This year Caleigh decided to play for a more local club River Valley Juniors than travel to North Carolina to play for Academy. It turned out well as the team qualified for the National Division in U.S. Junior Nationals. The team finished 25th out of 48 teams but overall ended the tournament with more wins than losses.

Caleigh is one of those players that should be looked at by the National Team Development Program (NTDP). Because of her Raleigh location she stays out of the spotlight. It was her play, as well as the play of Sophie Taylor Sophie Taylor 6'1" | OH Giles | 2026 State VA and Ela Shepherd Ela Shepherd 5'10" | S Christiansburg | 2026 State VA that forced me to pay more attention to the Raleigh area.

Caleigh finished her high school career with over 2,200 kills. She will be going to Kansas State to play as a libero. A player who gives her all on the court. She won the Gatorade Player of the year award for Virginia as well as the Prep Dig high school player of the year. She ranks number 91 nationally.

My only regret is I never saw her play libero. As an outside she was awesome.

In her early years Caleigh toiled in obscurity playing for clubs in Roanoke. I remember getting an email from a parent complaining that I never write about girls from the Roanoke area.

Fortunately for me there was the Endless Summer tournament in Virginia Beach. Hidden Valley was entered in that tournament. At the time Caleigh was a sophomore. I made the point of watching Hidden Valley play, not expecting much but fulfilling an obligation. After all, they were a high school from Roanoke.

Wow!!!. She dominated that tournament, even as a sophomore. Only 5’6″ she was hitting left side and putting balls away against the best blocks. Definitely an eye opening moment.

Even though I have yet to see her play as a libero her volleyball IQ as a left side was off the charts. Even as a six rotation left side she showed me she can play back row. In my next ranking she went from obscurity to number three in her first appearance in the class of 2025 ranking, still the highest debut ever for a player. Because of her Roanoke is now on my map for players to watch.

After her sophomore season Caleigh actually decided to commute to play club ball for Academy in North Carolina to increase her exposure. It worked. She ended up committing to Kansas State after her first season there.

Reached career Milestone of 2,000 Kills
47 kills in two matches with 7 aces and 20 digs
2.67 passing
31 kills in one 4 set match.
Season 20-1 record.