Five Influential Freshmen Returning For More in 2020
Making an impact during your first year as a high school player is no easy task. There’s a lot to adjust to and competition, for the most part, is made of older and taller athletes, but these five players absolutely…
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Continue ReadingMaking an impact during your first year as a high school player is no easy task. There’s a lot to adjust to and competition, for the most part, is made of older and taller athletes, but these five players absolutely crushed it during their freshmen campaigns in 2019. When this season starts, they will for sure return looking for more.
Ellie Marble – Outside Hitter – La Conner
Marble was a do-it-all kind of star for La Conner’s championship-winning squad in 2019. The outside hitter continued the tradition of several members of her family with the program by leading the Braves to the title of the 2B class against Northwest Christian with a performance that summarizes her game pretty well – 18 kills, 22 digs and two blocks. At 6’0”, Marble has the size to be dominant at the net, as she did by ranking seventh in kills in the entire state, but also the skills to make the difference in the backcourt.
Hailey Brockway
Hailey
Brockway
6'0" | OH
Graham-Kapowskin | 2023
State
#125
Nation
WA
– Outside Hitter – Graham-Kapowsin
Brockway carried Graham-Kapowsin to a third-place finish at the South Pudget Sound 4A class with impressive performances during the entire season. The 6’0” freshmen immediately established herself as the centerpiece of the Eagles team with her unstoppable game at the net, which saw her score 20 or more points in 15 of their 21 matches in 2019. A true-scoring machine, Brockway used both her athleticism and her smartness to become the third-player with the most points in kills in the entire state (479).
Abigail Boesel – Setter – Brewster
The role of a setter normally demands more experience than players from other positions, but Boesel mastered it right on her first year with the Bears. She coordinated the team’s offense gracefully with a whopping 700 assists, good enough for ninth-best in the entire state and nearly twice as many as the second-best ranked freshman. At 5’6”, she’s certainly not a force at the net, but can do some damage from the service line as she showed in the victory against Bridgeport in her first high school match, when she scored ten aces.
Kylenee Filimaua – Outside Hitter – North Creek
Filimaua is one of those athletes who make the most of the opportunity of playing volleyball and beach volleyball simultaneously and use the lessons learned in the sand to improve her game in the wood court. At 6’0”, she plays outside hitter for the Jaguars, but also has hands soft enough to be used as a setter during last year’s Girls National Youth Division. The beach game improved her vision and she uses it to her advantage with North Creek as we saw last season. Filimaua will continue on her double duty for quite some time as she verbally committed to play beach and indoor for Florida State when she graduates.
Ella-Leigh Anderson – Outside Hitter – Crosspoint
Anderson is another up-and-coming versatile player who excelled in her freshmen year – she played for the Warriors as an eight-grader in 2018 though. In 2019, the outside hitter did a little bit of everything for her team, but really stood out for her serving ability, which saw her rank second in the entire state with 106 aces. An extremely focused player, Anderson also contributed significantly defensively with 345 digs, the 22th-best in the entire state and third-best among the freshman, and offensively with a third-best in the state .229 hitting percentage.