Each week during the high school season, VolleyballMag.com will recognize a Dream Team of 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
This week, because no defensive specialists were nominated, we added a second libero.
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/
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 week.
VolleyballMag.com HIGH SCHOOL DREAM TEAM for October, 19, 2022
S: Ella Strausberger, 5-10 Jr., Plainfield North (Plainfield, Illinois) — Strausberger, an uncommitted junior, averaged 10.5 assists per set as the Tigers went 6-1 for the week, including a second place finish at the 26-team Plainfield Central Harvest Fest Tournament. She also added 43 digs and 14 aces.
RS: Bridget Gould, 5-11 Jr., Marshfield (Coos Bay, Oregon) — Gould helped the 19-3 Pirates clinch a league title with a win over always-tough Marist Catholic last week. She also was a catalyst for Marshfield’s Saturday win at its hosted event. She had 53 kills, more than 40 digs and passed over a 2.2 for the week.
OH: Jessica Horwath, 6-1 Sr., Barrington (Illinois) — Horwath, an Arizona recruit, was named MVP at the Autumnfest Tournament, as the Fillies knocked off Mother McAuley in the semis and Oak Park-River Forest in the championship match. Horwath had 11 kills in the finals.
OH: Kennedy Martin, 6-6 Sr., Nation Ford (Fort Mill, South Carolina) — Martin was named MVP as Nation Ford won the Wando Invitational over the weekend. The Florida State recruit amassed 162 kills, 69 digs, 12 blocks and 15 aces as her team went 9-0-1 for the week.
MB: Elena Pursell, 6-1 Sr., Parkland (Allentown, Pennsylvania) — Pursell was terrific over the last week of the regular season and the first round of league playoffs. In three sweeps, Pursell recorded 36 kills and 51 swings and hit .627. Pursell spent six weeks in Germany this past summer and has worked hard to regain her form. That hard work paid off in a tremendous three-match showing for the senior.
MB: Alyvia Jaffa, 6-3 Jr., Morgan (Utah) — The Utah Valley University recruit had quite the two-match stretch last week. Morgan’s best player had 18 kills, four aces and four blocks on Tuesday in a sweep of South Summit. One day later, she matched her kill total from the day before and added a whopping 10 blocks as the Trojans (21-6) overcame Box Elder.
Libero: Paige Spanbauer, 5-5 Sr., River Bluff (Lexington, South Carolina) — Spanbauer was named to the All-Tournament team after pacing River Bluff to a tie for third at last weekend’s Wando Invitational. Over eight matches, the senior recorded 82 digs and passed a 2.22 on 93 receptions.
Libero: Jaylin Lott, 5-5 Jr., Clark (San Antonio, Texas) — The Cougars played two five-set matches last week, winning each. Lott had 23 digs in the win over Johnson, then contributed 36 digs as Clark rallied from down 2-1 to knock off Churchill.
Also considered (by position, in order of consideration):
S: Sahara Morken, 5-4 Soph., Mabel-Canton (Mabel, Minnesota) — Morken recorded career assist No. 2,000 on Tuesday, in the 30-2 Cougars’ regular-season finale, a sweep of Grand Meadow. For the season, Morken has 933 assists, 216 digs and 84 aces for the No. 5 Class A school in the state.
S: Alexis Jodie, 5-9 Fr., River Bluff (Lexington, South Carolina) — Jodie helped set the Gators to third place at last week’s Wando Invitational. Over 18 sets played, she compiled 182 assists and 41 digs.
***
RS: Paola Aviles Morales, 5-11 Jr., Mandarin (Jacksonville, Florida) — Morales matched her career high with 22 kills in the Gateway Conference final last week. The junior averaged 2.5 kills per set throughout the tournament to lead the Mustangs to their first conference crown in almost 20 years.
***
OH: Macy DuBois, 5-6 Jr., Mandarin (Jacksonville, Florida) — DuBois had 16 kills in the Gateway Conference final — a career high — and 15 more terminations throughout the tournament to spark the Mustangs to their first conference title since 2003.
OH: Kylee Wessel, 5-10 Sr., St. Francis (Humphrey, Nebraska) — Wylee had 26 kills in the Flyers’ regular-season finale on Tuesday, a four-set win over Central Valley. The performance put Wessel over 1,000 career kills. She already has eclipsed 1,000 career digs, making her the first Flyer to achieve both of those standards. Wessel has averaged six kills per set in conference play in leading St. Francis to its fourth straight Goldenrod Conference title.
