The Big Jump: Class of 2023
We are grateful many girls had a chance to compete in 2020. Some schools started much later than most, however the opportunity to play the sport they love can’t be taken for granted. We feel for the girls who lost…
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Continue ReadingWe are grateful many girls had a chance to compete in 2020. Some schools started much later than most, however the opportunity to play the sport they love can’t be taken for granted. We feel for the girls who lost half of their seasons. The young ladies showed perseverance and should be proud of themselves. The teams who were able to go from August to October with no interruption should be commended for their responsibility and placing the team and their desire to complete this season over personal “fun”. Now, the high school season is over. We take a look at some of our sophomores who aren’t the biggest names in the state from a rankings perspective but had a big jump in a particular statistical category from their freshman years. We understand adding more potential sets this fall lends to seeing higher statistics, however we did also compare things such as sets played, attempts, averages, etc. over the last two seasons in deciding who to highlight.
Chapel Dobbs – Helias High School: Dobbs became the go to scorer in 2020 for Helias. She more than doubled her attempts and kills, finishing with 325 kills .
Lily Dudley – Rock Bridge: Rock Bridge had a memorable season and Dudley had a season to cherish as well. Last season, she started the year on the junior varsity and ended up with around 30 varsity sets played. This year she became a key piece to the success the team achieved in 2020. She had 291 kills after just 85 between her junior varsity and varsity action from her freshman season.
Kailey Manes – Republic: Manes played a strong supporting role in her freshman season but broke out in year 2. After 98 kills at 1.5 kills per set in 2019, she came back with 2.7 per set and 231 kills.
Trinity Gayman – Nevada: The sophomore jumped from 1.2 kills per set to 2.7 in her second season. She finished with 189 kills, more than double her 2019 total.
Grace O’Reily – Springfield Catholic: The 6’0″ sophomore totaled 359 kills this year, up from 212. Her aces also rose tremendously from 18 to 66. Digs went from 74 to 252.
Olivia Witt – Sullivan: Witt played sparingly in her freshman season, only seeing action in 14 sets. She emerged as a key player this year earning 291 kills after 11 in 2019.
Macie Mays – El Dorado Springs: You may be surprised there were enough balls to go around with this loaded team but Mays saw her numbers improve this fall. After a freshman season of 102 kills, she put down 234 this year.
Summer Kenney – Stockton: Kenney played two less sets this season but saw her numbers take a huge jump. Her kills per set increased a set and a half as she finished the year with 349 kills.
Navaeh Malawey – Winona: Malawey saw her kills per set almost double in 2020 from 2.3 to 4.5. She finished her sophomore season with 377 kills.
Kaitlyn Belk – Bunker: After getting action in limited sets as a freshman, Belk had a breakout season in 2020. She had 315 kills this season after 43 last fall.
MaKya Clayton – Lee’s Summit: Clayton was expected to play a big role in her 1st season but an early season injury shelved her for the remainder of the season. Her first full season was among the best in the state, earning 841 assists.
Ady Horn – Staley: The Falcon sophomore played in 42 sets for 147 assists as a freshman. In year 2 she contributed 739 assists and led the team to a district runner-up.
Addison Kersting Addison Kersting 5'11" | S St. Charles | 2023 State MO – St. Charles: Kersting took over more of the setting duties in 2020 after a limited role in her 1st year. She saw her numbers increase over 4 assist per set this fall. She ended the year with 482 assist.
Kamille Graham – St. Vincent: In her second season, Graham increased her assist numbers from 99 to 602. Her attempts number jumped to 2355, up from the 368 she had first first year.
Abbey Conz – Bishop LeBlond: Conz played major minutes in her first season but few as a setter. She played one of the primarily distributors this fall dishing out 451, after only 33 year one.
Gracie Marks – Drexel: She saw her numbers jump from 189 as a freshman to 606 this fall for Drexel. Her digs increased to 237.
Abby Christian – Liberty North: A major piece in the undefeated and state championship run for the Eagles was the back row play of Christian. As a freshman she played in 44 sets and garnered 126 digs. She doubled those numbers this fall and ended the year with 340 digs.
Melanie Barrett – Hillcrest: In 55 sets last year, Barrett was able to get 99 digs. She played in 64 sets this fall and ended up with 436.
Kloe Hendrickson – Forsyth: Hendrickson saw her playing time and contribution double this fall for Forsyth. She jumped from 35 sets and 83 digs to 84 and 274 in her second season.
Kenzie Woodside – East Buchanan: Woodside saw her digs per match jump 10 this fall after a stellar sophomore season. She played in 6 less sets but saw her numbers double, finishing the fall with 384 digs.
Trista Torres – Greenfield: 68 to 533 is the jump Torres made in the dig category this fall for 21.3 digs a match.