The 2020 high school volleyball season won't look like any we've ever experienced. Split seasons with some states forging ahead while others play in the spring or winter. Toss in masks for competitors, coaches and referees with no switching benches after sets and a whole bunch of hand sanitizer and
2020 definitely will be something different.
The one thing that won't be different is the talent. We're spotlighting some of that talent in our preseason All-America team. The list is filled with repeat recipients in addition to newcomers and state champions. We've already highlighted the
top player in each state as well as the
best team in each state. Next week, we will drop our first Top 25 rankings for teams playing in the fall.
First team
6-foot-4 | Sr. | Committed to Nebraska
One of a handful of future Cornhuskers on the All-American list, Batenhorst pounded 849 kills in 2019 (1,810 for her career) while adding 511 digs and 81 blocks for the 26-18 Spartans.
OH — Mele Corral-Blagojevich, Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.)
6-1 | So. | Undecided
A freshman as six-rotation player on a Top 10 team must truly be special. And she was. Corral-Blagojevich posted nearly 400 kills with 126 aces while playing all but 10 sets for the Sea Hawks. Coach Tommy Chaffins praised her ability to not only swing the hammer, but understand what the defense was giving and adjust on the fly.
OH — Parker Bracken, Jackson Academy (Jackson, Miss.)
5-10 | Sr. | LSU (beach)Picking up where she left off, Bracken already has 120 kills on the season for the Raiders. Last year's Gatorade selection, she totaled 648 kills, 517 digs and 120 aces while leading her squad to the MidSouth Association of Independent Schools title. She was a Clarion Ledger first-team pick.
6-1 | Sr. | Missouri
The future Tiger led the 41-4 Jags in kills with 573 while adding 444 digs, 37 aces and 55 blocks. She enters her senior season with 1,097 kills and 1,043 digs.
OH — Angelique Cyr, Flower Mound (Texas)
5-10 | Sr. | Arizona State
Second to fellow senior Cox in kills for the Jaguars with
422, Cyr added 30 aces and 368 digs. A 6A title winner her junior year,
Flower Mound fell to Byron Nelson in the regional semifinals.
OH — Shaye Eggleston, Brentwood (Brentwood)
6-1 | Sr. | AlabamaThe Volunteer State Gatorade winner won her third Tennessee AAA title this season (the seventh straight for Brentwood) while recording eye-popping number: 856 kills, 444 digs, 80 blocks and 87 aces.
OH — Alexia Jones, Dawson (Pearland, Texas)
5-10 | Sr. | Houston Baptist
She finished with 446 kills, 336 digs and 53 blocks for the 43-5 Eagles,
which lost in the 6A regional semifinals to state runner-up Ridge Point.
OH — Lindsay Krause, Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Neb.)
6-3 | Sr. | NebraskaA MaxPreps All-American and state Gatorade recipient, Krause led the SkyHawks to a 34-5 mark and Class B title. She posted 360 kills, 152 digs and 28 blocks for Skutt Catholic. She also was part of the U18 gold medal team in Egypt last September while also landing on the Lincoln Journal Star Super-State first team and the Omaha World-Herald All-Nebraska first team.
OH — Charitie Luper, Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas)
5-8 | Sr. | UCLA
One of two Bobcats on the All-American team, Luper
hit 492 kills with 508 digs and 50 blocks while missing time with an
elbow injury. The UCLA-commit totaled 1,321 kills in her career to go
with 1,293 digs.
OH — Elia Rubin, Marymount (Los Angeles)
6-0 | Jr. | Undecided
There was no sophomore slump for the Sailors' standout, individually, earned Nike TOC MVP honors. Marymount finished 33-5, falling to CIF and National Champion Torrey Pines in the
SoCal semis, while Rubin notched 420 kills and a 43 kill percentage. She
also added 44 aces, 44 blocks, 241 digs and 391 serve receives.
OH — Mabrey Shaffmaster, New Castle (Ind.)
6-1 | Sr. | North CarolinaThe younger sister of the Trojans' duo, Mabrey pounded out 670 kills with 120 aces, 39 blocks, 228 digs and 337 serve receives as New Castle won its third straight Indiana title (the first 4A crown after back-to-back 3A championships.)
