As we prepare for a new high school sports season, USA Today Network sportswriters in Ohio worked together last month to select preseason All-Ohio teams in football, boys soccer, girls soccer and girls volleyball. We assembled a team of 25 players for each sport.
Today we present the USA Today Network Preseason All-Ohio Volleyball Team, consisting of five defensive specialists/liberos, 15 hitters/blockers and five setters.
1. Sakura Codling, Cincinnati Seton
As a junior, Codling led the Girls Greater Catholic League with 473 digs, giving her 1,152 digs in her career. The first-team All-Ohio selection also contributed 113 assists and 31 aces as the Saints were ranked No. 1 in Division I for most of the 2023 season. She has committed to UCLA.
2. Spencer Etzler, Coldwater
Etzler, who is committed to Stanford, made the Division III All-Ohio First Team last season. PrepDig has her listed as the No. 3 athlete in Ohio for the class of 2025. Etzler was an outstanding defender and hitter and had 271 kills and 361 digs last year.
3. Ali Strange, Cincinnati McNicholas
Strange emerged as a freshman last year and helped 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 for Elevation VBC, where she was recently named to the USAV All-Tournament Team in Las Vegas. She was also named to VBall Recuiter’s Nationals Watchlist.
4. Trip Nicola, Byesville Meadowbrook
The Division III All-Ohio honorable mention was a crucial part of the defense during Meadowbrook’s run to the state tournament last year. She made more than 540 saves last season and was named the Muskingum Valley League Small School Division’s best defensive player.
5. Kailey Snow, Rocky River Magnificat
The 5’8″ defensive specialist/libero was selected to the All-Ohio Division I third team as a sophomore in 2023. Snow had 277 digs and also recorded 70 assists and 30 service aces.
Other vote recipients
Jacsyn HilliardAlliance Marlington; Madison KyleLebanon; Gracie NewlonLexington-Fayette, Emerson SpieszAurora.
Bat/Blocker
1. Christian Thompson, Fairfield Union
Thompson, a senior outside hitter, posted 590 kills, 360 digs, 48 aces and 48 blocks and was selected to the All-Ohio and All-District first team in Division II. Thompson is the second-best player in her class in Ohio according to Prep Dig and has committed to Ohio University.
2. Emch Abbey, Columbiana Crestview
Emch was a first-team All-Ohio selection in Division III last season. The 6-foot-3 senior had 384 kills, 237 digs, 85 blocks and 46 service aces. In her career, Emch has over 1,000 kills with 280 blocks. She is committed to Pittsburgh.
3. Ava Brown, Lexington
As a sophomore, Brown was selected to the Division II All-Ohio second team, the Division II District 6 Player of the Year, the Division II All-District 6 first team and the All-Ohio Cardinal Conference first team after recording 550 kills, 36 aces, 137 service points, 42 blocks, 240 digs and 175 assists. Brown has committed to Maryland.
4. Kameron Stover, Highland
Stover, a veteran right-back and counter attacker, was the Central District Division II co-player of the year and was selected to the All-Ohio first team for the second time. She helped Highland win a district title and set state-highs with 636 kills, 319 digs, 74 aces and 40 blocks.
5. Layla Hoying, Watterson
As a junior outside hitter, Hoying helped 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 is the state’s fourth-best player in the class of 2026, according to Prep Dig.
6. Sara Snowbarger, Wooster
Snowbarger was one of two sophomores selected to the All-Ohio first team in all 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. Snowbarger, who was All-Ohioan both years of her high school career, stepped up as a sophomore and was selected to the first team, averaging 5.3 kills and 4.3 digs per set. The top-ranked 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 surpass the 1,000 kill mark in her final season. A pure hitter, her strong arm helped her to 384 kills as a junior, which ranked her top in the Girls Greater Catholic League. Gielas was a valuable member of a senior-laden team that won the state title in 2022 and will look to lead the Lions back to the top in her final year. She is committed to Florida Gulf Coast.
8. Luci Heid, Hamilton Badin
Heid is one of two frontline players Badin’s opponents don’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 player was named to the GCL-Coed, District and Division II All-Ohio first teams.
