HS Dream Team of the Week: Strausberger, Gould, Horvath, Martin, Pursell, Jaffa, Spanbauer, Lott

Each week during the high school season, VolleyballMag.com will recognize a Dream Team of volleyball players  who were standouts the weekend before.

Most weeks, the eight-girl Dream Team will consist of the following:

Setter
Setter, S/RS or RS
OH
OH
MB
MB
Libero
DS

This week, because no defensive specialists were nominated, we added a second libero.

Players will be considered for Dream Team ONLY if they are nominated by their high school coaches using this link: https://volleyballmag.com/hs-player-of-the-week-submissions/.

Nominations will be solicited by email to high school coaches only on our email list. To sign up, follow this link: https://volleyballmag.com/hs-email-sign-up/

Note to coaches and directors: while there is no science to how we choose members of our Dream Team, performing on bigger stages will give players an edge, as will nomination forms that describe with specificity how well a player performed the previous week.

VolleyballMag.com HIGH SCHOOL DREAM TEAM for October, 19, 2022
S: Ella Strausberger, 5-10 Jr., Plainfield North (Plainfield, Illinois) — Strausberger, an uncommitted junior, averaged 10.5 assists per set as the Tigers went 6-1 for the week, including a second place finish at the 26-team Plainfield Central Harvest Fest Tournament. She also added 43 digs and 14 aces.

RS: Bridget Gould, 5-11 Jr., Marshfield (Coos Bay, Oregon) — Gould helped the 19-3 Pirates clinch a league title with a win over always-tough Marist Catholic last week. She also was a catalyst for Marshfield’s Saturday win at its hosted event. She had 53 kills, more than 40 digs and passed over a 2.2 for the week.

OH: Jessica Horwath, 6-1 Sr., Barrington (Illinois) — Horwath, an Arizona recruit, was named MVP at the Autumnfest Tournament, as the Fillies knocked off Mother McAuley in the semis and Oak Park-River Forest in the championship match. Horwath had 11 kills in the finals.

OH: Kennedy Martin, 6-6 Sr., Nation Ford (Fort Mill, South Carolina) — Martin was named MVP as Nation Ford won the Wando Invitational over the weekend. The Florida State recruit amassed 162 kills, 69 digs, 12 blocks and 15 aces as her team went 9-0-1 for the week.

MB: Elena Pursell, 6-1 Sr., Parkland (Allentown, Pennsylvania) — Pursell was terrific over the last week of the regular season and the first round of league playoffs. In three sweeps, Pursell recorded 36 kills and 51 swings and hit…