Carolyn is the top prospect in the class of 2029. She set a 5/1 for Metro this year getting them to a gold bracket in and a fifth place finish in the Open Division at Junior Nationals. Her effort earned her a spot on the All Tournament team.

She also earned a spot on the first team in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC). O’Connell missed her presence in the playoffs due to injury in both the WCAC and the VISAA state playoffs. Without her in the lineup they failed to win a championship in either event.

While she set a 5/1 for Metro she hits right side for Bishop O’Connel. At 6’1″ she may also be one of the top hitters in the DMV. When hitting an overset there is quite the bounce in the ball after it hits the floor.

Metro 15 Travel was a tough match up this past week.  However, it was a grind to get to the gold bracket.  They went 3-2 in pool play, 1-1 in gold pools, but then knocked off a high powered Dallas Skyline 15 Royal Ryan team which I don’t think many people saw coming.  Carolyn Maria just makes things run as the team’s setter. She receives the ball high, she is tough to read for the defense the way she remains neutral with location and tempo, and if you sleep on her in the front row shes going to throw it down in the middle of the court.  I really liked her connection with right side Scarlett Netherton.  I see Maria has done camps at Pitt, Penn State, and Kentucky – she’s in good company.

This is the first time I have seen Carolyn Maria Carolyn Maria 6'1" | S/RS Bishop O'Connell | 2029 State VA run a 5/1 for Metro. She normally is so good at hitting that Metro runs a 6/2 while using her offense on the right side. Running a 5/1 gives right side Scarlett Netherton Scarlett Netherton 5'11" | OH/RS Annapolis Area Christian School | 2029 State VA an opportunity to stay in the back row and become more of an offensive weapon there.

Where Carolyn’s strength sits in a 5/1 is her ability to put balls away when the pass rises close to the top of the net while she plays in the front row. Teams were not ready for her to put the ball away on the second contact. Where she needs more work is finding the open spot when she tries to use the setter dump. She also needs to use the back row attack more frequently.

However, she connected with the hitters enough to generate a second place finish, which is where they were seeded. Now comes the hard part as they face more advanced teams.