As we prepare for a new high school sports season, USA Today Network sports writers in Ohio collaborated over the last month to select preseason All-Ohio teams for football, boys and girls soccer, and girls volleyball. We selected a 25-player team for each sport.
Today, we introduce the USA Today Network Preseason All-Ohio Volleyball Team featuring five defensive specialists/liberos, 15 hitters/blockers and five setters.
Defensive specialists/liberos
1. Sakura Codling, Cincinnati Seton
As a junior, Codling led the Girls Greater Catholic League with 473 digs, giving her 1,152 for her career. The first-team All-Ohio honoree also contributed 113 assists and 31 aces as the Saints were ranked No. 1 in Division I for much of the 2023 season. She is committed to UCLA.
2. Spencer Etzler, Coldwater
A Stanford commit, Etzler made the Division III All-Ohio first team last season. PrepDig has her listed as the No. 3 athlete in Ohio for the 2025 class. An excellent defender and hitter, Etzler had 271 kills last year as well as 361 digs.
3. Ali Strange, Cincinnati McNicholas
Strange burst onto the scene last year as a freshman, helping the Rockets reach the Division III state championship game with 445 digs, 82 assists and 38 aces. Strange was named to the Greater Catholic League-Coed second team. She plays club for Elevation VBC, where she recently made the USAV All-Tournament Team in Las Vegas. She also has been included in VBall Recuiter’s Nationals Watchlist.
4. Journey Nicola, Byesville Meadowbrook
The Division III All-Ohio honorable mention pick was a crucial part of the defense during Meadowbrook's run to the state tournament last year. She made more than 540 digs last season and was named the Muskingum Valley League Small School Division Defensive Player of the Year.
5. Kailey Snow, Rocky River Magnificat
The 5-foot-8 defensive specialist/libero earned third-team All-Ohio in Division I as a sophomore in 2023. Snow had 277 digs while also notching 70 assists and 30 service aces.
Others receiving votes
Jacsyn Hilliard , Alliance Marlington; Madison Kyle , Lebanon; Gracie Newlon , Lexington, Emerson Spiesz , Aurora.
Hitters/blockers
1. Christian Thompson, Fairfield Union
A senior outside hitter, Thompson collected 590 kills, 360 digs, 48 aces and 48 blocks and was first-team All-Ohio and all-district in Division II. Ranked as Ohio’s No. 2 player in her class, according to Prep Dig, Thompson is committed to Ohio University.
2. Abbey Emch, Columbiana Crestview
Emch was first-team All-Ohio last season in Division III. The 6-3 senior had 384 kills, 237 digs, 85 blocks and 46 service aces. In her career, Emch has notched over 1,000 kills with 280 blocks. She is committed to Pittsburgh.
3. Ava Brown, Lexington
As a sophomore, Brown earned Division II second-team All-Ohio, Division II District 6 Player of the Year, Division II first-team All-District 6 and first-team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference after recording 550 kills, 36 aces, 137 service points, 42 blocks, 240 digs and 175 assists. Brown has committed to Maryland.
4. Kameron Stover, Marengo Highland
A senior right-side hitter and opposite-side hitter, Stover was Division II co-Player of the Year in the Central District and was first-team All-Ohio for the second time. She helped Highland win a district title and finished with a state-high 636 kills, 319 digs, 74 aces and 40 blocks.
5. Layla Hoying, Columbus Bishop Watterson
A junior outside hitter, Hoying helped lead the Eagles to a Division I district title in 2023. She had 392 kills, 204 digs, 50 aces and 33 blocks and was named first-team all-district and third-team All-Ohio. She’s the No. 4 player in the state in the class of 2026, according to Prep Dig.
6. Sara Snowbarger, Wooster
Snowbarger was one of two sophomores to earn first-team All-Ohio honors across the four divisions and the only one in Division I. She led Wooster to a 24-1 record with 422 kills, 60 aces and 344 digs. An All-Ohioan both years of her high school career, Snowbarger stepped it up as a sophomore, earning first-team honors, putting up 5.3 kills per set and 4.3 digs per set. The high major recruit is already one of the best players in Wayne County volleyball history, leading Wooster to a 43-6 record over the past two seasons.
7. Katie Gielas, Cincinnati Ursuline Academy
Gielas is on pace to eclipse 1,000 career kills during her senior season. A pure hitter, her powerful arm led her to a Girls Greater Catholic League-leading 384 kills as a junior. Gielas was a valuable member of a senior-loaded team that won the 2022 state title and will try to lead the Lions back to the mountaintop in her senior year. She is committed to Florida Gulf Coast.
8. Luci Heid, Hamilton Badin
Heid is one of two front-line players Badin's opponents won't want to see on the other side of the net. As a junior, she led the Greater Catholic League-Coed with 424 kills and added 196 digs, 59 aces, 46 blocks and 17 assists. The Northern Kentucky commit was named to the GCL-Coed, district and Division II All-Ohio first teams.
