8 Illinois Juniors To Watch This Fall
The 2021 Club Season is coming to a close across the country. It took a while to get going, but once it did, we got to see plenty of Illinois teams competing in Iowa and Wisconsin. After a competitive club…
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Continue ReadingThe 2021 Club Season is coming to a close across the country. It took a while to get going, but once it did, we got to see plenty of Illinois teams competing in Iowa and Wisconsin. After a competitive club season, these eight incoming juniors are bound to find success in the 2021 high school season.
Caylee Folken – 5’6 – Setter – Mahomet-Seymour – Illini Elite 16 Black (title photo)
Folken really moves the ball around and is very smart when the pass is off. She can crank the ball out to the pin when it’s 20ft off the net. Other times she shows her mastery of giving her hitters a one-on-one or one-on-none situation. As a first-year starter for Mahomet-Seymour, Folken was the main distributor, and she racked up 219 assists, 67 digs, and 28 service aces.
Grace Ulatowski – 5’7 – Pin Hitter – Lemont – 1st Alliance 16 Black
Ulatowski’s first varsity season for the Indians was 2020, and she brought some offensive heat as well as real defensive energy. She may be a smaller pin hitter, but she takes a really nice hard swing in the split to score a lot of points. Ulatowski led the Indians with 43 digs while adding 34 kills and 10 aces.
Alex Smith – 5’9 – Right Side Hitter – Mt Zion – Illini Elite 16 Black
Smith is a lefty with the ability to become a standout player for the Braves after they graduate their most prolific attacker. She has the ability to take a nice swing down the line from the left pin or she can use a gentle touch to get the ball to trickle down the blocker’s back. If her club setter, Folken, gives her a tight set, consider it crushed.
Katie Debs – 6’3 – Middle Blocker – Lyons Township – 1st Alliance 16 Black
Debs stuck out to me when she just pounded the crud out of the ball. She continued to show opponents why they should try to keep her team out-of-system.
Lauren Herz – Libero – Limestone – Illini Elite 16 Black
Herz caught my eye when she made a crazy tough dig in a high pressure situation. Not all liberos thrive under pressure. Some crack and some fade in the moment, but Herz was definitely not one of those.
Ashley Branford – 5’10 – Middle Blocker – Libertyville – Sky High Adidas Sophs
As a sophomore, Branford appeared in about half of the Wildcats sets and recorded 18 kills and 11 blocks. She trained with Sky High Adidas Sophs during the club season where she showcased her ability to get off the ground really fast and did a nice job contacting on top of the ball. When Branford really connects, she pounds like a hammer.
Mallory Monahan – 5’11 – Outside Hitter – St. Thomas More – Illini Elite 16 Black
Monahan led the Sabers with 174 kills while also recording 103 digs and 18 aces this past season. She is definitely a player you do not want to sleep on. And you definitely don’t want to leave her on the net without a block because she will put it through the floor.
Yashwini Kongara – 5’9 – Pin Hitter – Stevenson – Sky High Adidas Sophs
Kongara has a solid swing. She looks small next to some of her competitors, but she sneaks up on you. Kongara is really explosive and surprises opponents.
Other Notables:
Aleksa Simkus – 5’7 – Outside Hitter – Lockport Township – 1st Alliance 16 Black
Cheli Ayala – 5’3 – Libero – Hinsdale – 1st Alliance 16 Black
Emmie Rink – 6’0 – Outside Hitter – Normal Community West – Illini Elite 16 Black
Leslie Longanbach – 5’11 – Middle Blocker – Richwoods – Illini Elite 16 Black