USAV GJNC Top Performers – Class of 2023 Vol 1
USA Volleyball held it’s Girls Junior National Championships in Indianapolis at the Indiana Convention Center on July 1-4th. This is a very prestigious tournament in which teams actually had to earn their bid to play in it. The qualification process…
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Continue ReadingUSA Volleyball held it’s Girls Junior National Championships in Indianapolis at the Indiana Convention Center on July 1-4th. This is a very prestigious tournament in which teams actually had to earn their bid to play in it. The qualification process is super tough throughout the year and the best of the best rose to the top. Prep Dig was on hand to cover every serve, set, kill, and pass of the ball from start to finish. This series of articles is going to cover those athletes that stood out to me during the 10 days that I was covering the tournament.
This next article is devoted to the 2023 class. I will be discussing quite a few of the wonderful athletes who wowed the crowd many times. Although I could easily write an article on every player, this will be about those who caught my eye for various reasons. Without further ado, let’s meet a few of them.
Olivia Babcock Olivia Babcock 6'3" | OH Sierra Canyon | 2023 State #13 Nation CA [2023] 6-3 Outside/Right Side (HS: Sierra Canyon/Club: Sunshine/Verbal: University of Pittsburgh)
Olivia is currently ranked as the 27th best overall prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig National Rankings. She plays at Sierra Canyon High School and also club for the amazing Sunshine volleyball program. I wrote an article a few months ago and here is what I stated, “This multi-sport athlete is a game changer for any team she plays for. In club, when I watched her play this season she was a stud on the right side. She is able to score in any position you put her in. Sunshine fed her the ball over and over in the match I watched. It was very apparent why…this young lady is a flat out stud. She scored both from designed play-sets out of the back row and from both pins in the front row. She is very dynamic from the service line also as she stifled top ranked Circle City for a few aces. The University of Pittsburgh commit will dazzle any spectator.” I was amazed at her dynamic abilities both on the court and at the service line. When I watched at nationals, she unleashed a flurry of serves that were not returnable. That top spin jump serve was super legit. On the court she was just as lethal as she rose up time and time again for a hard driven kill against her opponent. She is so fun to watch play the game.
Torrey Stafford Torrey Stafford 6'0" | OH Marymount | 2023 State #20 Nation CA [2023] 6-2 Outside (HS: Marymount/Club: Sunshine/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Torrey is currently ranked as the 38th best overall prospect in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig National Rankings. She plays at Marymount High School and also plays club volleyball for Sunshine. I wrote an article a few months ago and here is what I stated, “Widely considered one of the best outside hitters in the nation, Miss Stafford is a phenom. She has made numerous All-American lists and it is totally warranted with what I saw from her individual play. Defensively is it very difficult to scheme against such a versatile and athletic left side. The moment any team sets up to take away the angle, Miss Stafford can turn on a dime in mid-air and throttle the ball down the line. She is one huge reason why this team is so dynamic.” At times during the match that I saw, she was unstoppable from any location on the court offensively. It didn’t matter if the team was out of system, because Miss Stafford would be ready and willing to take an aggressive swing from the back row and still score with it. She had many college coaches watching and writing notes in their phones about her abilities. I was in awe of her athleticism.
Zoe Rachow Zoe Rachow 5'11" | S Otay Ranch | 2023 State #141 Nation CA [2023] 5-10 Setter (HS: Otay Ranch/Club: Coast/Verbal: Uncommitted)
Zoe is currently listed on our prospect watchlist in the 2023 class according to our Prep Dig California State Rankings. She plays at Otay Ranch High School and for Coast Volleyball. This young lady was extremely impressive in her physical abilities as a setter. She moved the ball around so fluidly to balance out the offense and was equally a threat out of right back digging and keeping her team in each rally. Her serve was tough and she kept the opposition out of system quite a bit. But what stood out the most to me while I watched them compete all throughout the four days was her on court leadership. She did not let anything take her out of the competitive zone to lead her team to victory against the best that the nation had to offer. She is the real deal as a setter and if you have not seen her play, you need to.
We will be continuing with more players in each position in the next few articles that stood out to me while I covered nationals. If you have anyone you think we should watch out for, please shoot me an email with some info at nov8vb@yahoo.com. Also don’t forget to help these kids get more exposure by sharing our stories with your friends. Help us help them by simply retweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook. Thanks for following Prep Dig Family!