From northern Indiana, Luca’s already jumping past ten feet as her attack point as a primary-passing, six-rotation outside for Michio and Chesterton High School. The ball she hits is heavy and hard to dig—her pace behind the ball just sounds different coming off of her hand. On serve receive, she’s relaxed and accurate, seemingly always in the right area with the right movement to the ball to make the next contact more than playable for her setter. Her size and jumping ability is also an asset when she blocks, as she takes up a good amount of space in width and sets a good block for her middle to find. Over the last two seasons, I’ve personally watched this young lady go from occasional excellent play to a constant highlight reel on every point. It shouldn’t be long now before she finds a home that’s ready to showcase her talents at the next level.

Watching her from afar (read: videos and such), Luca is a big and physical pin attacker that already jumps over ten feet. Up close at our showcase last year, Luca immediately attacked all comers with power and skill, and showed how heavy a ball she actually hits. She’s also very coachable—a couple of the adults in charge, including yours truly, gave her direction in some of the drills that she made look “easy”, and she made it tougher for herself to show exactly how far she’s come in the last year. Without a doubt, Luca can change a game with her physicality, her relentless attacking nature, and can make adjustments as the coach sees fit without needing extra reps or errors to do so. Athleticism, a high volleyball acuity and coachability, all in a 6-foot, ten-foot-club package? Works for me.

As a six-rotation outside attacking at over ten feet (10’1.5″ to be precise), Luca is one of the more explosive players in this class. She might also be the highest jumper, and there isn’t really a comparison to others on this list. As an attacker, everything is with pace and purpose. On defense, her platform is controlled and her footwork anticipates where she needs to go to make passing easier. From the front row OR the back row, Luca is a point-scoring machine, and has made many teams in the Windy City Power League look ordinary. With four opportunities to qualify for GJNCs (MEQ, Windy City, Lone Star, Great Lakes Regional), she is certainly worth the price of admission to watch play.

Showing up and showing out at our recent Top 250 Expo, Luca hits a heavy ball to all angles and is a big time six-rotation star in the making. I like her ability to hit with pace as well as with finesse when needed, which pairs nicely with her ability to pass and play defense. One of the better well-rounded outsides in this class, Luca should be garnering a ton of attention this spring.

Too often, I see big pin attackers that can ONLY hit hard. It was a pleasant surprise to see Luca fully capable of being a six-rotation outside at the next level, all with size and power. Although she’s playing club outside of the state of Indiana, her training she’s received since last club season has made this young lady rise in the rankings quickly, and it’s only a matter of time before she starts receiving offers from upper-level four-year schools.