Sunday, December 28, 2008

The South Florida Fabulous 50


The level of play and skill set is increasing in our local volleyball players. We are introducing the game at an earlier age (8-10) and more players are starting to play year round incorporating beach volleyball into their training regimen. Below are 50 of the top volleyball players from South Florida. We've also included 10 of the top 7th-9th graders under the heading "Top Futures"

This list was compiled taking three things into account: Stats, Physical Ability and Height to determine the top players that are ready for the next level.



1) Cassady Cook -Royal Palm Beach 5’11” Sr. OH-MB
Cassady is an all around talent. Tri-County leader in hitting, kills and blocks.
2) Paulina Prieto-Palmer Trinity 6’2” Fr. OH-MB
She can dominate games and impose her will on other teams. Future DIV I Star.
3) Becki Meerbeek Lake Worth Christian 6’2” Sr. MB
She is very strong around the net as an attacker (4.6kills/per) and a defender.
4) Kelly Marble - St Thomas Aquinas 5’11” Jr. OH
She is a top attacker and has sound overall skills.
5A) Rebecca Acevedo - Westminster Christian 5’11” Soph S
Talented all-around player and assist leader.
5B) Stephanie Zielinski St Thomas – Aquinas 5’10” Sr. OH-S
Dominant Force, very athletic, can play all around.
7) Stephanie Toledo-Krop 6’2” Sr. MH
Major Force in leading her team deep into the play-offs
8) Kristen Walewski -Miami Ferguson 5’4” Jr. S
Tri-County assist leader and strong defensively.
9) Latoya Harvin -Royal Palm Beach 6’0” Jr. OH-MB
Tri-County blocks leader, very athletic.
10) Danielle Lampman -Lake Worth Christian 5’6” Jr. S
Top athlete with all around skills and a tri-county assist leader.
11) Alexandra Beverly -Miami Ferguson 6’0” Jr. MH-OH
Strong all around player, very dominant around the net. High hitting percentage.
12) Natasha Vlahovic Miami Country Day 5’10” Sr. OH
Strong all around player, very dominant around the net in kills and blocks.
13) Cristina Abreu Florida Christian 5’9” Sr. OH
Very talented player. Has constantly lead her team deep into the playoffs.
14) Morgan Hill Royal Palm Beach 5’7’ Jr. DS
Tri-County Digs Leader. Strong skill sets.
15) Crystal Dedes Cardinal Gibbons 6’2 Soph. MB-OH
Strong big player, able to dominate games, high ceiling.
16) Laura Posada Palmer Trinity 6’0” Sr. MH
Top-tri-county performer and leader of state finals team. Strong attacker.
17) Jasmine Wilkins Hialeah 5’11” Jr MB-OH
Top tri-county performer in kills and blocks. Very Athletic
18) Shelby Spicer Pine Crest 5’7” Sr. OH
Strong skill set – Can play all around. Several all-county accolades
19) Amanda Marquez Palmetto 5’7” Sr. OH
Very skilled player, both offensively and defensively.
20) Taylor Chao Westminster 5’11” Sr. OH
Talented offensive player – can be very dominating.
21) Brittany Linder St. Thomas Aquinas 5’11” Sr. MH
Talented player, tri-county leader in kills and blocks.
22) Krista Lighter North Broward Prep 5’9” Jr. OH
Constant all- county performer. Helped lead her team deep into the play-offs.
23) Kaylyn Carr Redland Christian 5’9” Jr. OH-MB
All around top performer, well versed in all her skill sets
24) Lauren Alfonso Lourdes 6’0” Sr. MH-OH
Talented big player both offensively and defensively.
25) Lexie Grizzle Highlands Christian 5’4” Jr. DS
Tenacious Defender, strong skill sets
26) Christine Lozano Florida Christian 5’8” Sr. S
Consistent all-county performer. Very talented as a setter.
27) Lucy Perez Miami Sunset 5’11” Sr. MB-OH
Strong big player with good offensive and defensive skill sets.
28) Shaina Abdell Royal Palm Beach 5’11” Jr. O-S
Strong and athletic player. Good hitting percentage.
29) Stef Konarek Miami Varela 5’7” Sr. S
Skilled setter with soft touch and strong defensive skills.
30) Sarvenaz Laussermair Spanish River 5’11” Sr. MB-OH
Skilled big player both offensively and defensively.
31) Jenna Isaacs Mater Academy 6’1” Jr. MB-OH
Athletic Big Player that can have huge games from time to time.
32) Ari Cano Cypress Bay 5’8” Sr. OH-DS
All around player – very skilled offensively and defensively.
33) Kristen Rivera Miami Southwest 5’5” Sr. S
Tri-county assist leader. Very athletic with strong skill sets.
34) Jesyca Schiffman Krop 5’4” Jr. S
Very Athletic, skilled setter and strong defender.
35) Olivia Fernandez Lourdes 5’10” Sr. OH-MB
Talented all-around player. Very Athletic player, strong skill sets.
36) Lauren Whisenant Miami Killian 5’6” Sr. DS
Tri-county digs leader, very athletic
37) Jordan Fisher Jupiter 6’1” Soph MB-OH
Large potential. Skilled as a big player and still has time to improve skill set.
38) Hannah Penna Miami Southwest 5’11” Jr. MH
Talented athletic big player, skilled both offensively and defensively.
39) Kristen Titley Palmer Trinity 6’0” Jr. OH-MB
Talented big player, very athletic.
40) Maria Madrid Hialeah 5’9” Jr. OH
Aggressive offensive player, strong feel for the game. An all around player.
41) Michelle Ceballos Palmetto 5’8” Sr. OH
Skilled player on 6A final four team. Can play all around.
42) Taylor Johnson Royal Palm Beach 5’10” Sr. O-S
Strong all around player. Very skilled.
43) Molly Macek Cardinal Gibbons 5’9” Jr. OH
Athletic player – can be very explosive.
44) Taylor Weitzel Spanish River 5’9” Sr. OH
Athletic player, good all around skills.
45) Renate Comparini Palmetto 5’4” Sr. DS
Very athletic defensive specialist. High motor player
46) Ariam Rios Princeton Christian 5’7” Soph OH
Solid all-around player. Has played every position for the team.
47) Jessica Arcia Jupiter 5’4” Sr. DS
Athletic defensive player. Gets to the ball very fast.
48) Jovanna Santamaria Miami Sunset 5’5” Soph S
Great Setter, very quick player.
49) Julie Trembley Westminster Christian 5’11” Soph OH
Very talented offensive player.
50) Olivia Mesner North Broward Prep 5’8” Soph OH
Talented all around player