Mabrey Shaffmaster, New Castle
File photo by Julie Brown
6-1 | Jr. | MinnesotaThe future Gopher notched 346 digs last season en route to being named the Greater Metro Conference Player of the Year. She also led the state with 592 kills and led the Lancers with 65 aces.
MB — Cecily Bramschreiber, Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas)
5-8 | Sr. | TCU
In 140 sets, the Horned Frog commit
tallied 661 kills, 447 digs, 50 blocks and 52 aces. Bramschreiber had
seven 20-plus kill matches during a junior campaign that saw the Leopards go 48-5, win a 5A state title and cap the season
on a 20-match win streak.
MB — Jenna Reitsma, Lowell (Mich.)
5-11 | Sr. | MarquetteWhile leading the Red Arrows to a 55-4 mark and Division I runner-up finish, Reitsma hammered 873 kills along with 422 digs and 86 aces. She's a repeat MaxPreps All-American and edged out a deep field in Michigan as the top player in the state.
MB — Addie VanderWeide, Christian (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
5-11 | Sr. | Undecided
The Eagles standout tallied 558 kills in leading the Eagles to a No. 17
ranking, a 46-3 overall mark and a Michigan Division 2 title.
VanderWeide hit at 32 percent and posted 373 digs in 126 sets for the Eagles. She enters her senior season with 1,518 career kills and 1,028 digs.
S — Clara Brower, The Woodlands (Texas)
5-9 | Sr. | Georgia
The future Bulldog led the Highlanders to a 47-5 mark, posting 1,551
assists overall and more than 10 per set in 146 sets played. She also
added 410 digs, 182 kills and 52 aces in her junior campaign and has
3,352 overall assists, 938 digs and 316 kills.
6-0 | Jr. | Baylor
The 2018 MaxPreps Freshman of the Year and 2019 All-American first-teamer guided the Leopards to a 48-5 mark and a 5A title. A
year after posting 1,507 assists in a 5A runner-up finish as a freshman, Carlson
tallied 1,327 assists (9.1 per set), 340 digs, 55 aces and 107 kills.
6-0 | Sr. | WyomingThe MaxPreps All-American already surpassed the 3,000 assist mark for the 6A champion Bobcats, including 1,944 last season. The 6-foot future Cowboy averaged more than 13 assists while chipping in 302 digs and 117 kills.
S — Kennedi Orr, Eagan (Minn.)
6-0 | Jr. | NebraskaThe Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year as well as the Gatorade selection, Orr's numbers across the board were noteworthy: 411 assists, 380 kills and 230 digs. She led the Wildcats to a 29-3 mark and a runner-up finish in the 3A championship. She already has more than 1,600 assists and 800 kills in two years.
L/DS — Eleanor Beavin, Mercy (Louisville, Ky.)
5-6 | Sr. | KentuckyThe state Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-State pick, Beavin had 555 digs and 505 serve receives last year (with nearly 1,200 of each in her career).
L/DS — Lexi Rodriguez, Sterling (Ill.)
5-5 | Sr. | NebraskaThe state Gatorade Player of the Year led the Warriors to a repeat 3A title. She had 415 digs, 232 assists and 32 aces while missing time with a gold medal stint at the FIVB U18 World Championships in Egypt.
AA — Allie Gray, Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Neb.)
5-11 | Sr. | Arizona State
Posting more than 12 assists per set (1,225 total), Gray joined with Krause to lead Skutt to a 34-5 mark and Class B title. She added 181 digs and 38 aces in 101 sets. She's notched 2,226 assists in her prep career.
AA — Kami Miner, Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.)
6-0 | S | Sr. | StanfordWhile Elia Rubin and fellow Sea Hawk Mele Corral-Blagojevich are worthy candidates and might be tops in following years, Miner's leadership, pedigree and stats are undeniable. The future Cardinal and daughter of former NBA player Harold Miner was a MaxPreps first-team All American in addition to playing on the gold-medal winning Girls U18 World Championship team last September in Egypt.
AA — Sophia Powell, Lowell (Mich.)
5-9 | Sr. | Undecided
The set to Reitsma's spike, Powell tallied 1,571 assists last season for the 55-4 Red Arrows. With nearly 11 assists per set, she also added 44 aces and 297 digs for the Division I runner-up.
