She is undersized for a front row player at 5’8″. However, when you watch her sky on her jump (approach 10’1″) you recognize her skill level. She also possesses a sixth sense of where to hit the ball to achieve the kill, whether that is off the block, through the block or even over the block. When hitting she appears to see or sense the block very well.

Her outside hitting earned Potomac Falls an appearance in the Virginia state championship. They lost in the first round to powerhouse Midlothian. With the high school season over Layla now spins her magic with Loudoun Elite Quintin, who rank 5th in the Chesapeake Region. They will play in the American Division in Junior Nationals.

Clearly one of the more exciting players to watch as she performs on the court.

I write about this one a lot, but it’s prime signing season for a lot of schools trying to wrap up their 2027 list and she’s one of those players that next year teams will go, how did I miss on her? The talk always comes back to her height, and my push back is that her vertical more than makes up for that touching 10’1. I’d also add that more than a few “tweeners” in this height range with good vertical have signed recently, and D1 at that. She’s going to bring a lot of offense somewhere next year. The race is on to sign her, someone may want to close the deal while they still can.

Despite her 5’8″ height Lacey remains an offensive force. She stood out as the offensive leader for a Potomac Falls team that fell just short of making the state playoff bracket. Her efforts earned her a spot on the Class 5 second team all State.

While playing for Loudoun Elite Lacey was the offensive force that earned the club a Freedom bid to Junior Nationals. Last year she led one of the two Loudoun Elite teams to their first ever bid to Junior Nationals. This year she has repeated that task.

While her 5’8″ height may limit her ability to play at a high Division I program there are always exceptions to the rule. Lacey continues to rise in the rankings, moving from 67 to 58. She could be that outlier.

I feel like I’m writing about her weekly at this point, but there was no stopping her out there. She’s got elite-level athleticism, a ton of power, and was just hitting in, around, and through blocks all day. To try to pigeonhole her and say that her height is going to limit her opportunities is pretty short-sighted. Players over 6 feet tall are getting credit, even though they may touch 9 and a half feet, while Lacey is almost getting another foot on them. She would be an absolute game changer for a lot of programs, just a matter of her narrowing down what she’s looking for school wise, but I suggest getting a move on it if you’re a coach looking for an uncommitted 2027, as last time I wrote about a similar shorter pin with a huge vertical, she signed D1 within a few weeks. If she chose to go the D3 route, you could be looking at Conference Player of the Year potential, and before you ask, she can serve well and play defense as well. I saw somewhere between 5-10 solo blocks personally this weekend.

Normally left sides who stand less than 5’10” are not as successful at the Division I level. No matter how hard they hit there still exists a blocking issue when going up against a much taller right side. Lacey consistently terminates the ball on the left side no matter the block that is put up against her. She could be an exception to that rule. As a Division II or III coach I would definitely give her a look. Lower Division I programs may find her offense attractive.

She also plays six rotations consistently being used in the back row attack. If not used as a front row player she could be an excellent option to be used in the back row for offense. This is where higher Division I programs may find her useful.

For this next updated ranking it would not surprise me to see her move up from her current ranking of 67.

Lacey is the real offensive catalyst for this team, and a player that doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. Anytime someone talks about her they want to bring up her height, which is a non-issue when combined with her vertical. I heard a great line the other day, “If I’m good enough, then I’m tall enough”. It really stopped me cold, I say it a lot, if the results are there, who cares what the details are? With Lacey, the results are there, she has great timing and athleticism, and will put the ball away at any given time. Teams are learning about her, and I’m sure will be giving her attention on the block, but make no mistake, you’ll see Lacey stand out next weekend.

It’s weird to talk about ’27s having breakouts, but you do see it quite a bit actually. The most important recruiting year, they’ve had some growth, they’ve settled in on positions and worked on fine tuning their game…and then BAM. They are everywhere. Some people call them late risers, I like to call it, someone finally started paying attention.

Lacey was an absolute monster this weekend. Her Loudon Elite team made some real noise in 17 Open. They’ve got some good coaching over there in Loudon, I saw them up close and personal 4 or 5 times last season alone, they were always scrappy and a threat. This season it’s like Lacey has something to show you. She had HUGE hits all weekend, down line, cross, muscled THROUGH blocks, there wasn’t much teams could do to stop her. She’s what I call a tweener when I talk about pins. She doesn’t have the natural height to just easily bang the ball down at the 10 foot line, but couple that 5’7-5’10 range with some athleticism and good vertical, and you’ll get some magic. I’ve seen a few girls her height touching 10 foot with good vert, and whatever her stats are in that area, they are enough to make her a weapon.

I’ll have my eyes on her all season, she’s officially become a player you have to game plan for.

Lacey earned a spot on the Prep Dig list as the most surprising club player for the 2025 season, providing Loudoun Elite with enough offense to earn their first national bid in club history. This certainly deserves a jump from 119 to 78 in our 2027 rankings.

While at 5’8″ she will always be considered undersized for an outside hitter she has a way for creating offense. Whether it is hitting from the front row or back row that ball seems to find the floor on the opponents side of the court with consistent regularity.

She will play for Potomac Falls this year. Last year they improved from 0-10 to 5-5 in the Potomac conference with Lacey generating the majority of the offense. Expect them to improve upon this record this coming season. Their biggest challenge this high school season is to surpass defensing Class 5 state champion Riverside and Independence. Last year they shocked Independence with a sweep.

She lists at 5’8″ so it would be surprising to see any of the major clubs show an interest in her. They have taller players to fill that position. Loudoun Elite saw her potential and she ignited their offense with her six rotation play locking in big dividends for Loudoun Elite .

Lacey brings good velocity when attacking the ball whether she hits from the front row or back row. She also has the volleyball IQ to avoid the block, finding the empty areas of the court or hitting it high off the block.

Her success still will not motivate colleges like Penn State to take a look at her but smaller Division I schools might have an interest. Her back row play also stands out allowing her to have the versatility to play as a defensive specialist or outside hitter.