Every Wednesday during the high school season, provided there are enough nominees from varsity coaches, VolleyballMag.com will recognize a Dream Team of high school volleyball players who were standouts the weekend before. Most weeks, the eight-girl Dream Team will consist of the following:
Setter
Setter, S/RS or RS
OH
OH
MB
MB
Libero
DS
Our team this week consists of two setters, three outsides, two middles and a libero, because no defensive specialists were nominated.
Players will be considered for Dream Team ONLY if they are nominated by their high school coaches using this link: https://volleyballmag.com/hs-player-of-the-week-submissions/.
Nominations will be solicited by email to high school coaches only on our email list. To sign up, follow this link: https://volleyballmag.com/hs-email-sign-up/
THIS WEEK ONLY, we included nominated players who have stood out since the inception of the season. Starting next week, a player will have to play exceptionally during a specific Monday-through-Saturday period to be considered.
Note to coaches and directors: while there is no science to how we choose members of our Dream Team, performing on bigger stages will give players an edge, as will nomination forms that describe with specificity how well a player performed the previous weekend.
VolleyballMag.com HIGH SCHOOL DREAM TEAM for Aug. 23 2023
S/RS: Avery Hamlin, 6-2 Sr., Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) – Hamlin, a Duke recruit, capped an MVP performance at the Fraulein Volleyfest with seven kills, 14 assists, 12 digs and two aces in a 2-1 win over nationally-ranked Dripping Springs.
S: Megan Hawkins, 5-9 Sr., Canyon (New Braunfels, Texas) – Hawkins earned All-tournament recognition for the third straight year at the Katy/Cy-Fair Tournament. She had 129 assists, 82 digs and 67 kills to help her team go 7-1. Hawkins, a Louisiana Lafayette recruit, now has more than 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs for her career.
OH: Brooklyn Drumwright, 6-1 Jr., Santa Margarita Catholic (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) – Drumwright had six kills, 10 digs and three blocks in a 2-0 win over state-ranked Beckman as the Eagles won the Tesoro Tournament on Monday. Santa Margarita won three times over ranked opponents during the tournament. Drumwright was named tournament MVP.
OH: MaryKate Scheumann, 5-9 Soph., Bellmont (Decatur, Indiana) – Scheumann is averaging more than four kills per set through a 4-0 start, including a 22-kill, 16-dig performance in a massive four-set win over Yorktown.
OH: Charlotte Vinson, 6-2 Jr., Yorktown (Indiana) – The go-to hitter on one of the best teams in Indiana, the future Hoosier tallied 88 kills over four matches last week, including 34 in a four-set loss to Bellmont. She also had 34 digs, seven aces and seven blocks over the same span.
Finn Higginbotham
MB: Finn Higginbotham, 6-2 Sr., Savannah Arts Academy (Savannah, Georgia) – The senior had 64 kills in the Tsunami Volleyball Tournament on Aug. 11, where the Panthers won the Silver Bracket. She currently is hitting .517 on the year, which puts her first among players in Class 2A.
Olivia Miller
MB: Olivia Miller, 6-0 Jr., Oconee County (Watkinsville, Georgia) – Oconee defeated three defending state champions last week. In those wins, Miller had 12 blocks and hit over .400 against two of them. For the week, the junior amassed 42 kills and 21 blocks.
Avery Power
Libero: Avery Power, 5-3 Jr., Brandon (Mississippi) – Power has put on a show in the back row for the Bulldogs early in the season. She is the state’s current digs leader with 139. Brandon is off to an 11-1 start to the season.
Also considered (by position, in order of consideration):
S: Lexi Jodie, 5-9 Soph., River Bluff (Lexington, South Carolina) – The Gators placed second last weekend in the North-South Tournament, which hosted 40 teams from both sides of the Carolina border. Jodie amassed 135 assists, 29 digs and 13 kills over six matches. She is the sole returning full-time starter from last year’s 38-win team.
S: Madeline Le Francois, 5-9 Sr., Mammoth (Mammoth Lakes, California) – Le Francois helped the Huskies win their season-opening set, 25-0, by serving 24 straight points, including eight aces. She helped lead Mammoth to a 3-0 mark on the first day of the Yerington Tournament, finishing with 56 assists, 10 aces and six kills.
S: Isabel Miller, 5-7 Sr., Oconee County (Watkinsville, Georgia) – The GVCA AAA POY in 2022, Miller started 2023 off strongly with 44 assists and 10 digs in a season-opening win. Two days later she was sidelined by injury, but returned to the court two days later to have 20 assists and serve 10 points (on 13 attempts) in a Silver Bracket championship sweep of a much larger school.