AA — Bergen Reilly, O'Gorman (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
6-1 | So. | UndecidedA state Player of the Year nominee as a freshman, Reilly dished up 503 assists while adding 265 digs, 225 kills and47 aces for the 26-5 Knights, who fell in the AA title match. In addition to her state accolades, Reilly was a Freshman of the Year candidate from PrepVolleyball.com and named as one of 36 athletes to train as part of the Girls Incoming Youth Holiday National Training Team.
Jessica Smith, Aliso Niguel
File photo by Ming Chung Lin
6-6 | Sr. | Stanford
The Torreys' hitter crossed the 1,000-kill threshold as a junior, tallying 317 kills in 89 sets. She added 93 blocks as LJCD went 23-8 and fell in the SoCal playoffs to eventual D-I champion Vista Murrieta.
OH — Ali Hornung, Providence (Clarksville, Ind.)
5-9 | Sr. | Purdue
The Pioneers standout enters 2020 looking to go over 1,000 kills and digs for her career, sitting at 1,288 and 916, respectively. The future Boilermaker posted 392 kills and 266 digs in 100 sets for the 4A quarterfinalists. The 29-2 Pioneers only losses were to Center Grove in the quarters and a regular-season defeat by 4A champs New Castle.
OH — Devin Kahahawai, Kamehameha Kapalama (Honolulu)
6-0 | Jr. | UndecidedLed the DI state champion Warriors in kills with 381, while pouring in 33 aces, 51 blocks, 247 digs and 163 serve receives. Kahahawai was on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's Fab 15 team.
OH — Hayden Kubik, Valley (West Des Moines, Iowa)
6-2 | Jr. | NebraskaThe Hawkeye State's No. 1 Class of 2022 recruit according to prepdig.com, Kubik had 491 kills, 228 digs65 aces and 28 blocks for the 5A runners-up.
OH — Evoni Lemons, Alpharetta (Ga.)
5-8 | Sr. | UndecidedThe 42-7 Raiders were paced by Lemons' 667 kills, hitting at a 45 percent rate. She added 454 digs, 45 blocks and 29 aces as Alpharetta was ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 during the 2019 season.
OH — Claire Little, Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.)
6-2 | So. | BYU
She stormed on to the scene with
461 kills while leading the Broncos to the CIF Division I state crown as
a No. 5 seed. She posted 30 kills in the title match (a record for a
freshman) and hit at 31 percent in 106 sets and added 247 digs, as well
as 35 aces and blocks.
OH — Carlie Rzeszotarski, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (Burnt Hills, N.Y.)
6-0 | Jr. | UndecidedBlasting 523 kills — the second highest single-season total in school history — as a sophomore and led the Spartans to a 44-6 mark and Class A state crown. She added 278 digs and 52 aces and should pass the 1,000 career kill mark this season.
OH — Norah Sis, Papillion-LaVista (Papillion, Neb.)
6-1 | Sr. | Creighton
She hit at 32 percent with 479 kills (1,383 in three seasons), 311 digs and
49 blocks in 100 sets as the Monarchs went 36-2, falling only to rival
Papillion-LaVista South and Millard North in the Class A quarterfinals.
OH — Jessica Smith, Aliso Niguel (Calif.)
6-0 | Sr. | UCLA (beach)
Led the Wolverines to a 21-6 mark and CIF Division I quarterfinal finish. She tallied 424 kills while adding 242 digs and 93 aces. Smith enters her senior season looking to get over the century mark in kills with 807.
OH — Anjelina Starck, Rampart (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
6-2 | Sr. | Penn State
Led the 26-4 Rams with 430 kills while adding a second-best 353 digs. The Bishop Gorman transfer got better as the season went along, posting double-digit kill totals in Rampart's final 16 matches before falling to eventual 5A champion Valor Christian in the quarters.
OH — Paris Thompson, Fort Myers (Fla.)
6-1 | Sr. | Notre DameThe Fort Myers News-Press chose her as its Player of the Decade. In 2019, she set a school record with 446 kills, including a single-game mark of 31. A three-year standout, Thompson is approaching 1,000 career kills.
MB — Ngozi Iloh, McIntosh (Peachtree City, Ga.)
