Ohio’s best: The top 21 players in 2021
Ohio continues to produce high-quality high school volleyball players, and they will put their talents on display this fall.
As a preview to this season, the high school sports staff of the Gannett Corp.’s more than 60 Ohio newspapers and websites compiled a who’s who of the Buckeye State’s prep volleyball players.
Here are the best volleyball players in Ohio:
1. Carly Hendrickson, Mount Notre Dame
The senior outside hitter was the only junior to be named first-team All-ohio in Division I in 2020. She led the Girls Greater Catholic League in kills with 530 and now has over 1,100 for her career.
The Florida commit helped lead Mount Notre Dame to the program’s 10th career state title.
2. Cammy Niesen, Roger Bacon
The senior libero topped the Greater Catholic League Coed in digs last season with 533 and added 48 aces.
3. Caroline Jurevicius, Notre Dame-cathedral Latin
The 6-foot-2-inch junior helped lead Notre Dame-cathedral Latin to the DII state championship match. She’s the daughter of former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Joe Jurevicius.
The nation’s No. 6 recruit in the junior class has committed to the University of Nebraska. She was second-team All-ohio and is on the 2021 Girls U18 USA National Training Team.
4. Kathryn Randorf, Gilmour Academy
The outside hitter from the Gates Mills school was named the 2020-21 Gatorade Player of the Year after she compiled 304 kills, 176 digs, 96 blocks and 37 service aces during her junior season.
Randorf will enter her senior season with 949 career kills and 288 blocks. She led the Lancers to the OHSAA state championship last fall.
5. Ella Brandewie, Columbus Hartley
With Brandewie among its top players last fall, Hartley went 15-3 and won a Division II district title.
Brandewie is a member of the U18
national team.
6. Isabella Granger, Liberty-benton
Granger is coming off a solid junior season where she totaled 369 kills.
The outside hitter also finished the year with 296 digs, 55 aces and 39 blocks while leading Liberty Benton to the Division III District Finals.
7. Emma White, Tiffin Calvert
White is coming off a spectacular junior season in which she led Tiffin Calvert to the Division IV state championship, defeating New Bremen in four sets in the title game. The setter recorded 936 assists, 265 digs, 90 kills and 68 aces.
8. Hannah Lyons, Monroeville
The senior setter totaled 960 assists as a junior to go along with 280 digs, 58 kills and 38 aces.
9. Kate Hafer, Fenwick
The senior middle blocker helped lead Fenwick to a Division II state championship in 2019. Last season, she led the GCL-COED in kills with 257.
10. Alec Rothe, Dublin Scioto
The state’s top-rated player for the class of 2024 by Prep Dig, this 6-2 sophomore middle blocker had 268 kills and 67 blocks last fall.
Rothe helped the Irish finish 23-2 and earn a Division II district runner-up finish last season.
Her older sister, 2021 graduate Karleigh Rothe, was second-team all-state.
11. Ally Cordes, Wyoming
The junior outside hitter topped the Cincinnati Hills League in kills with 453 and was fifth in blocks with 54.
12. Karis Willow, Liberty-benton
The outside hitter was a secondteam All-ohio selection in DIII and totaled 254 kills, 170 digs, 51 blocks and 51 aces last season.
13. Abby Avila, Independence
The University of Charleston commit has recorded 2,310 assists in three years. She also has racked up 178 kills and 418 digs and is a weapon from the service line with 139 aces.
14. Camden Black, Byesville Meadowbrook
Black put up some impressive numbers last year with 352 kills, 154 service points, a team-high 286 digs along with 29 assists from her outside hitter position.
15. Caroline Speelman, Big Walnut
Speelman, a senior outside hitter who finished with 322 assists, 20 blocks and 169 assists and was first-team Allocc-capital Division last season, has committed to play for Xavier.
16. Jenna Martin, Frankfort Adena
The senior had 239 kills and 85 blocks last year. She was first-team Scioto Valley and was named second-team all-state in Division III.
17. Carsyn Henschen, New Knoxville
Henschen led a balanced attack with 283 kills and 50 blocks.
18. Olivia Baumann, Eaton
The junior outside hitter was thirdteam All-ohio as a sophomore in 2020. She was second in the Southwestern Buckeye League in kills with 274 to go with 25 aces and 165 digs.
19. Ella Durham, Dublin Coffman
Both an outside hitter and middle hitter, the junior finished with 440 kills, 145 digs and 172 serves received last fall. She was first-team All-occ-central Division, first-team all-district and honorable mention all-state as Coffman went 16-8 and reached a Division I district semifinal. Durham, is 6-2 and averaged 5.6 kills per set last fall.
20. Alayna Tessena, Medina Highland
Tessena was recognized as the Suburban League Player of the Year with 406 kills, 91 service aces, 256 digs and 351 serve receptions.
21. Erin Kaufman, Ottawa-glandorf
Kaufman played a major role in Ottawa-glandorf winning a Division III District title a season ago, when she was named a Div. III second-team All-ohio selection. The senior totaled 190 kills, 52 blocks and 29 aces as a middle hitter last year.
Best of the rest
Emily Baker, Troy Christian; Caroline Berlekamp, Baltimore Liberty Union; Audrey Brininger, Cardington-lincoln; Dakota Drenth, Richfield Revere; Anna Freeman, Revere; Jenna Lucas, Pataskala Watkins Memorial; Marissa Mullins, Williamsport Westfall; Ally Perkins, Thornville Sheridan; Claire Shank, Johnstown Northridge; Brooklyn Smith, Newark Catholic; Faith Stinson, Sheridan; Kendall Stover, Highland; Carly Wightman, Akron Coventry; Elizabeth Ziegler, Sandusky Perkins.