B10 Recruiting Battles, Securing Home State 2024s: Setters/DS/L
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The Big Ten is always a topic of conversation in college volleyball from the number of teams that get into the NCAA Tournament, the overall RPI of the conference, to recruiting, and even the transfer portal. This is a battle…
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Continue ReadingThe Big Ten is always a topic of conversation in college volleyball from the number of teams that get into the NCAA Tournament, the overall RPI of the conference, to recruiting, and even the transfer portal. This is a battle ground when it comes to recruiting. I am going to take a deeper dive into the “local kids” who come from states representing the Big Ten Conference and who Big Ten teams could be eyeing in the Class of 2024.
As a disclaimer, I don’t pry when it comes to “Who is your top five?”, “Who do you have offers from?” when it comes to athletes. I want athletes to find their fit. There are multiple factors that go into these decisions.
However, for these coaching staffs within the Big Ten, they are going after not only the top players in the country, but the top players in the world. They also want to make sure an athlete in their backyard doesn’t get away to a conference rival. Here are the setters and liberos in the PD 2024 National Rankings to keep an eye on for the next level.
Setters
10 – Stella Swenson Stella Swenson 6'1" | S Wayzata | 2024 State #8 Nation MN – Wayzata (MN) – MN Select
28 – Lilly Wagner Lilly Wagner 6'0" | S Oconomowoc | 2024 State #42 Nation WI – Oconomowoc (WI) – Milwaukee Sting
54 – Macy Hinshaw Macy Hinshaw 5'9" | S Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State #75 Nation IN – Hamilton Southeastern (IN) – Circle City
57 – Zoey Dood Zoey Dood 6'2" | S Grandville | 2024 State #131 Nation MI – Grandville (MI) – MVA
69 – Allie Shondell Allie Shondell 5'9" | S McCutcheon | 2024 State #78 Nation IN – McCutcheon (IN) – Boiler Juniors
88 – Lucy Mott Lucy Mott 6'1" | S SUA (Toledo) | 2024 State #105 Nation OH – St. Ursuline (OH) – Legacy
92 – Abby Yoder Abby Yoder 5'10" | S Kings | 2024 State #101 Nation OH – Kings – NKYVC
The setting position and how that transfers from the high school to college level can be a little bit of an enigma. There are some programs who want size and physicality in all of their setters, while others are willing to sacrifice the front row attributes from a setter to be able to put their attackers in the perfect position to score. The scholarship situation also factors into this position as well. If schools have a setter coming in the 2023 class, they typically wouldn’t recruit another setter for the Class of 2024. With only one setter typically used with most all programs in the Big Ten running a 5-1, are athletes willing to wait a couple years before they get a chance to be on the court? Or do athletes want to be able to come in and play right away. This is different for everyone, but relevant questions and factors athletes go through in the recruiting process.
*Disclaimer, I do not know the scholarship situation at every Big Ten school for setters.
Stella Swenson Stella Swenson 6'1" | S Wayzata | 2024 State #8 Nation MN has to be high on the radar for plenty of top programs where she won the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year as a sophomore. She has the size and physicality to do a lot of special things at the net and knows how to get her offense rolling. Her older sister is All American, Samantha Seliger-Swenson who is all over the Minnesota record books and she would be a natural fit at Minnesota. Maybe she could bring along dominant 2024 middle Kaia Caffee and her twin sister Olivia Swenson who is a solid 2024 attacker.
Lilly Wagner Lilly Wagner 6'0" | S Oconomowoc | 2024 State #42 Nation WI is the top player in the Class of 2024 in Wisconsin. She has a really high upside where she is long, athletic, and knows how to command the court. Her MKE Sting 16 Gold team is on fire right now, finishing the qualifier season with an open bid from Windy City Qualifier and recently won the Prep Dig Gauntlet with huge wins over 1st Alliance 16 Gold, Northern Lights 16-1, and Academy 16E Yeti. Maybe teams can find a way to keep the Wagner/Bjork connection going into the collegiate ranks after establishing themselves as the top setter/middle combo in Wisconsin.
