Six 16UOutside/Middle Hitters you may not know from Michigan Volleyball Academy
By Michael Selecky Contributing Writer At Michigan Volleyball Academy in Grand Rapids the 16U teams are brimming with up-and-coming Middle and Outside Hitters. As a division of Michigan Sports Academy, MVA has four different locations, three of which…
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By Michael Selecky
Contributing Writer
At Michigan Volleyball Academy in Grand Rapids the 16U teams are brimming with up-and-coming Middle and Outside Hitters.
As a division of Michigan Sports Academy, MVA has four different locations, three of which are located on 28th Street Ct SE. This includes the Main Office at 5449, the Fieldhouse at 5435 and the Woodland at 2100. Because the MSA Sports Spot is just around the way at 3701 32nd Street SE, MVA’s 16U squads aren’t lacking for practice space.
Maybe it’s that wealth of facilities that’s helped launch this group of ever-improving talent. Or, it could be the work ethic that drives these efforts is really the secret ingredient that allows this recipe to turn out right time-and-time again. However you look at it MVA’s 16U Outside and Middle Hitters are a promising group that features athletes such as…
ALENA WHITTAKER
This Middle Hitter with MVA 16 Black has a penchant for claiming the center of the front row as her own in her game film on Maxpreps.com. That allows this five-foot-11 sophomore to employ her reach of seven-foot-eight and her jump of nine-foot-seven to send back most of what comes her way with authority.
STELLA WILSON
At five-foot-eight this member of the class of 2022 plays Outside Hitter for head coach Eno Umoh with MVA 16 Blue. The skill-set for this sophomore at Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids includes a jump of eight-foot-nine and a reach of seven-foot-two.
ELLA MOORLAG
A member of the class of 2022 at Caledonia High School, this Outside Hitter stands five foot-nine according to Michigansportsacademies.com. Currently she plays for head coach Craig Vlietstra and assistant coach Mayme Vlietstra at MVA 17 Black, which lists her as having a jump of nine-foot-three and a reach of seven-foot-three.
PAIGE REDDER
Being able to line up at both Outside Hitter and Defensive Specialist for MVA 16 Blue are key for this five-foot-nine member of the class of 2022. She also has a jump of eight-foot-nine and a reach of seven-foot-four.
TORI MELPOLDER
With a reach of seven-foot-six and a jump of nine-foot-six this six-foot Outside Hitter is a member of the class of 2022. Presently she takes the court for MVA 16 Black, but during the 2019-20 prep season Melpolder wore number 14 for Caledonia High School.
AVERY TOOLE
While known as number 16 in 2019-20 with Rockford High School, right now Toole is an Outside Hitter with MVA 16 Black. This sophomore has a reach of seven-foot-seven, a jump of nine-foot-six and stands five-foot-11.
Also on the roster for MVA 17 Black includes Middle Hitter Brooklyn Conner and Outside Hitter Abigail Zylstra.
At MVA 17 Blue some of the other athletes include Outside Hitters Allison Werkema, Grace Montgomery, Madison Mazeikis and Jessica Abbott and Middle Hitters Mackenzie Grant and Riley Howard. Kennedy Hoffman also plays Setter for this squad and the Defensive Specialists include Hannah Lourido.