It seemed like last week when I wrote about her taking on a new role by setting for MOJO 17. This move allows her to set her grade, better preparing herself for the high school season. It’s not that she did that bad last year setting a 5/1 while leading Flint Hill to a national championship.

They did rely heavily on Hunter Ross Hunter Ross 6'2" | MB/OH Flint Hill | 2027 State #64 Nation VA for their offense last season. It is hard to expect one person to stay focused for every game. Setting for MOJO allows Ava to build a team first mentality. Good setters will begin a game by allowing every hitter to contribute to a team’s success. As the set enters the later stages that is when you start to rely on the key players to get you over the top.

MOJO played in their first local Open tournament a couple weeks ago and took third place. That is a nice start to their season.

In previous club seasons Ava has always played a year down. She has also had to share setting duties with a trio of setters. After setting a 5/1 for Flint Hill and winning a state championship she now will play her grade level as well as be one of the primary setters for MOJO. After setting Flint Hill to a state championship she earned second team All State at the VISAA.

While some may consider a move from Virginia Juniors to MOJO a downgrade for Ava it is more an opportunity. For one, she will be playing her grade and for two she will be given a lot more opportunities to set. For setters, constant repetition is critical.

In their first tournament Ava led MOJO to a third place finish in 17 Open. Their next big tournament will be the Northeast Qualifiers in March. Until then, they will fill their schedule up with a couple local tournaments.

Ava set for Flint Hill this year, running a 6’2″ with Purdue commit Isabelle Bardin Isabelle Bardin 6'3" | S Flint Hill | 2025 State #75 Nation VA . Because Isabelle was one of their top offensive performers there were times she would stay in the front row to set Isabelle in the back row to generate more offense.

At 5’9″ Ava has decent height for a setter but there appears to be more growth in her. She runs the quick tempo sets well while also working on slides. Because Flint Hill relied on a setter and a middle ( Hunter Ross Hunter Ross 6'2" | MB/OH Flint Hill | 2027 State #64 Nation VA ) for most of their offense they needed to be deceptive with their sets, moving the hitters to various locations along the net to afford them more opportunities to create an offense. A little over 87 percent of the sets were directed to three hitters which accounted for close to 93 percent of their kills.

This club season Ava will set for Virginia Jrs. She won a top performer award at our Prep Dig 250 Expo this year. They will next play in the National Harbor Showdown.

Ava came up from the junior varsity last year to set for a Flint Hill team that lacked offensive threats. Their most potent offensive player 6’3″ Isabelle Bardin Isabelle Bardin 6'3" | S Flint Hill | 2025 State #75 Nation VA also set for them last year. Rather than use Isabelle in a 5/1 they chose to give Ava the second setter responsibility in a 6’2″.

She leads the team in assists though she sometimes struggles with consistency. That will come with more experience. With Isabelle graduating after this year she becomes the primary setter on the roster next year. It will be interesting what offensive pieces Flint Hill attracts next year..