Here's what you need to know about every PVF draft prospect I've featured
With 15 player features in the bag, here's a key quote and skills summary about each one.
S Emma Grome, Kentucky Wildcats
Skills Summary
Grome is a highly accomplished and supremely coachable setter. Most recently, she’s worked to revamp her footwork to include styles imported from the men’s game. Quickness and eagerness help her be a contributor on defense and out of system, but she’s 5-foot-9 and not a factor in the blocking game. She’s benefitted from playing with a string of quality hitters, which helps cover over any mistakes, but her brand of volleyball is already very smooth. The snaggles here are her size and lack of impact at the service line. She’s considering a fifth season of beach volleyball, but if she wants to go pro, I’d bet on someone giving her a chance in training camp.
Key Quote
“I really focus on just honing my skills in any way I can. My biggest thing is, when I get instruction in a game, I want to know how to fix it in the moment, technically. I don't want any, like, ‘Oh you're fine, you got it.’ I want to know what I've done wrong and how I can fix it, that kind of stuff. ‘I don't know, do you have anything specific?’”
Read my entire feature on Emma Grome here.
S Camryn Haworth, Indiana Hoosiers
Skills Summary
Haworth was an outside hitter at the club level who transitioned to setting as a collegiate player. She’s well-balanced and has retained her knack for scoring points, even winning a joust against excellent Purdue middle Raven Colvin. A truly elite server, she led the nation in aces in 2023. She’s a little undersized and there may be some who raise an eyebrow at her lack of experience. In all, she’s a fantastic developmental setter who can be used as a serving specialist immediately.
Key Quote
“I think communication and leadership aspects sets me apart from other people. The way I communicate is a little different because I have learned the other roles. I’ve passed before, I’ve serve-received, I’ve hit, so I think that’s helped me build different connections with my teammates and they trust me in a little bit different ways when I give them feedback or they give me feedback.”
Read my entire feature on Camryn Haworth here.
S Hannah Hogue, Arkansas Razorbacks
Skills Summary
Hogue is a finely tuned machine; her head coach compared her to the rising tide that raises all ships. She’s able to distribute the ball with ease in high pressure situations. Despite being on the smaller side, she excels in the joust and is looking to dial up her aggression at the net in 2024. She’s also a great server and dropped 51 aces on SEC competition last season. I don’t think she’ll be a starting caliber setter on draft day, but she could be rostered as a backup and a serving specialist.
Key Quote
“I've really challenged myself this spring to just work on some sets that have been usually uncomfortable for me last fall and years prior. Spent a lot of time just working on a little bit more range as a setter. I just had to kind of be willing for it to look bad for a couple practices and, you know, just not being afraid to fail at it. Eventually it'll get better. If I can keep myself off balance in what I'm going to do, then truly the defense will be off balance as well.”
Read my entire feature on Hannah Hogue here.
OH Lexie Almodovar, Dayton Flyers
Skills Summary
Almodovar is a live wire hitter who has powered the Dayton offense for two years despite being initially recruited as a libero. She’s also a weaponized server who has crossed the 40 ace threshold three times, hitting 54 aces last year. Frankly, she’s in the bottom percentile for height at her position, which will take her off the board completely for some teams. Durability and endurance will be a concern, and I don’t think she can offer quite the same top hitting speed as others, but I am intrigued by her quickness and potential as a serving specialist with defensive upside. If PVF teams disagree, she’ll get her chance in Puerto Rico, where her father was a two-time MVP.
Key Quote
“My first few years I wanted to muscle through and just hit every ball as hard as I could, and I came to realize that’s not gonna beat the best teams. I knew that I had to make that adjustment and that I had to play smarter. I’ve always gotten plenty of kills, but I think I started making less mistakes this year, and I think that really allowed me to gain confidence.”
Read my entire feature on Lexie Almodovar here.
OH Hailey Green, West Virginia Mountaineers
Skills Summary
Green is a small school transfer who has played every front row position before settling in as an outside hitter. She’s a ferocious attacker and her love of the game will appeal to coaches and teammates. Her line shot is very effective but she can fall into being a one-trick pony at times. When that happens, things fall apart fast and she was prone to the occasional supernova-level implosion in 2023. A second season playing against high-level competition may help her gain consistency. I don’t see a future starter here but a backup job isn’t out of the question. She’s an excellent ambassador for the game and I’m pulling for her.
Key Quote
“When I’m hitting at my top speed, throwing it off the block, hitting those deep corner shots, it’s really hard to play defense against, and I think continuing to switch between hitting cross to line you can’t shift one way or the other, because as soon as you shift, I’ll just hit it the other way.”
“Sometimes, when you have a really good scout, you know that I’m gonna hit the ball for the most part. Just being able to work shots in, having the mindset of ‘I don’t have to hit every ball.’ Like, make plays that I see. Being able to read the ball better, if that makes sense. Being able to see the open holes. Like, when there’s a hole in the block, I don’t have to hit it in the hole, I just have to shove it through there.”
