20 CLASS 3A VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

REGAN ALLEN, WICHITA TRINITY
 
Allen is part of an experienced Trinity squad that enters the 2024 season with lofty aspirations. The senior defensive specialist/libero was one of four Knights named to the All-Central Plains League team last year, earning first team along with classmate Elle Davis and joined by second-teamer Audrey Smith and honorable mention pick Ava Deutsch. Allen had 336 digs and 355 receptions last fall, helping CPL runner-up Trinity finish 23-14 and reach the sub-state finals on the heels of a 29-win season in 2022. Her defensive skills are a proven asset for a team that returns seven varsity players.
 

LUCY ANDERSON, FRONTENAC

Anderson made a major leap from her first high school season to her sophomore campaign for the Raiders last year. She led the team in kills with 392 and aces with 89, as well as finishing second in digs at 358 and serves received at 345. Her performance helped the team put together a 30-11 and reach the sub-state finals. Anderson, who also plays basketball and runs track at Frontenac, will try to improve her game on the volleyball court again this year and possibly push this program into state for the first time since 2019.
 

ALISABETH BARTON, COLBY

Barton was a first-team All-Great West Activities Conference selection for the Eagles after earning second-team honors the year before. The versatile senior has played varsity for her entire career and has been team captain since her sophomore year. She has played a six-rotation outside hitter and as a libero. Last year, Barton recorded 217 kills, 20 blocks and 367 digs. Barton is in reach of the 1,000 career digs mark, which would make her the first Colby Eagle to accomplish that feat. She is also a standout on the basketball court.
 

KATJA BLANCHAT, SMOKY VALLEY
 
One of the preseason questions Smoky Valley faces is whether to leave Blanchat in the middle or move her to outside hitter for her senior season. The Vikings graduated standout hitter Hope Duncan among other talented seniors off their Class 3A runner-up team, and wherever Blanchat lands, the spotlight figures to be a little brighter. The 6-foot Blanchat registered 377 kills and led the Vikings with a program record-tying 107 blocks and 34 aces last season, earning All-3A second-team and unanimous All-Central Kansas League first-team honors. She begins her final season with 852 career kills and 237 blocks.
 

 
ELLA BOLAN, SILVER LAKE

Bolan enters her fourth year as a starter coming off a big junior season in which she helped lead the Eagles to a third-place finish at the Class 3A state tournament, beating Cheney in the third-place match after a three-set semifinal loss to Smoky Valley. Bolan led the Eagles in kills with 317, blocks with 62 and aces with 38 while also ranking among the team leaders in digs with 348. Those were huge jumps in her production from her first two seasons where she recorded 181 kills, 237 digs, 40 blocks and 17 aces as a freshman and sophomore. Bolan earned second-team All-Mid-East League and honorable mention All-Class 3A honors last year from her outside hitter position and could see some time at the middle hitter spot while also playing all six rotations.
 

 
ERIN BOLTZ, SABETHA

A unanimous first-team All-Big Seven League last year as a junior, Boltz enters her fourth year as a starter for the Bluejays, serving as an outside hitter when she’s on the front row and setter when she hits the back row in Sabetha’s 6-2 offense. Last year, Boltz recorded 288 kills to lead the team and with 631 career kills already ranks top six on Sabetha’s career list. She also had 205 digs. Boltz was also first-team all-league as a sophomore and will team with honorable mention all-league senior and four-year middle hitter starter Aubrey Schmelzle (211 kills last year) to give Sabetha a strong 1-2 punch at the net again this season.
 

KENDAL BRUEGGEN, HESSTON
 
Brueggen, a Missouri State basketball commit, has made her mark over three seasons as an outside hitter for Swather volleyball. She enters her senior season with 1,162 kills and 978 digs – No. 3 and No. 4 all-time for Hesston, respectively – after registering big numbers a year ago as an All-Class 3A second-team and All-Central Kansas League first-team selection. Brueggen set Hesston records for kills per set (6.63) and kills in a match (31), holding four of the Swathers’ top five marks in the latter. She finished with 570 kills, 354 digs, 38 blocks and 19 aces as Hesston went 22-15.
 

