Even though this Athena 17-2 team didn’t finish extremely high in their bracket, they are a more talented team than those results show. I run into a lot of teams like this in our area as well, and they are fun for recruiters and scouts because the teams with the wins and high finishes get the attention, but when it comes to individual skilled players looking at colleges, that doesn’t matter much. Margo is something that seems to be in HUGE demand in college right now, a MB. There are dozens of schools still looking for 2026 MB, let alone the ones looking for 2027. Height will get a lot of players offers even when the athleticism and skill isn’t at that level. That’s not an issue for Margo, she’s got good height crossing the 6 foot line, and she showed some great blocking skills in the game I got to see. With the strength some of these OH are hitting the ball these days, more and more blocking front line players are needed to combat that. For a hitter, the two way player is the 6 rotation hitter, whereas almost all Middles are 3 rotation players, so you can be a one dimensional offensive MH, or a defensive minded MB and still have a role on a team. I didn’t get a lot of chances to see Margo’s offensive game, it just didn’t work out for her to get set when I was watching, but I did get to see her display college level blocking, and there’s demand for that in college right now.

Meshalkin does a wonderful job tracking the pass from her defense to her setter and executing a quality swing for a kill. The Athena Volleyball class of 2027 prospect understands angles and can turn the ball hard angle or rip a rocket swing to the deep corner. Meshalkin’s eye work and patience are on display as a blocker; she understands when to get off the floor early or when to wait and press late on an out-of-system attack.

Meshalkin does an excellent job connecting with the quick, high sets Athena 16 Gold likes to run out of serve receive, and free balls. The Union standout has a strong and accurate arm, as well as the vision to read opposing offenses and cover up an attacker with her solid press. Athena has an excellent rotation of middles with Meshalkin, 2027 Ashlyn Pederson, and 2027 Sophia Silva. The team will play in the Liberty Division at Nationals.

Meshalkin is aggressive in transition and demonstrates excellent court awareness. She moves the ball around well and keeps defenses on their heels.

Meshalkin is an athletic middle attacker, which was on display at the Top 250 Expo on Sunday. She displayed good lateral blocking movements during gameplay and consistently made herself available to the setter. Also, she has a tough float serve that causes a lot of damage from the service line.

Meshalkin caught our eye quickly on Saturday. She exhibited a super quick approach from the middle, getting to each set effortlessly and exploding off the ground to detonate the ball. Meshalkin was also very effective on the block, moving laterally well and getting good touches.