9. Hailey Campagna, Hilliard Davidson
After playing a key role for Division IV Shekinah Christian, Campagna will play her final season at Division I Hilliard Davidson before transferring 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, Buckeye Valley
This junior middle blocker is the fifth-best player in Ohio in the class of 2026, according to Prep Dig. She was on the all-district first team last year and helped Buckeye Valley to a 24-3 record, a Central Buckeye League title and a second-place finish in the Division II district. She led the Barons with 359 kills and 75 aces and was second in digs with 250.
11. Layne Graffice, Alliance Marlington
Graffice led the Dukes to their first state tournament appearance and was named Greater Akron/Canton Volleyball Player of the Year. Last season, she set the Marlington individual and career records for kills. She was named Stark County Division II and District IV Division II Player of the Year and was also selected to the All-Ohio second team.
12. Evelyn Brown, Bloom Carroll
The senior middle blocker posted 340 kills and 90 blocks last fall and was named first team All-Ohio. She was also the Central District Division II co-player of the year. 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 an all-around performer for the Lions as a junior, posting 84 blocks, 266 kills, 68 digs and 46 aces. The Miami University player has improved each year of her prep career and will be a major factor in the Lions’ efforts to achieve postseason success in 2024.
14. Ashley Sess, Cincinnati Mercy McAuley
Sess led the Girls Greater Catholic League with 91 blocks her junior season. Many of those blocks came at key moments. She recorded 26 blocks in the Wolves’ final six games, including a career-high seven blocks in the Division II state championship game. She has her sights set on playing at Northern Kentucky.
15. Kamryn Cocherl, Marion Pleasant
Cocherl was one of the best hitters in Division III last year and one of the best freshman hitters in all of Ohio. She led all freshmen 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.
Other vote recipients
Haley BaloView of the Warsaw River; Lauren DeckerWadsworth; Chloe DickNew Lexington; Natalie HarringtonNewark Catholic; Ali HayesSimple City Jonathan Alder; Dylan Hunt, Pickerington North; Claire KingLogan Elm of Circleville; Makayla MasterNewark; Kylie SharpJohnstown; London StoneAmazon; Katie StoneyWiesenbrook; Amber Watson, Akron-Hoban
setter
1. Annabelle Groomes, Cleveland St. Joseph Academy
According to PrepDig, Groomes is the top-ranked player in the class of 2025 in Ohio. Last season, Groomes was a first-team All-Ohio selection and led St. Joseph Academy to the state championship semifinals. Groomes had 387 assists, 269 kills, 154 digs and 49 blocks. She has committed to the University of San Diego.
2. Mallory Matheny, Hartley
This young setter has committed to Indiana and is the top-ranked player in Ohio in the class of 2026, according to Prep Dig. Her contributions last season helped Hartley go 22-7 and reach the Division II semifinals. She tied for the team’s most assists with 433 assists and 71 aces and was named to the district’s first team.
3. Emsley Venard, Cincinnati St. Ursula
After appearing in just six games as a sophomore, she played every set for the Bulldogs during the 2023 season, leading to a regional finals appearance. She earned honorable mention Division I All-State honors with 940 assists, 243 digs, 39 kills, 32 aces and 29 blocks. She has committed to Florida Atlantic.
4. Addy Franz, Cincinnati Ursuline Academy
As a junior, she dished out 913 assists and was named to the Girls Greater Catholic League first team in her freshman season. The Lions had several 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 chases another league, district, regional and state title.
5. Larsen Terrill, Highland
Terrill, a skilled setter and counterattacker, paired with Stover to give the Fighting Scots a solid one-two punch en route to the Division II district title. Terrill finished last year with 788 assists, 270 digs, 202 kills and 72 aces. She was a first-district and second-team All-Ohio selection, making her a two-time All-Ohioan.
Other vote recipients
Lauren Blair, John Glenn of New Concord; Ingrid DittmarBorder triangle Dresden; Reese DonahoeCuyahoga Valley Christian Academy; Ally HughesSt. Bernard Roger Bacon; Kelsie Smith, river view; Shemayah StevensStreetboro; Maddie ZechmanDublin Scioto.