 
ADDISON BUDKE, BELOIT

A dominant force since her freshman season, Budke likely will join rare company this season, needing just 229 kills to become one of only a handful in state history to top 2,000 career kills. She’s more than doubled that total each of her first three seasons, setting Beloit’s single-season record in 2021 with 679 kills and recording 553 last year as a junior. The six-foot outside hitter has been first-team All-North Central Activities Association and first-team All-Class 3A selection each of her three high school seasons and her 1,771 career kills are most among active players and has on her on track to finish No. 2 all-time behind Hutchinson Central Christian’s Jamie Patrick, who had 2,635 in her career. In addition to her 553 kills last year (53.5% kill percentage), Budke had 33 blocks, 53 aces and 186 digs, showing she’s more than just a powerful hitter. With Budke among four key returning starters and all-leaguers for Beloit, the Trojans will look to return to state after missing out on the semifinals the past two seasons after a fourth-place finish in 2021. 
 

MADDIE COESTER, GIRARD

After spending her freshman season working alongside a pair of seniors who dominated on the attack, Coester stepped up last year as the team’s kills leader. In addition to putting away 327 kills, she also finished second on the team in three other categories: total blocks with 42, digs with 295 and serves received with 349. Coester also finished third in aces with 34. Her performance helped lead the Trojans to a 27-12 record before the team’s season ended in the sub-state semifinals. She’ll return alongside senior Graci Murphy, who took over as the team’s starting setter, finishing the year with 577 assists.
 

KAILYN FOLLIS, BELOIT

Follis and twin sister Jaidyn have occupied key roles since their freshman seasons for the Trojans. While Jaidyn has manned the setter position and has recorded 1,977 career assists, Kailyn has held down the libero position for the past two seasons. After recording 462 digs as a sophomore in 2022, Kailyn hit 500 digs last year and now is just 23 away from 1,000 in her career. She also dished out 45 assists and had 44 aces while also having 511 serve receive passes with just 29 errors. Follis earned first-team All-North Central Activities Association honors, as did Jaidyn as Beloit captured its eighth straight league title.
 

 
LAUREN FUND, SANTA FE TRAIL
 
Going into her fourth year as Santa Fe Trail’s staring setter, Fund has steadily improved her numbers throughout her career. Last season she topped 600 assists for the second straight year, going from 610 as a sophomore to 692 as a junior, which accounted for all but 100 of the team’s assists. She goes into her senior season with 1,532 career assists and also has 476 career digs, 129 service aces and 161 kills. She became more of a weapon in the offense a year ago as well, recording a career-best 92 kills. Fund has been a first-team All-Pioneer League selection the past two seasons.
 

REESE HEDSTROM, CHENEY
 
Much of Cheney’s offense went through All-Class 3A first-team selection Alex Bittner last season. But Bittner, with her 1,132 career kills, is off to play at Pittsburg State, and Hedstrom returns as coach Sara Walkup’s top threat. A three-year starter in the middle, Hedstrom was second to Bittner last season with 207 kills on .237 hitting with 68 blocks. She was one of seven juniors on Cheney’s Central Plains League championship team, which finished fourth in 3A last October.
 

   
CALI HONEYMAN, NEMAHA CENTRAL
 
Honeyman began her varsity career as a middle hitter for Nemaha Central before moving to outside hitter last year. This year, she’ll split time between the two positions as she looks to lead the Thunder back to the Class 3A state tournament for the second time in three years. Honeyman started on Nemaha’s 2022 state team and was honorable mention All-Big Seven League. Last year, she led the Thunder with 396 kills and also added 64 blocks, 50 aces and 475 digs, earning unanimous all-league honors. A state-caliber hurdler who holds Nemaha’ school records, the 5-11 senior has 611 career kills and 134 career blocks.
 