S: Madison Brown, 5-9 Soph., Noblesville (Indiana) – After accumulating 815 assists as a freshman, Brown is at it again for the Millers. The sophomore opened with 43 and 48 assists over nine sets in Noblesville’s first two matches of the season, both wins.
S: Kamryn Utley, 5-8 Sr., Cathedral (Indianapolis, Indiana) – Utley, a Lehigh recruit, is averaged more than nine assists per set over a 7-1 start for the Irish.
S: Mia Scott, 5-9 Sr., Legion Collegiate (Rock Hill, South Carolina) – Scott contributed 63 assists, 17 digs and seven aces for the Lancers at the North-South Tournament over the weekend. Her team went 3-1 and finished fifth overall.
***
OH: Eliana Urzua, 6-3 Jr., Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara, California) – The physical UCLA recruit had a big week for the Cardinals. She contributed 19 kills and six aces in a 3-1 loss to Oak Park, turned in 14 kills against Santa Barbara and rounded out the week on Friday with a 28-kill, four-block performance in a huge five-set win over Valencia.
OH: Addie Lowe, 6-0 Jr., Lexington Catholic (Lexington, Kentucky) – Lowe has started for the varsity in the middle since she was an eighth grader, but is shining in her first season playing outside. She had 26 kills and 12 digs in LexCath’s first match versus Bryan Station. One night later, she amassed 17 kills, 16 digs and three aces in a five-set loss to undefeated Great Crossing.
OH: Gabby DiVita, 6-1 Soph., Grosse Pointe South (Grosse Pointe, Michigan) — Grosse Pointe South competed in the East vs West Showdown and hung tough against several top-ranked teams thanks to DiVita, who put down 62 kills at a .386 hitting efficiency (average 5.17 kills/set), passed a 2.04 and had 27 digs.
OH: Cate Palmi, 5-7 Soph., Osceola (Kissimmee, Florida) – Palmi started her sophomore campaign with 20 kills on Monday in a sweep of 2022 6A runner-up Viera.
OH: Jordan Griffin, 5-11 Sr., Hough (Cornelius, North Carolina) – Griffin was dominant on attack in leading undefeated Hough to the title in the North-South Tournament in Rock Hill.
OH: Hanna McGinest, 5-10 Fr., Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) – The first matches of McGinest’s high school career came at the tough Ann Kang Invitational in Honolulu and the freshman killed it. She played fearless ball and led the team in kills against vaunted Cornerstone Christian in a tight loss.
OH: Caroline Tucker, 5-10 Soph., River Bluff (Lexington, South Carolina) – Tucker had 71 kills over six matches for River Bluff, which went 5-1 and finished second at the North-South Tournament over the weekend.
OH: Reese Jones, 5-10 Jr., Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Arkansas) – Jones had a match-high 13 kills and hit .579 on Monday as the 4A Saints swept 6A Rogers in their season opener. “She was a force at the net, terminating the ball at will,” noted coach Denise Bonanno.
OH: Jizelle Castellanos, 5-6 Jr., Indian Springs (San Bernardino, California) – Castellanos served 30 aces and added 14 kills in three wins last week, the first three-match winning streak in school history. Said coach Leo Chrisman: “The junior captain leads by example, keeping hings calm and controlled when she is on the floor.”
OH: Parker Stearns, 6-1 Sr., Benton (Arkansas) – A part-time starter a year ago for the 2022 5A state champions, Stearns started her senior season off with a bang on Tuesday versus Greenbrier. She had nine kills in a three-set win while hitting .563. She attacks were so impressive that they elicited “ooohs” from the appreciative crowd after every swing.
***
Libero: Hannah Brady, 5-7 Jr., Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, California) – Brady passed a 2.1 during the season-opening Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii and was instrumental in leading the Lions all weekend with her consistent play and communication.
Libero: Maslyn McClanahan, 5-6 Jr., River Bluff (Lexington, South Carolina) – McClanahan recorded 63 digs over six matches to help River Bluff place second at the North-South Tournament. She also passed a 2.2 and added 15 assists on out-of-system sets.
Libero: Anya Pershin, 5-7 Sr., Legion Collegiate (Rock Hill, South Carolina) – Pershin had eight aces, 21 digs, 46 receptions and three assists for the Lancers, who went 3-1 (fifth overall) at the North-South Tournament over the weekend.
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