9. Hailey Campagna, Hilliard Davidson
After being a force for Division IV Shekinah Christian, Campagna will play her senior season at Division I Hilliard Davidson before heading to Mississippi State. The outside hitter was first-team All-Ohio and all-district last year, totaling 649 kills, 531 digs, 79 aces and 31 blocks.
10. Alia Schoonover, Delaware Buckeye Valley
This junior middle blocker is the No. 5-ranked player in Ohio in the class of 2026, according to Prep Dig. She was first-team all-district last year, helping Buckeye Valley to a 24-3 record, a Central Buckeye League title and a Division II district runner-up finish. She led the Barons with 359 kills and 75 aces and was second in digs with 250.
11. Layne Graffice, Alliance Marlington
Graffice helped lead the Dukes to their first state tournament appearance and was named Greater Akron/Canton Volleyball Player of the Year. She set the Marlington single-season and career records for kills last season. She was selected Stark County Division II Player of the Year and District IV Division II Player of the Year, in addition to being a second-team All-Ohio pick.
12. Evelyn Brown, Carroll Bloom-Carroll
The senior middle hitter recorded 340 kills and 90 blocks last fall and was first-team All-Ohio. She also was co-Central District Player of the Year in Division II. Brown helped the Bulldogs go 24-2 and win the MSL-Buckeye with a 14-0 record in the conference.
13. Lindy Radaszewski, Cincinnati Ursuline Academy
Radaszewski was a one-woman brick wall for the Lions as a junior, logging 84 blocks, 266 kills, 68 digs and 46 aces. The Miami (Ohio) commit has improved each year of her prep career and will be a major factor in the Lions' quest for postseason success in 2024.
14. Ashley Sess, Cincinnati Mercy McAuley
Sess led the Girls Greater Catholic League with 91 blocks during her junior season. Many of those blocks came during key moments; she recorded 26 rejections over the Wolves' final six games, including a career-high seven in the Division II state championship game. She is committed to playing at Northern Kentucky.
15. Kamryn Cocherl, Marion Pleasant
Cocherl was one of the top hitters in Division III last year and one of the top freshman hitters in all of Ohio, leading all first-timers in kills. She led Pleasant in kills with 434, aces with 83, blocks with 81 and service receptions with 424. Her 222 digs were third-best for the Spartans.
Others receiving votes
Haley Balo , Warsaw River View; Lauren Decker , Wadsworth; Chloe Dick , New Lexington; Natalie Harrington , Newark Catholic; Ali Hayes , Plain City Jonathan Alder; Dylan Hunt, Pickerington North; Claire King , Circleville Logan Elm; Makayla Meister , Newark; Kylie Sharp , Johnstown; Londyn Stone , Avon; Katie Stoney , Meadowbrook; Amber Watson, Akron Hoban
Setters
1. Annabelle Groomes, Cleveland St. Joseph Academy
Groomes is the top-ranked player in Ohio’s 2025 class, according to PrepDig. Groomes was first-team All-Ohio last season as she helped lead St. Joseph Academy to the state semis. Groomes had 387 assists, 269 kills, 154 digs and 49 blocks. She is committed to the University of San Diego.
2. Mallory Matheny, Columbus Bishop Hartley
This junior setter has committed to Indiana and is the No. 1-ranked player in Ohio in the class of 2026, according to Prep Dig. Her contributions last season helped Hartley go 22-7 and reach a Division II state semifinal. She had team highs with 433 assists and 71 aces and earned first-team all-district honors.
3. Emsley Venard, Cincinnati St. Ursula
After appearing in just six matches as a sophomore, she played every set in the Bulldogs' 2023 campaign that resulted in a regional final appearance. With 940 assists, 243 digs, 39 kills, 32 aces and 29 blocks, she was named a Division I all-state honorable mention. She is committed to Florida Atlantic.
4. Addy Franz, Cincinnati Ursuline Academy
As a junior, she dished out 913 assists and was named a Girls Greater Catholic League first-team member in her first varsity season. The Lions had multiple bright spots as they went through a rebuilding year after winning the 2022 state title. Franz was one of them and will be a key factor as Ursuline Academy hunts for another league, district, regional and state title.
5. Larsen Terrill, Marengo Highland
A senior setter and opposite-side hitter, Terrill teamed with Kameron Stover to give the Fighting Scots a solid one-two punch on their way to a Division II district title. Terrill finished last year with 788 assists, 270 digs, 202 kills and 72 aces. She was first-team all-district and second-team All-Ohio, making her a two-time All-Ohioan.
Others receiving votes
Lauren Blair, New Concord John Glenn; Ingrid Dittmar , Dresden Tri-Valley; Reese Donahoe , Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy; Ally Hughes , St. Bernard Roger Bacon; Kelsie Smith, River View; Shemayah Stevens , Streetsboro ; Maddie Zechman , Dublin Scioto.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Introducing the USA Today Network's 2024 preseason All-Ohio girls volleyball team
Most Popular
Comments / 0