Early Bird Shootout: Who Stood Out?
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With our first weekend of club under our belts, I want to take a position-by-position look at my favorite players from yesterday’s Early Bird Shootout at Capitol Sports Center. I’ll treat this article like a real all-star team should; two outsides,…
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Continue ReadingWith our first weekend of club under our belts, I want to take a position-by-position look at my favorite players from yesterday’s Early Bird Shootout at Capitol Sports Center. I’ll treat this article like a real all-star team should; two outsides, two middles, one right side, one setter, one libero and one defensive specialist. The extra DS will come in for a three-rotation outside on my team. I will mention what class they’re from, but I won’t limit which class they can come from. Here we go!
OUTSIDE HITTER
Will all of the high-end ball going on Sunday, this was probably the hardest position to pick. There were so many primary-passing outsides, three rotation outsides, multi positional outsides—-you get the picture. My primary-passing outside has to be Isabella Humphrey Isabella Humphrey 5'9" | OH McCutcheon | 2024 State IN (’24, 5-9 OH, McCutcheon). Her Boiler Juniors 16 Gold won the 15/16 division dropping only one set to Circle’s 16-1 in the final. She can play all the way around, hit high and hard, is tough from behind the service line, and can score points at will. And she can pass? Good place to start for this all-star group. My other outside, whom I like to have as a three-rotation outside that comes out in the back is Sophia Mayo Sophia Mayo 6'2" | OH Perry Meridian | 2024 State IN (’24, 6-2 OH, Perry Meridian). With size, strength and the ability to change how defenses play against you is a huge asset to have. Add that 6-2 frame while nearly touching ten feet, and you’ve got a go-to player in the making.
MIDDLE
Since we’re running a 5-1 with this squad, I wanted one kid to be able to hit in front of the setter well and the other to hit slides well. For the M1, I’m a big fan of JaNyah Henderson JaNyah Henderson 5'11" | MB Cy Ranch | 2023 TX (’23, 5-11 MB, Fishers) from Rev. On a regular basis, Miss Henderson was fast behind the setter, attacked at her max jump, and defended from pin to pin well. Her squad played so well that they finished second in the 17/18 division. For the M2, I liked what I saw from Ella Chapman Ella Chapman 6'3" | MB Greensburg | 2023 State IN (’23, 6-4 MB, Greensburg). In the crossover matches in the afternoon wave, both of the teams her Circle 17-1 team played had difficulty getting past her size. She defended the best out of the big middles I saw, and she’s only going to get better from here. On occasion, teams looked like they were hitting in a phone booth against Ella.
RIGHT SIDE
I’m not DSing my right side in this format, so I’m going to go with Ashby Willis (’23, 6-0 OH, Homeschool) playing all the way around. I saw her among the teams that finished in the top three in the entire 17/18 division, and, with a struggling offense, still managed to be an important part of putting balls away, passing regularly in serve receive, and blocking opposing left sides well. This was my first time seeing her play live in almost a year, so it was nice to see (1) how much she’s grown as a player, and (2) how well she’s already getting along with her new teammates.
SETTER
Needing a 5-1 setter that can do everything well, I’m going with Allie Shondell Allie Shondell 5'9" | S McCutcheon | 2024 State #78 Nation IN (’24, 5-10 S, McCutcheon) for the champion Boiler Juniors 16 Gold squad. Wherever the ball was passed, she dished a hittable ball. She played her position on defense better than the last time I saw her do so in high school. She was deadly from behind the service line. She blocked opposing outsides regularly and with purpose. This was a no-brainer for me on this day, as no other setter in the building did what she did as consistently.
LIBERO
The job of a libero is thankless. You need to cover for your teammates in serve receive, dig the crosscourt shot perfectly every time, hit the floor constantly, and never make errors. Lucky for me, I got a chance to see that in Avery Freeman Avery Freeman 5'4" | DS/L Bloomington North | 2025 State #68 Nation IN (’25, 5-2 DS/L, Bloomington North). No-nonsense and unassuming, Avery did her job at a consistently high level all day, and it was fun to watch her be in control despite all around her being a little, shall we say, frantic. First tournament jitters for most, but not for Miss Freeman. She played like she’s done this before, and it showed.
DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
This spot is usually reserved for a kid that can play three rotations, make the play that needs to be made, and continue the positive attitude from the sidelines. Madelynn Coates Madelynn Coates 5'2" | DS/L Noblesville | 2024 State IN (’24, 5-2 DS/L, Noblesville) was just that. In a match where the libero jersey was changed and changed again, Miss Coates was the stabilizing defender and serve receive specialist that her Yeti squad needed against a tough Boiler Juniors 15-1 team. Always positive, always moving, and recovering well even after an error, Madelynn can play as my three-rotation DS any time.