CARLYLE JOHNSON, WICHITA COLLEGIATE
 
Johnson continued to evolve last season in her complementary role to outside hitter Avery Elofsson, joining the Spartan standout on the All-Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail IV first team. A six-rotation player, Johnson helped Collegiate post a 31-5 record with 227 kills, 48 blocks and 45 aces. With Elofsson graduated, Johnson becomes more of a focal point as the Spartans’ opposite hitter. She enters her junior season with 481 career kills – third on Collegiate’s career list – and is fourth in both blocks (86) and aces (77).
 

 
SAMANTHA KLOTZ, ROYAL VALLEY

A four-sport standout for the Panthers, Klotz can man any position at the net and deliver. Last year, she pounded down 438 kills and added 26 blocks in earning first-team All-Big Seven League honors for the second straight year while also picking up honorable mention All-Class 3A honors last year. She also showed her versatility in collecting 327 digs, 24 aces and 26 assists. Klotz is just four kills shy of 900 in her career and five digs shy of 800. Also a standout in basketball, track and softball, Klotz has committed to Central Missouri for volleyball.
 

 
REAGAN MCGIVERN, HAYDEN
 
McGivern came back from an injury to be a key performer late in the regular season and postseason to help Seaman capture its first-ever Class 5A state championship. She finished the season with 123 kills and 61 blocks, her block total from her middle hitter/blocker position ranking third on the team. A Villanova commit, McGivern has transferred to Hayden for her senior season and will team with fellow seniors and returning All-Centennial League pick Bella Reid to give a young Wildcat team a strong veteran presence.
 

 
ALEXIS MOORE, ELLSWORTH
 
Moore began to emerge as a presence at the end of her freshman year in 2022 before flourishing in her first year as a starter for the Bearcats last fall. Manning the middle hitter/blocker position, Moore recorded 352 kills a year ago and also added 72 blocks, 74 digs and 40 aces. She earned first-team All-North Central Activities Association honors last year in recording a 40.6 kills percentage and .247 hitting percentage. Moore will look to lead Ellsworth back to a winning record after the Bearcats finished 18-18 last fall.
 
 

PRAYER ROEBUCK, NEODESHA
 
Progress has become a little tougher to measure during Roebuck’s time as a Bluestreak, but it can be done. After helping Neodesha win 36 matches her sophomore year, Roebuck led the Bluestreaks to a school-record 37 victories last season and their first state tournament berth since 2015. The left-handed Roebuck finished the season with 525 kills and 344 assists as a secondary setter to Kimmy Combs, who took over the primary role last season. Roebuck enters her senior season with more than 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career points in basketball.
 

 
SOPHIA THOMPSON, BELOIT

Thompson transferred to Beloit during her sophomore season and could only play junior varsity that season while also having to sit out the first nine games last year because of KSHSAA transfer rules. But once she joined the Trojan varsity lineup, the 6-foot-1 middle blocker made an immediate impact. Even in an abbreviated season and playing alongside one of the top hitters in the state in Addison Budke, Thompson managed to record 177 kills and 103 blocks, hitting at a .401 clip while recording a kill percentage of 59.2%. The Wichita State commitment earned second-team All-Class 3A and honorable mention All-North Central Activities Association honors and will team with Budke to give Beloit a dynamic duo at the net as the Trojans replace first-team All-3A hitter Mylie Brown.
 

 
HAYDAN WALTERS, WEST FRANKLIN
 
Walters has helped lead West Franklin to an 83-30 record in her three years as a starter, including a Flint Hills League title as a sophomore and league tournament titles as a freshman and sophomore. Starting her career as a middle hitter, Walters moved to the outside last year and went from being a second-team all-league pick to a unanimous first-teamer as a junior. She recorded 383 kills last year, giving her 542 in her career. A six-rotation player a year ago, Walters also added 313 digs and had 44 aces. A multi-sport standout, Walters holds the school record in the high jump and 100 in track, was a Class 2A state champion in powerlifting and also finished top 10 in the World Little Britches Rodeo finals each of the past two years.