What If We Made A Club Team Out Of The Top 24s
It’s been over a week since our high school season ended here in the Hoosier State, and club tryouts are in full swing. It begs the question—what if I had a chance to put together a frosh-only club team from…
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Continue ReadingIt’s been over a week since our high school season ended here in the Hoosier State, and club tryouts are in full swing. It begs the question—what if I had a chance to put together a frosh-only club team from the entire state of Indiana? I realize this is a wildly unrealistic option, but I get to do it, so why not? Here are some rules:
- OH1 is a three-rotation hammer
- OH2 is a six-rotation primary passer who makes few attack errors
- MB1 is the middle next to the setter
- MB2 is the middle next to the RS
- Only one S; we’re running a 5-1
- Other than the libero, I’m adding a DS for OH1 and a DS for the RS
- high schools and last year’s club teams listed
Before you start typing in all caps in your reply to me, this is an opinion piece. All of this is highly subjective, and we don’t have all of the answers. What we do have is the ability and platform to talk about the “what ifs” in a purple-skied world.
OH1: Morgan Gaerte Morgan Gaerte 6'4" | OH Angola | 2024 State #26 Nation IN , 6-4, Angola, Team Pineapple
No, I am not including just because she’s 6-4. I’m including her because there is no answer for her, and she’s getting a lot better in a short amount of time. At the height that she attacks, plus the pace at which she hits, there’s very few SENIORS that can do what Morgan does, let alone what 15-and-under kids can do. Over four kills per set while hitting over .300 on varsity? She belongs here.
OH2: Lauren Harden Lauren Harden 6'3" | OH Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State #36 Nation IN , 6-2, Hamilton Southeastern, Team Indiana
By the time I finally got a chance to see HSE, it was early October. This was clearly plenty of time for Lauren to develop from starting OH1 to full-time OH2. She led the team in kills and was regularly in serve receive by October. What she’s able to do, at such a smooth and consistent level, is not normally seen from a kid as young as Lauren. She is, for lack of a better term, well worth the price of admission.
RS: Melaina Hawblitzel Melaina Hawblitzel 5'10" | RS Warsaw | 2024 State IN , 5-10, Warsaw, Academy
I got a chance to see Melaina play at a tournament at Carmel against Providence. She held her own against much better competition, even though Warsaw itself didn’t look prepared to play such a high level team. She’s fast, smart, hits a heavy ball, and can slow down much bigger attackers. Good enough for me.
MB1: Journee Brown Journee Brown 6'2" | MB Seymour | 2024 State IN , 6-2, Seymour, TBA
The reason the club listing is TBA is because I had never heard of Journee before she played at Bloomington South about a month ago. Her size, maturity, and physical strength overwhelmed the competition, and she even sprinkled in a little primary passing for good measure. An all-around solid option at MB, she could probably play multiple positions along the front row, but we’ll place her here for now. Club training this coming spring should dictate where she ends up on a roster.
MB2: Scarlett Kimbrell Scarlett Kimbrell 6'0" | OH Franklin Community | 2024 State IN , 6-0, Franklin Community, Academy
Quiet and unassuming, Scarlett started as the MB2 for a Franklin Community team that was this close to knocking off perennial power Center Grove in the sectional final. Her stats speak for themselves; third on the team in kills, hitting nearly .300 and leading the team in blocks is not common for middles, let alone freshman middles starting varsity in their first high school season. Can’t wait for the club season to start and watch Miss Kimbrell’s progress.
S: Mya Ball Mya Ball 6'2" | RS Angola | 2024 State #124 Nation IN , 5-10, Angola, Team Pineapple
Yes, THAT Ball. Her bloodline, combined with her sheer talent level, currently places her as the top setting prospect in Indiana in the 2024 class. She has a little development to go, but there aren’t any other setters on this list that can go get a tight pass and make a hittable ball out of it. She can also block at a higher level (literally) than any other setter in this class. Again, we’re waiting for club season to watch her get better.
L: Lola Schumacher Lola Schumacher 5'4" | DS/L Brebeuf Jesuit | 2024 State #60 Nation IN , 5-4, Brebeuf, Munciana
Of COURSE I have a Munciana kid as the libero. This is different for me, however. None of the other class of ’24 kids in the DS spot touches what Lola has already accomplished at the high school level; an appearance in the state championship match, and a stranglehold on the position for all four years of high school. In the semi-state match against Silver Creek, I watched Lola make in-match adjustments to take away more attacking options for SC. Freshman passers just don’t do that, and we all were blessed by watching her work.
DS: Brenna Ginder Brenna Ginder 5'5" | DS/L Carroll Fort Wayne | 2024 State #137 Nation IN , 5-3, Carroll, Team Pineapple
Another freshman ‘bro leading the way in digs and second in aces this past fall for their high school team, Brenna is quickly becoming one of the best options for passing outside of Munciana. Her smooth play and consistent passing are well beyond her years, and she should be the libero for the Chargers moving forward.
DS: Alena Naddaf Alena Naddaf 5'2" | DS/L New Prairie | 2024 State IN , 5-2, New Prairie, Dunes
In the limited time she saw varsity action, Alena quickly acclimated to the speed and averaged nearly four digs per set. At Dunes, we expect her to take the reins of the special jersey for their top 15s team. There’s not a lot of video on her, so I will say this; Alena is one of the better defenders in Northwest Indiana. Her size has nothing to do with her ability; if anything, she’s worked harder than most BECAUSE of her size to get to balls even the best DS’s can’t get to. Here’s to hoping for a big club season of development for Miss Naddaf.