OH: Paige Lauterwasser, 6-0 Sr., Naperville North (Naperville, Illinois) — The Wyoming recruit had 16 kills and nine digs to help the Huskies defeat Plainfield North, 2-1, in the title tilt at the Blocktober Fest Tournament at Plainfield Central. The win was the 14th straight for North (30-3), which also captured the the St. Charles East Scholastic Cup the weekend before.
OH: Ava Reeves, 5-9 Sr., River Bluff (Lexington, South Carolina) — Reeves was named to the All-Tournament team after pacing River Bluff to a tie for third at last weekend’s Wando Invitational. Over eight matches, the senior recorded 79 kills, 30 digs and 43 receptions, while hitting .273 and passing a 2.12.
OH: Lindsey Wickersham, 5-7 Sr., Mount Carmel Academy (New Orleans, Louisiana) — Wickersham shined in two Cub wins last week. The senior had 13 kills, 13 digs and two aces against Chapelle last Tuesday and followed up with 17 kills and 17 digs one day later.
OH: Tatum Montiel, 5-11 Soph., Marshfield (Coos Bay, Oregon) — Montiel helped the 19-3 Pirates clinch a league title with a win over always-tough Marist Catholic last week. She also was a catalyst for Marshfield’s Saturday win at its hosted event. She had 54 kills, 48 digs, 15 aces and passed over a 2.4 for the week.
OH: Karynn Garrow, 6-0 Sr., Geneva (Boerne, Texas) — A Grand Canyon recruit, Garrow had 28 kills, 16 digs and three aces in a win over Incarnate Word and then contributed 18 kills in a win over Country Christian, which sent the senior over 2,000 kills for her career.
OH: Natalie Norton, 6-2 eighth grader, Young Women’s Leadership Academy (Grand Prairie, Texas) — Norton recorded 31 kills in a key District match last week. She hit .720! For the season, the youngster has 524 kills and is hitting well over .500. The school, with a student enrollment of 80, regularly plays 5A and 6A opponents.
OH: Payton Bryan, 6-2 Sr. OH, Benjamin (Palm Beach, Florida) — Bryan helped lead the Buccaneers to three wins to end the regular season, including a Senior Night win over powerhouse Jupiter. Over 10 sets, Bryan had 46 kills.
OH: Caitlyn Little, 5-11 Sr. OH, Lafayette (Wildwood, Missouri) — Little had 13 kills as Lafayette handed Liberty its second loss of the season in the championship match of the Ozark Grand Slam Tournament on Saturday. The effort capped a terrific effort all tourney long for Liberty.
OH: Lauren Jansen, 5-11 Sr., Plainfield North (Plainfield, Illinois) — Jansen, a North Dakota State recruit, slammed home 66 kills (4.7 per set hitting .381), contributed 50 digs and passed a 2.3 as the Tigers went 6-1 for the week, including a second place finish at the 26-team Plainfield Central Harvest Fest Tournament.
OH: Jenna Otts, 6-1 Sr., Bartram Trail (St. Johns, Florida) – Otts’ 19 kills versus Ridgeview on Senior Night eclipsed the 10-year-old career kills record at the high school.
OH: Abbey Kate Daugherty, 6-0 Sr., Savannah Arts Academy (Savannah, Georgia) — Daugherty made school history last Thursday with career kill No. 1,000 in a sweep of Savannah Country Day. Daugherty is committed to Emory.
***
MB: Lisa Murga, 5-11 Soph., Escalon (California) — Murga, who has helped lead Escalon to a 28-1 record so far this season, had a massive blocking week last week. She had a team-high six blocks, plus four kills, in a win against Ripon. Murga followed that up with five blocks and five kills versus Livingston. Murga leads the Cougars in blocks on the season with 83.
Libero: Mia Watson, 5-4 Sr., Mandarin (Jacksonville, Florida) — A recruit for The Citadel, Watson had 51 digs, seven aces and passed a 2.47 as Mandarin won its first conference title since 2003. She has over 900 digs for her career and had averaged greater than four digs per set this season.
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