Top 10 Futures Players:
1) Brooke Lyons St. Coleman 6’0” 8th MB-OH
Very fluid for her age. Talented player that plays year round.
2) Monique Rivers Princeton Christian 5’7” 8th OH
High Flyer that is able to play all-around. Year round performer.
3) Pilar Irarrazabel Sagemont 5’7” 8th OH
A kill’s machine. Can play all-around
4) Kelli Weis Trinity Christian 5’5” Fr. S
Very talented setter, moves well around the floor.
5) Giselle Gonzalez Miami Sunset 5’7” Fr. OH
Talented and strong offensive player.
6) Karlee Carr Redland Christian 5’5” Fr. OH
Complete player that is very well coached in all her skill sets.
7) Krystal Garcia Mater Academy 5’6” Fr. S-OH
All around player. Plays year round to develop her game.
8) Cynthia Zaldivar Glades Middle 5’9” 7th OH-S
Solid all around performer, plays year-round including beach.
9) Emily Saraza Arvida Middle 5’7” 7th OH-S
Solid all around player. Serves up many aces.
10) Kristen Nowak Emerald Cove Middle 5’7” 7th OH
Talented player with large upside.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good list there. These girls should all be in the same club and not 7 different clubs throughout a 20 mile radius. Leads to lots of average teams and not much of a chance to do anything at the national or even state level. Orlando, Gainesville, Tampa, and Tallahassee all have two major clubs. South Florida teams will not have a chance until we get all the best players in the same club. Dont players improve by playing with better players?

sflinsider said...

