presence. Stephens is also a stout blocker. Stephens is especially tough on quicks. She goes up strong then adjusts her arms and hands to balls to swat them down. Opponents can’t go soft on her. Her versatility shows at all six spots on the court. Stephens makes the simple passes in the back row. Stephens has quick hands, allowing her to react quickly to keep plays alive and make quality out of system sets. Stephens also sends overpassed balls to the ground with authority.