Read my entire feature on Hailey Green here.
OPP Paige Bartsch, Boise State Broncos
Skills Summary
Bartsch is a small-school player who has the length and athletic foundation to be great, but has yet to refine her skills to match. Last season was her first playing six rotations and she fell neatly into the role of a passer — one insider told me she was the best passer on the team by season’s end. She’s also an effective server and nearly cracked the top ten division one players in aces per set. Consistency is lacking here and Boise State continuously gives her offensive touches, even when things aren’t going well, which dragged her hitting percentage down and showcased her weaknesses to opponents. She has sky-high potential, but teams might not see her as a pro-ready player on draft day.
Key Quote
“[Last] summer, I was just repping out a lot of passing, details in my form, and that, I think, really helped me. I focused less on hitting, which is a bummer because that’s my favorite part, but it did help me. As a middle, I never passed, and now I’m one of the top passers on my team. I don’t even know if that attests to my athleticism or more work ethic, I’ve just been working with my coaches a lot on that. Teams haven’t really been picking on me too much because I’m not too bad of a passer; I can kind of hold my own.”
Read my entire feature on Paige Bartsch here.
OPP Myah Conway, Old Dominion Monarchs
Skills Summary
Conway is a small school star who has thrived in an offensive system perfectly matched to her strengths. ODU likes to run concepts inspired by the men’s game, which creates plenty of opportunities for her with the ball high and close to the net. Some will question her durability because she has a very slender build. She’s had limited experience in an uptempo offense, but Old Dominion is planning on speeding things up in 2024, which may alleviate that concern. Conway is a draft-and-stash type at this juncture.
Key Quote
“We’re really working on getting a faster set so I can get more 1-on-1 opportunities and find more ways to score. I think you get limited opportunity of where you want to hit the ball. It’s kind of where their ball lands, you have to hit it, which I’m not used to. I’m used to being able to see the court and hit wherever I want. So, with a faster set, it’s wherever the ball is set and it’s more risky because it has to kind of be a perfect set to be able to get a great swing. But, on the other hand, you get more 1-on-1 opportunities.”
Read my entire feature on Myah Conway here.
OPP Amanda Rice, NC State Wolfpack
Skills Summary
Rice is a powerful right side attacker who relishes in her ability to keep opponents on their heels. She’s considering staying at NC State after her indoor eligibility runs out to pursue an advanced degree in microbial biotechnology. Some teams may see that as a lack of dedication to volleyball and remove her from their board. For those who only care about talent, they’ll be looking for improved offensive consistency and proof that she can handle a six-rotation assignment.
Key Quote
“That’s easily how points get wasted in an actual game, it’s just not being ready because you think the ball’s not gonna be hit at you. When I was a freshman, I would be super surprised and the ball would just bounce off me, ‘cause I wasn’t ready. Nowadays, I have a great reaction time. I’m getting myself open and making these super high IQ volleyball plays, placing the ball where I need to place it instead of just wailing it out of bounds because I know I’m not in the right spot.”
Read my entire feature on Amanda Rice here.
OPP Malaya Jones, Colorado State Rams
Skills Summary
Jones is a supremely physical player whose strong build and killer mentality combine to make for one of the best hitters Colorado State has ever had. She’s very offensively potent, especially when hitting cross, and took on a six-rotation role for the first time in her life in 2023. The results were promising, but a pro team will probably need to see a larger sample size of adequate back row defense before buying in completely. Additionally, she’s working on implementing an upgraded serve.
Key Quote
“Last season was I kind of pushed up for the tip and I was really shallow in my placement, just because I wasn't as experienced and I didn't exactly know where I was supposed to be. And even after a lot of coaching and telling me, ‘Mayala, you need to be here,’ you don't get used to it until you do it enough. Just being able to see the block and where I need to be around it and to stay low to the ground is going to be really big.”
Read my entire feature on Malaya Jones here.
MB Raven Colvin, Purdue Boilermakers
Skills Summary
Colvin has the physical ability to jump through the roof, pound the ball, and generally out-athlete anyone she comes up against. She’s applied that physicality to becoming an outstanding defender; despite being just 6-foot-1, she can nearly touch 11 feet and racks up blocks by the bushel. She could stand to be a much more efficient attacker, and will certainly be a December draftee if she can tackle that goal. The Boilermakers head coach puts it down to a better connection with her setter.
Key Quote
“When I watch the film, I study the setter, different tendencies that the setters may have. I think applying the eye work to my athletic ability allowed me to get those touches or get those blocks this past season. And I think, yeah, just trusting in myself and being relentless at the net, I think that allowed me to really focus on getting those blocks.”
Read my entire feature on Raven Colvin here.