6-1 | Sr. | Undecided
Was second on the AAAAA champions with 301 kills while adding 64 blocks and 37 aces for the 36-1 Chiefs, who were ranked for a portion of the season. She's off to a hot start already as the Chiefs are 5-0 and Iloh has 46 kills in 10 sets.
MB — Rylie Kadel, Legend (Parker, Colo.)
6-1 | Sr. | DukeA first-team All-State pick for the Titans, Kadel blasted a team-high 428 kills with 71 blocks, 50 aces and 70 digs.
MB — Marianna Singletary, Porter-Gaud (Charleston, S.C.)
6-4 | Jr. | UndecidedIn each of her first two seasons, Singletary has posted at least 500 kills, notching 539 (second-best in the state) last season for the Cyclones. She also had 93 blocks.
S — Caroline Dykes, Flower Mound (Texas)
5-10 | Sr. | East Tennessee State
The Jags setter tossed up nearly eight assists per set while notching 936 total for the season. She added 269 digs and 42 aces in 127 sets as Flower Mound went 41-4. A 6A title winner her junior year,
Flower Mound fell to Byron Nelson in the regional semifinals.
S — Alyssa Eaton, Assumption (Louisville, Ky.)
5-8 | Sr. | Undecided
She dished up 820 assists (9.3 per set) and added 159 digs for the Rockets, which added a 22nd state title in 28 years last season. Eaton looks to cap her prep career winning a state crown in all four years as one of the leaders of Ron Kordes' squad.
S — Rachel Muisenga, Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)
6-0 | Sr. | Penn State
The future Nittany Lion switched from hitter to setter last season and put up impressive state: 718 assists, 67 kills and 49 digs for the 41-1 Redwings, who won the 4A crown. As a sophomore hitter, Muisenga blasted 180 kills with 149 assists and 116 digs.
S — Elena Scott, Mercy (Louisville, Ky.)
5-8 | Sr. | Louisville
A Durango all-tourney team pick for the Kentucky runner-up Jaguars,
Scott notched 800 assists, 326 digs and 160 kills as Mercy went 36-7.
The Louisville commit enters her final season with 2,339 assists, 753
digs and 358 kills.
L/DS — Caroline Bien, Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.)
5-11 | Sr. | Kansas
Named to the Kansas 5A All-Tournament team, the 5-11 Bien had 349 kills,
319 digs and 513 serve receives for the Saints as they went 34-7 and
earned the 5A title.
L/DS — Emery Dupes, Walton (Marietta, Ga.)
5-5 | Sr. | Florida State
The glue for the 32-8 Raiders and AAAAAAA champions, Dupes had 238 digs, 408 serve receives and 65 aces in her junior campaign. She's seeking to complete the career state title sweep having won crowns in 2017 and 2018 as well.
AA — Riley Buckley, North Raleigh Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.)
6-0 | Jr. | MissouriPlaying on a nationally ranked team, Buckley dished up 451 assists, 262 digs, 260 kills (while hitting .421) and 46 aces for a 31-4 team that also snagged the NCISAA state crown.
AA — Gracie Lynn Butler, Hazel Green (Ala.)
6-1 | Sr. | SamfordThe All-State and al.com Hunstville All-Region Player of the Year smashed 23 kills and dug 19 balls in the Trojans' four-set loss in the 6A title game. She posted 771 kills, 135 blocks, 243 digs and 63 aces for 58-9 Hazel Green.
AA — Caroline Edgeworth, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
5-9 | Jr. | UndecidedAs a sophomore, she broke single-season state records for assists (1,474 at 13.3 per set) an aces (122) last fall. She added 294 digs, 63 kills and 32 blocks and sits at 2,097 assist with two years in her prep career.
6-0 | Sr. | Colorado
The rising senior filled the stat sheet with 175 digs, 952 assists, 80 aces and 185 kills for the 36-4 Trailblazers, who fell to eventual D-I champion Vista Murrieta in the SoCal finals. Simpson has 3,127 assists, 535 digs and 342 kills for her career.
AA — Kendra Wait, Gardner-Edgerton (Gardner, Kan.)
5-10 | Sr. | CreightonIn addition to being a first-team 6A All-State pick, Wait also was the state Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior. She notched 944 assists, 417 digs, 143 kills and 52 aces for the 6A consolation winners.
Emery Dupes, Walton
File photo by Kyle Hess
