Part 4: Players Primed for Breakout Seasons in 2019
For the most part, it’s officially summer. The calendar is about to turn to June, and with that comes a bevy of summer camps, high school conditioning and open gyms. While there is technically a few weeks left on the…
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Continue ReadingFor the most part, it’s officially summer. The calendar is about to turn to June, and with that comes a bevy of summer camps, high school conditioning and open gyms. While there is technically a few weeks left on the club season, it’s never too early to jump into the high school season!
So, with that in mind, here’s the fourth of a multiple-part look at players primed to go from good to great or great to super stars during the 2019 high school season. The players’ grades are listed as what they will be in the 2019-20 high school season.
Kelsie Sears, 6’1, Jr., OH/RS, Wahoo
Sears has kind of flown under the radar the last couple seasons at Wahoo as the stacked Warriors program has leaned heavily on the likes of Elly Larson, Mya Larson and Kyla Swanson. But, Sears is about to get her opportunity to shine in the limelight as Elly Larson and Swanson have graduated.
Sears had 91 kills a year ago for the Warriors, which was good for fourth on the team and she has the talent and skill set to play at either pin. The opportunity is certainly going to be there for Sears to establish herself as one of the premier non-Class A players in the state over the next couple years, as long as she continues her improvement and comes out of her shell a little bit so she can impose her will on opponents.
Ray Joens, 6’1,Jr., MH, Elkhorn
Elkhorn will be one of the most interesting teams to watch this fall because if the Antlers can find a replacement for the departed Megan Raszler at setter, they have the potential to be one of the most complete teams in the state. No matter what, though, Joens is going to play a major role in just how successful the Antlers are in 2019.
Joens might have been fifth on the team in kills last year, but 159 terminations came with a .295 hitting percentage and she is a strong, physical presence at the net and her 77 total blocks accounted for nearly half of the team’s total for the year. She physical play at the net and strong arm has caught the attention of several college coaches and she is only going to get better with time.
Atley Carey, 6’3, Sr., MH, Lincoln East (committed to South Dakota)
Carey’s best days on the volleyball court are going to be over the next year to five years, which is sure to delight the folks at South Dakota. Her kills-per-set numbers have gone up in each of her three seasons for the Spartans from 1.5 to 2.0 to 2.6 in 2018 when she also had a hitting percentage of .293.
For her career, Carey has 524 kills with a .262 hitting percentage and last season she served at a 90% rate with 27 aces to 26 errors. In her career she has 114 solo blocks. She had eight double-digit kill performances last season, including a career-high 21 in a victory over Seward.