High Schools with the Power Right Sides
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This is a position underrated by many coaches. Some will hide their less skilled player there and hope for the best. Times have changed. As Annie Drews showed during the Olympics, a team with a strong right side can be…
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Continue ReadingThis is a position underrated by many coaches. Some will hide their less skilled player there and hope for the best. Times have changed. As Annie Drews showed during the Olympics, a team with a strong right side can be a powerful team.
Ideally, the right side should be a strong blocker. They will be blocking the left side hitter, who some may argue is the strongest hitter on the team, but if not the strongest the player who gets the majority of sets. Without a strong blocker on the right side your setter is in danger if that left side tries to go down the line. Plus, if a coach puts the weakest player there the left side hitter will use the defensive players as target practice.
The more effective right sides are lefthanded. That is their more natural position. Their cross court hit travels to the setter position. When the setter has to dig it means the team is immediately out of system and an alternate setter, usually the libero must come in to set.
Below are the high schools with the potential to have the strongest right sides. Some of those players may end up playing middle, because middles are the toughest position to fill. Some right sides for club ball move to the left side for their high school team. The high school tryouts for public schools have been completed. The two a day practices have begun. Let the position battles begin.
Helen Frankovich Helen Frankovich 6'3" | RS Justice | 2023 State VA (Justice) – At 6’3″ she can cover a lot of court with her block. Her block jump is just a few inches shy of 10 feet. Her approach jump gets over 10 feet, allowing her to hit over or through many of the left side blocks. At the Nationals Paramount was fueled by the clutch hitting of the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) commit. She has a powerful right handed swing that is suited for the right side. The senior is the fourth ranked player in our 2023 Virginia rankings and the number one ranked right side.
Jada Aksu Jada Aksu 6'0" | RS Georgetown Day | 2025 State VA (Georgetown Day) – The 6’0″ sophomore was the only frosh voted to the DC State Athletic Association All State team and was named to the Independent School League (ISL) first team. The lefty appears to have a fast arm swing that fires lasers into the back court. She played for Metro 15 during the club season and was their top hitter. Jada is our top rated right side hitter for the class of 2025.
Renee Jones Renee Jones 6'5" | RS Flint Hill | 2025 State #132 Nation FL (Flint Hill) – The 6’5″ junior is another first team ISL selection. There are not a lot of players that can get as high over the net as Renee. Her twin sister Ryla plays middle for Flint Hill and her older sister Rainelle plays at Maryland, where she is considered the top blocker in Division I college volleyball. Renee played right side for Metro 16 but did not get a lot of offensive opportunities. Most of the sets were directed to the two left sides, who were both selected to the roster of the U19 national team. Renee is our number two ranked right side for the class of 2024.
Sydney Mayfield Sydney Mayfield 5'10" | RS Bullis | 2025 State VA (Bullis) – The 6’0″ junior was voted to the Independent School League (ISL) A Division first team. As a sophomore she led her high school to the A Division Regular season championship. She puts up a strong block on the right side and has a nice vertical to bury the ball to the floor. She played some middle and right side for Virginia Juniors last year. With Alexis Ewing Alexis Ewing 6'3" | OH Bullis | 2025 State VA on the left side and Mayfield on the right Bullis will be a tough team to beat in 2022.
Erika Bracey Erika Bracey 6'0" | RS Elizabeth Seton | 2024 State VA (Elizabeth Seton) – The 5’11” lefthander has a block touch of 9’5″. For Paramount she seemed to switch between middle and right side, depending on the need. Seton usually struggles near the bottom of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) so they may also use her at middle or move her to left side, where setters are more inclined to set. She did play a lot of right side last year for Seton and proved to be one of their better offensive players as a sophomore.
Skyler Tennant Skyler Tennant 5'11" | RS Battlefield | 2025 State VA (Battlefield) – The 5’10” sophomore is the second rated right side for the class of 2025. As a frosh she was voted honorable mention to the All District volleyball team. While she is listed as a right side most of her hitting appears to be done from the left side. She has a hard right handed swing from both sides of the court so there is flexibility on how she is used.
Angelique Desamours Angelique Desamours 5'9" | OH bullis | 2025 State VA (Paul VI) – The 5’10” sophomore did not start playing the game until the eighth grade. when she got too tall to be a gymnast. I have coached some of these gymnasts turned volleyball players and they all have great jumps with good athletic ability. Angelique seems to have those qualities. For our 2025 class she was listed as our number three right side. She has a nice jump but needs a little faster arm swing to get more velocity on the ball. More experience will get her the repetitions to accomplish that.
Isabela Fowlkes Isabela Fowlkes 6'1" | RS Maret | 2023 State VA (Maret) – The 6’1″ USC commit is listed as a right side. She appeared to play a lot of middle for Metro last year and for Maret the senior put the ball away more from the left side. Her hands get high over the net on the block, which would be ideal for a right side Division I player. She has the reach to put the ball away from the middle, a trait that translates well from the right side.
Samia Sayd Samia Sayd 5'11" | OH Marshall | 2024 State VA (Marshall) – The 6’0″ junior has a long wing span that is just short of reaching 10 feet on her approach. Last year as a sophomore she made the Liberty District second team. She also appears to play a little beach to enhance her indoor game.