Springy, quick and terminal, Finley is the daughter of a former Big Ten player and is quietly having one of the best seasons a middle could have in open-level ball, especially in this class. Able to attack from in front of or behind the setter, she uses her extra-long arms to attack high, defend well and play (read: BEAT) some of the best competition in 16 Open around the country. Already in possession of a bronze medal from last season’s 15 Open at GJNCs, she’s already qualified for GJNCs here in Indy and should show out against the best of the best in June.

I’ve seen Finley play for the better part of two years now, and watching her grow and improve in each and every match is a pleasure. What I DIDN’T expect was that she played RIGHT SIDE in her first match of the tournament, and she excelled at that as well. I’m afraid of adding that position to her chart, yet her excellence in both positions against kids in her graduating class makes her even scarier than her top-30 ranking would infer. Nevertheless, to know that Finley is capable of stepping in as an M1, an M2 or a right side on her squad makes things much easier for the coaching staff at Circle.

The third and final middle listed on the roster is the smallest of the three, but probably the most well-rounded. Finley can be explosive in front of or behind the setter on offense, and uses her extra-long arms to consistently defend her position at an above-average level. Constantly positive and relentlessly active in transition, Finley is the middle that rounds out any middle blocking stable at the next level—-the kid that can do it all, do it well, and finds ways to improve herself and those around her regularly.

Skilled in all aspects of being a middle, Finley’s more than capable of being a Division 1 M1 or M2 at the next level. The bloodline is there, as her mother played at IU. Although that doesn’t guarantee success, Finley understands the game better than most because of her. The physicality is there as well—-she’s got length for days, attacks high and hard, and moves with a fluidity not normally seen in middles this age.

The fourth and final player to earn all-American honors from the Circle City squad that finished third in the nation is Smith, a quick transitioning and excellent off-one-foot hitter who really showed that she excels in pressure situations. Like her teammates she was confident and calm in their marathon national semifinal match against TAV in Dallas that went to 32-30. Being “undersized” for a high-level middle, Smith finds a way to succeed against middles of any size, including hitting from anywhere along the net or finding seams/holes in the block that she can beat. I look for her to repeat as all-state and all-Midwest this fall season, as well as lead her Indy Genesis homeschool team against some serious competition at Nationals this fall.

With mom as a former college player at IU, Finley is a long and lean middle who can terminate from either in front of or behind the setter at will when in-system. Her length is most certainly helpful on the block, as her long strides allow her to play from pin to pin with ease. Her penetration on the block is also hard to go against, as she takes up a ton of space while penetrating. Finally, the work ethic associated with Miss Smith cannot be overstated. The relentlessness with which she plays is unmatched from any middle in this class.

With her mom as a former player and playing on Circle’s top 15s team, Finley is a springy and quick middle that can project to either middle position because of her attack. Although a bit narrow on her block, Finley is still quite serviceable on defense, and turns defense into offense quickly. For her age and size, she’s already ahead of the class average in multiple parts of her game, including maturity. Winning has become second nature for Miss Smith and 15 Purple, so watching her develop as a player will be a priority for this column moving forward.

Smith is the M1 counterpart to Muncy and together they offer a solid one-two punch for this age group. Finley really stands out hitting the slide, running it more than any other 15s team I watched play during the tournament. This will be a huge advantage for this squad because again, like Sophie on the RS, most 15s teams don’t practice against a good slide attack all that often. Smith can also run a gap and 31 effectively, keeping the opposing defense on its toes. Finley is another player on this team that just plays with a certain calmness and joy; never getting too high or too low in terms of emotions. Lastly, Smith is a MB who is a good float server and can play good defense, not allowing other teams to automatically put the ball away just because she’s a defender.

Reclassified into the class of ’28, Finley is a springy and quick middle that is adept at terminating both in front of and behind the setter. Also, her length to defend from pin to pin is smooth and mature for her age. Now that I think about it, she’s smooth in most parts of her game, as opposed to the newborn giraffes that populate most of the middle positions in the freshman class. With Circle’s top team in the 15s age group this year, she should see a plethora of open-level middles to go against to REALLY see how she stacks up.

The unquestioned top middle at the Expo this past Saturday, Finley showed what a developing middle should look like. Adept at attacking in front of or behind the setter, using her length to defend the net from pin to pin and always available to swing, Miss Smith showed a motor that just isn’t seen in middles, let alone middles this young. I’m so used to kids still growing into their size at this age—almost a newborn giraffe-type of build and physicality. Finley is more mature at the position than most, including other graduating classes.