Two things stood out about the 2021 girls high school volleyball season:
First, teams, players, coaches and fans were able to get back to some sense of normalcy amidst the lingering pandemic.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, that return to normalcy meant oodles of A-list volleyball talent was on full display across the country, making the task of compiling our 2021 VolleyballMag.com girls high school All-American awards that much more fun and challenging.
This year’s first team is packed with Under Armour and Gatorade award recipients and players who competed on some of the nation’s powerhouse teams.
Los Angeles Marymount, which went undefeated at 35-0 and won the CIF Open Division title (the equal of a state’s highest division state title), has two players on the first team in Elia Rubin and Torrey Stafford. In 2021, California again produced some of the top players and teams in the U.S., confirming volleyball is alive and quite well in the Golden State.
A couple of longtime fixtures on VolleyballMag.com awards and rankings lists, Averi Carlson (Lovejoy in Lucas, Texas) and Jordan Middleton (Hamilton in Chandler, Arizona) are back and joined by suburban Detroit standout Ava Brizard, the Miss Volleyball winner in Michigan; Ella Wrobel, the player of the year in Illinois as designated by the Champaign News-Gazette (one of the most long-standing and respected all-state media awards list in the country); and Wisconsin standout McKenna Wucherer, who won the state Gatorade player of the year honor.
Keep in mind, the girl’s high school All-American awards are based solely on the high school season. Club honors and where a player is going to college do not factor into this. Soon enough, we’ll have our 2022 Girls Fab 50 list, which takes into account the whole ball of wax, ranking the top 50 senior-age girls players in the country. It’s the longest-standing awards program in our great sport.
FIRST TEAM
Julia Blyashov
Height: 6-3
Position: OH
Year: Junior
High school: Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, California)
Blyashov helped her Cathedral team reach the semifinals of the CIF Open Division tournament.
Ava Brizard
Height: 6-1
Position: OH
Year: Senior
High school: Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan)
The landslide winner of the MIVCA Miss Volleyball honor and two-time Gatorade Michigan state player of the year recipient had 602 kills for in Marian’s 53-1 state champion run.
Averi Carlson
Height: 5-11
Position: S
Year: Senior
High school: Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas)
The Gatorade national player of the year helped lead the Leopards to a Texas 5A state title. She posted 919 assists, 378 digs and 212 kills.
Jayln Gibson
Height: 6-1
Position: OH
Year: Senior
High school: Brandeis (San Antonio, Texas)
Gibson had 641 kills, 737 digs and 64 total blocks for the Texas 6A state champions.
Ava LeGrand
Height: 6-0
Position: S-RS
Year: Senior
High school: Papillion (Nebraska)-La Vista South
Lincoln Journal Star Super State captain helped her team to a Nebraska Class A state title, posting 1,109 assists, 361 digs and 98 kills.
Jordan Middleton
Height: 6-1
Position: OH
Year: Senior
High school: Hamilton (Chandler, Arizona)
Middleton won her second Gatorade state player of the year honor and helped Chandler to a second Class 6A state title in a row.
Shanelle Puetz
Height: 5-10
Position: S
Year: Senior
High school: Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California)
Puetz racked up 1,143 assists and 250 kills for a Mater Dei team that reached the quarterfinals of the CIF Open Division tournament.
Elia Rubin
Height: 6-1
Position: OH
Year: Senior
High school: Marymount (Los Angeles, California)
This standout helped Marymount dominate to the tune of a 35-0 mark and a CIF Open Division championship. Rubin finished the season with 396 kills and 226 digs.
Torrey Stafford
Height: 6-2
Position: OH
Year: Junior
High school: Marymount (Los Angeles, California)
Stafford, a junior, posted 320 kills, 207 digs and 55 total blocks for a Marymount team that burned through Mira Costa, San Diego Cathedral and San Jose Archbishop Mitty on its way to the CIF Open Division title.
Jalyn Stout
Height: 5-10
Position: OH
Year: Junior
High school: Santa Fe (Alachua, Florida)
The Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Volleyball helped Santa Fe win the Class 4A state title with 392 kills and a .550 hitting percentage.
Ella Wrobel
Height: 6-4
Position: OH-RS
Year: Senior
High school: Plainfield (Illinois) North
The Champaign News-Gazette Illinois state player of the year finished her senior campaign with 483 kills, 220 digs, 57 aces and 39 blocks for the Class 4A sectional finalists.
McKenna Wucherer
Height: 6-1
Position: OH
Year: Senior
High school: Brookfield (Wisconsin) Central
Wucherer, the Wisconsin Gatorade state player of the year racked up 444 kills, 210 digs, 50 aces and 30 blocks. She finished her career with 2,028 kills and 1,076 digs.
Hi from Puerto Rico. Adianez School went 43-0 and won Puerto Rico High-school Championship.