Your absolutely correct.

The conditions for these girls and many deserving players that might have been overlooked by us is not perfect.

The good news is that the coaches care and the SFVR is doing it's part to help. This list helps to promote players from South Florida, already more than 70 universities have visited the site and many more have been e-mailed the list.

Its just a matter of time before college coaches come here for our volleyball players as much as they do for our male football players.

Anonymous said...

I'm just curious as to how many of these players have actually been seen by whoever put the list together. As much as I agree with some of the players on the list, there were several others that are much better than any of the ones on here that were left off. I'm not sure how you have an athlete who was a High School All American, which means one of the Top 50 in the country, and she is only tied for 5th in the south florida region. That's a little hard to swallow. Also, I don't understand how you take height into account. There is no way you can compare a libero with a middle hitter, which is basically what you say you are doing by using height as a factor. The best libero in south florida, if not the entire state, was not on this list. There were also several other very good athletic future college level kids who were left off, such as Crystal Dedes from Cardinal Gibbons, and then the two sisters who play for Martin County. So I guess I question the list and how much these athletes were actually seen based on who was left off and where these kids were ranked. Obviously a kid who plays on a team that she is one of only 2 maybe 3 vital components of that team is going to have better stats than someone who plays on a team with more kids her level, because she isn't going to get as many opportunities.

sflinsider said...

Many apologies to the many deserving players that were ommited. We will do a better job in the future but we need for the coaches to post stats and info on the players. Many stats on Max-Prep and Digital Sports were incomplete or non existant. Many school websites gave little to no information, not even the players height.

If its difficult for us being local supporters of the sport to get an acurate picture of whats going on in South Florida. How is a coach from across the country going to know about all these girls.

You misinterpreted the height criteria. If a player is a libero height did not affect her. Not finding her stats, affected her. Height affected an OH that had good stats but only stands 5'5". Focusing the list on what a Div. 1 coach looks for - height is definately an issue.

Dedes from Cardinal Gibbons is on the list. Martin County is not part of South Florida. We understand South Florida to be the Tri-County area. If your willing to help - we'd be more than happy to have your input and increase the area that we cover.

If you take the time to see what we've done you'll see that its not about money or fame. We are here for one simple reason: To help promote South Florida Volleyball and its players.

We look forward to working with you in the future. We can help promote your players and events. Let us know how we can be of service.

Take Care
SFVR

Anonymous said...

Its just a matter of time before college coaches come here for our volleyball players as much as they do for our male football players.

That statement is far from true. The local schools arent even recruiting in the South Florida area. UM has 1 player from Miami, FIU has 3 and MDC has 4ish. And it's not a matter of time. The Miami volleyball scene will not improve until USAV is bigger then FHSAA. Miami needs 2 clubs which means alot of directors have to lose a little ego and shut down. Coaches need to realize that just because girls are high school teammates doesnt mean they should be playing club together. Sadly, I see things getting worse before they get better.

Anonymous said...

Someone to look for as a top future player is Allison Belanger 8th grader in pembroke pines middle school plays in Club Florida 15 Mizuno team which recently qualified for Junior Olympics, she is an all around player.

Anonymous said...

Its nice to finally see a website for the volleyball scene here in S.Florida. I had two daughters play locally and during that time there wasn't anything like this available. It's very true that S. Florida has a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the state as far as putting good club teams together but parents, don't give up! My two daughters both played College VB. It takes alot of work from the parents and the athlete...get their names out their by way of videos, emails, talk to any coach that will listen. Perseverance is the key! Good luck to you all..