Zoey Dood Zoey Dood 6'2" | S Grandville | 2024 State #131 Nation MI comes from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area where she brings a really dynamic game to the court. At 6’2 and left handed, she can be quite the force in the front row. She has always played up an age level for Michigan Volleyball Academy and has always been a top player for her club. She is also one of Michigan’s top overall prospect from the Class of 2024. The upside of Dood is up there with other top players in the Class of 2024 and could be a steal at the next level.
Macy Hinshaw Macy Hinshaw 5'9" | S Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State #75 Nation IN , Allie Shondell Allie Shondell 5'9" | S McCutcheon | 2024 State #78 Nation IN , Lucy Mott Lucy Mott 6'1" | S SUA (Toledo) | 2024 State #105 Nation OH , and Abby Yoder Abby Yoder 5'10" | S Kings | 2024 State #101 Nation OH are all winners. These setters know how to get it done at a high level and are pure floor generals where they can get their attackers a favorable matchup. These setters are not the 6’2, throw it down in the front row type of players, but they put the ball exactly where it is needed. Hinshaw runs the show for one of the top 17s teams in the country with Circle City 17 Purple. Shondell was the setter for her high school state championship team as a sophomore in Indiana’s large class. Mott is the top 2024 setter in Ohio. Yoder has led NKYVC 16 Tsunami to a huge season, including a runner up finish at Triple Crown and a championship at Central Zone.
Liberos
39 – Ava Falduto Ava Falduto 5'7" | DS/L IC Catholic Prep | 2024 State #10 Nation IL – IC Catholic Prep (IL) – NEW Wave – COMMITTED TO PENN STATE
72 – Olivia Mauch – Bennington (NE) – Premier Nebraska
77 – Claire Luoma Claire Luoma 5'8" | DS/L Franklin | 2024 State #85 Nation WI – Franklin (WI) – Milwaukee Sting
95 – Lola Schumacher Lola Schumacher 5'4" | DS/L Brebeuf Jesuit | 2024 State #60 Nation IN – Brebeuf Jesuit (IN) – Munciana
98 – Luca Bredenberg Luca Bredenberg 5'8" | DS/L Southwest Christian | 2024 State #104 Nation MN – Southwest Christian (MN) – Northern Lights
To be completely transparent, evaluating a libero is something I do ask college coaches (not about specific kids, but how coaches evaluate liberos in general). The highlight videos of liberos are all amazing. When watching liberos live, they rarely get served because you know they are passing “threes” all day, and when it comes to game play it takes more than just a few plays to know that caliber of the libero. The higher level of competition, the more I am able to see out of a libero. For liberos at the next level, there is also the factor of playing time and scholarship money. Are they getting a full four years? Is it a two and two deal? Is it two years walk on and potentially two years on scholarship? Or is it a roster spot and that’s it? Plenty of scenarios to consider.
Everyone loves when a defensive specialist gets a kill but a BLOCK kill is going to mean a BLOCK PARTY 🥳 for Luca Bredenberg Luca Bredenberg 5'8" | DS/L Southwest Christian | 2024 State #104 Nation MN of @nlightsvball at the #PDGauntlet @PrepDigChris @PrepDig @PrepDigEvents @PrepDigMN pic.twitter.com/fabcWLXFCh
— Breit Nelson (@BreitNelson) May 28, 2022
Ava Falduto Ava Falduto 5'7" | DS/L IC Catholic Prep | 2024 State #10 Nation IL was one of the first athletes from the Class of 2024 to make her verbal to Penn State. She has all of the intangibles in a star libero from how she commands the backrow, always anticipating, and seems like such a fun athlete to play alongside with a smile and spark. I know she has found the weightroom and with her uber athleticism, she has a head start to being an elite Big Ten level athlete. She glides on the court.
Mauch, who plays for one of the top clubs out of Nebraska at Premier will be training with the U19 Youth National Team in July. Like Mauch Luoma, Schumacher, and Bredenberg are coming from programs who produce extremely high level liberos who have gone on to have very successful careers at the collegiate level. Bredenberg can swing on the pin if needed to. She is a real athletic who has a solid all around skill set.