March 11, 2021
Picking the NJ High School Player of the Year before the season starts is a tall order. With well over 300 high school girls volleyball programs and well over 5,000 players, it’s a bit daunting. And there are also so many top quality players to choose from, it becomes a process not much better than using a dart board. But let’s look at some of the history to help us out. Maybe there are some patterns that can make this a bit more predictable.
Over the time period noted (past 17 years), 71% of the Players of the Year chosen were from the eventual Tournament of Champions victor and another 18% were from a team that made it to the Tournament of Champions. So roughly 90% were from teams that won sectional titles. So we will look at the NJP Pre-season rankings when selecting players from teams expected to get to the TOC. All past players chosen were juniors or seniors with just one exception, three time winner Nia Reed who went on to an amazing cvollegiate career at Penn State after her high school graduation from Immaculate Heart.
Also thrown in are some potential players who can break the mold on a lower ranked team. We are also weighing pin hitters and middles stronger than setters and libs based on frequency of prior awards. So here are our candidates…
(Note that Lauren Wilcock would have been one of the top favorites to win this award but the top beach player is not returning for her senior campaign)
NJP Player of the Year Candidate Projections Spring 2021
1. Simrin Carlsen (JP Stevens, Projected 14-1, Central #1, 24.39 PSR, Ranked #10) OH, 402 kills, 279 digs, 30 aces
2. Gianna Grigaliunas (Immaculate Heart, Projected 15-0, Private #1, 30.00 PSR, Ranked #1) OH, 117 kills, 265 digs, 25 aces
3. Cat Holtz (Mendham. Projected 14-1, North2 #2, 26.26 PSR, Ranked #7) OH, 225 kills, 15 blocks, 75 digs
4. Mackenzie Wiggins (Sparta, Projected 12-3, North1 #6, 22.06 PSR, Ranked #26) OH, 403 kills, 257 digs, 66 aces
5. Kate Stoughton (Brick Memorial, Projected 8-7, South #23, 14.82 PSR, Ranked #138) OH, 336 kills, 245 digs, 93 aces
6. Stephanie Soares (Southern, Projected 14-1, South #1, 27.35 PSR, Ranked #5) S, 642 assists, 55 aces, 28 kills
7. Raina Hughes (Williamstown, Projected 14-1, South #2, 25.38 PSR, Ranked #9) M/OH, 181 kills, 36 blocks
8. Julianna Lavner (Wayne Valley, Projected 13-2, North1 #7, 23.2 PSR, Ranked #19) OH/M, 183 kills, 39 blocks, 42 digs
9. Kiara Polanco (Bogota, Projected 14-1, North1 #1, 28.83 PSR, Ranked #3) OH, 264 kills, 12 blocks, 44 digs
10. Amber Vasquez (Bogota, Projected 14-1, North1 #1, 28.83 PSR, Ranked #3) S, 734 assists, 104 digs, 20 aces
11. Eleanor Stothoff (North Hunterdon, Projected 14-1, North2 #1, 29.5 PSR, Ranked #2) OH/M, 232 kills, 45 blocks, 162 digs
12. Devon Adamy (North Hunterdon, Projected 14-1, North2 #1, 29.5 PSR, Ranked #2) OH, 199 kills, 182 digs, 43 aces
13. Carly Powell (Old Tappan, Projected 14-1, North1 #4, 26.21 PSR, Ranked #8) OH, 174 aces, 48 digs
14. Noa Shuminer (Demarest, Projected 14-1, North1 #2, 28.16 PSR, Ranked #4) OH, 184 kills, 256 digs, 25 aces
15. Karin Ojeda (Donovan Catholic, Projected 12-3, South #5, 22.27 PSR, Ranked #25) S, 648 assists, 99 aces, 89 digs
16. Kelle Anwander (Toms River South, Projected 12-3, South #8, 21.08 PSR, Ranked #37) M, 202 kills, 95 blocks, 131 digs
17. Cristal Rubel (Hudson Catholic, Projected 12-3, Private #4, 22.59 PSR, Ranked #21) M/OH, 175 kills, 113 digs, 29 aces
18. Isabella Brown (Dwight Englewood, Private #5, 21.6 PSR, Ranked #31) OH, 117 kills, 165 digs, 41 aces
19. Nathaly Flores (Union City, Projected 11-4, North2 #7, 19.16 PSR, Ranked #56)) OH, 184 kills, 134 digs, 51 aces
20. Leah Dooley (Governor Livingston, Projected 13-2, Central #3, 23.28 PSR, Ranked #16) OH, 192 kills, 51 aces, 46 digs
21. Ella Kretten (Morris Catholic, Projected 12-3, Private #6, 21.48 PSR, Ranked #33) OH, 211 kills, 176 digs, 24 aces
22. Hailey Benesz (East Brunswick, Projected 13-2, Central #2, 23.67 PSR, Ranked #11) OH, 138 kills, 104 digs, 40 aces
23. Athena Georgiades (Northern Highlands, Projected 13-2, North1 #5, 23.33 PSR, Ranked #14) M/OH, 155 kills, 14 blocks
24. Samantha Olander (Roxbury, Projected 13-2, North1 #6, 23.25 PSR, Ranked #18) OH/M, 196 kills, 58 digs, 29 aces, 15 blocks
25. Andrea Camacho-Teniero (Colonia, Projected 12-3, Central #3, 22.32 PSR, Ranked #24) OH, 264 kills, 16 blocks, 211 digs
Sophomore Pick – Brookelyn Talmadge (Immaculate Heart)
Good luck to all of the girl volleyball players this season. If you’re on the list, don’t ease up. If you’re not on the list… use it to prove us wrong!