MB Manuela Bibinbe, Baylor Bears
Skills Summary
Bibinbe is a 6-foot-3 tank at the net who plays on the Cameroon national team. She entered college ball as an opposite hitter at a small school and transitioned inside, and as you’d expect, her strengths are on offense. She can unleash a bazooka of a deep shot that is her go-to weapon. She struggles as a blocker and the failures in that area are sometimes extremely visible. As a foreign-born player, she may have trouble being rostered but I can’t help but feel that there’s a lot of untapped potential here.
Key Quote
“If I start cheating on the block, which I feel like I was doing in the past, sometimes I wanna think for the other player. I’ll follow the setter, and I’ll anticipate. Now, I am training on not anticipating something. I’ll need to wait to see where the set goes and then go. That comes from my brain, then I train my feet to go where they need to go, not having to make a bad move and having to recover from that move. So, now I’m more focused on waiting where the set goes, waiting and then moving to set a good block.”
Read my entire feature on Manuela Bibinbe here.
MB Claire Jeter, Arizona State Sun Devils
Skills Summary
Jeter has a well rounded game; she’s a better passer and server than you’d expect from a middle. Her ultimate goal is to be a coach, and she’s a good candidate for the role, with a deep understanding of the game and a personal presence that ranges from steady-handed confidence to high intensity. She doesn’t often go into slumps, but a leg injury dampened her 2023 season and left her with concerns about her long term health. Nevertheless, she’s a mistake-free performer, and it will earn her pro opportunities somewhere if she wants them.
Key Quote
“My blocking numbers in 2022 weren't horrible, but my block touch percentage was pretty low. If I touched the ball, I usually got a block, but I didn't touch the ball very often. Now, our thought process in blocking right now is ‘just touch the ball,’”
“[Coach Van Niel] basically said that he wants us to go and touch any ball. It doesn't matter if we get blocked, if we get touched, or if we get fooled. It doesn't matter. He just wants us to be able to touch the ball, to grab it. I've never heard a coach say, I don't care if you get fooled. I just want you to go for it. That has helped me realize I need to put my body in the position where if I get a touch on this, it's going to be good. I'm going to touch it. I think that's what really helped my blocking numbers skyrocket this past year.”
Read my entire feature on Claire Jeter here.
MB Khori Louis, Florida State Seminoles
Skills Summary
Louis is one of my favorite players in this class. The Seminoles entrust her with a boatload of work on the court and she’s rewarded them well. She has a powerful lower half and a killer swing, but she’s not afraid to mix in a softer touch as well. Louis has the physicality to be a good blocker, but she’s still working to refine her technique on the defensive side of the ball. If everything falls into place, I could even see her being taken in the first round.
Key Quote
“Because she's physical, she can go up and just roof you straight down, but part of it is still learning to have good vision with her eyes and being able to read setters and things like that better. So some of that is just experience. She just has be able to understand the situation she's in and and be able to see the setter and where she's going to release it, be able to stay still, be able to stay loaded.”
Read my entire feature on Khori Louis here.
MB Beau Vanderlaan, Brown Bears
Skills Summary
Vanderlaan set the freshman record for hitting percentage at Brown. She then set the school record altogether by hitting .402 as a junior. Her comfort hitting the slide has been tremendously helpful in that regard. She’s popular with teammates and has an excellent personal reputation for leadership and coachability. Her slight lack of athleticism compared to other elite performers puts a hard cap on how good she can be as a professional, and there will be some concern about the level of competition she’s facing in the Ivy League. If you buy into the track record and the personality, she looks like a future primary backup.
Key Quote
“If I just hit a ball at the 12-foot line, the defender is gonna take a step up and be prepared to dig that ball, so how can I hit that ball into the deep corner and throw them off a little bit, make them think a little more? And maybe I’ll tip a ball short, and the libero comes up a foot because she knows I tipped the ball short, then you tip the ball deep. You just kinda mess with their heads and keep thinking a step ahead of the game.”
Read my entire feature on Beau Vanderlaan here.
L Emmy Klika, Pitt Panthers
Skills Summary
Klika is a thinker, which is the quality that appeals most to me in an athlete. She thrives on a constant rapport with her coaches and teammates, and is unafraid of hard work in the gym or film room. The statistical results have been less than spectacular, but playing with Pitt, she’s been surrounded by good passers throughout her career. Her physical characteristics don’t jump off the screen on tape, but those who buy into the personality and track record on a winning team could see her as a backup libero at the pro level.
Key Quote
“If I say I'm going to take this ball in our seam, [the other passers] need to trust that I'm going to be there and same thing with me for them. The biggest and worst thing there can be is miscommunication and no one going for it. So I think I work hard to build that relationship, whether it's in the gym doing or watching film after a game with the other passers to prepare for a game, identifying what kind of serve a girl has or what her tendencies are.”
Read my entire feature on Emmy Klika here.