Nobody gets a highlight reel out of a dig. The position gets recruited late for that reason, and it gets recruited on volume and on passing, both of which are sitting in public columns right now while everybody looks at the kill totals. Earlier we ran the setters. This one is for the players behind them.

Below, sixteen liberos and defensive specialists holding up their respective high school teams.

Ashley Ruschill L McKinney Boyd TX

Ruschill has 483 digs at 8.9 per set, the best rate of any player in the country above 400 digs. She has 199 receptions and 23 aces on top of it, and the next Bronco has 296 digs. McKinney Boyd is 16-5 and she is a sophomore, which is not the age at which liberos usually turn up in this conversation.

Louisa Ertischek L/DS Lake Creek TX

Ertischek has 354 digs for a 24-8 team that has played 78 sets, more than almost anybody. She has 34 assists as well, which is a libero being asked to run the second ball.

Camryn Bruder L Burleson TX

381 digs at six per set, 320 receptions and 39 aces, all first on a 22-4 roster. She is the senior in a back row that otherwise starts freshmen.

Zoe Miller OH/L Hebron TX

Miller has 317 digs at 4.7 per set and a team high 295 receptions, plus 90 assists, second on the roster. Hebron is 21-6. Note that our portal has a Zoey Miller in Boston who is a different player entirely.

Alani Williams L Rock Hill TX

A freshman with 309 digs at 5.2 per set and 352 receptions, both first on an 18-8 team. Nine of the ten categories Rock Hill publishes are led by a freshman and she holds three of them.

Milan Benavides L Glenn TX

305 digs at 5.2 per set and 299 receptions, first on the roster in both, with 60 assists. Glenn is 15-11 and she has played every rotation of it.

Brielle Boothe OH/DS Boerne-Champion TX

Boothe leads a 15-3 team in digs with 218 at 4.8 per set, in aces with 29 and in receptions with 207, and adds 35 assists. Four categories from the back row.

Charlie Marsico DS Lutheran South Academy TX

Marsico has 176 digs at 4.1 per set and 159 receptions, first on the team in both, with 22 aces and 35 assists. Lutheran South is 11-7.

Lindsay Stubblefield DS Mansfield TX

Stubblefield has 170 digs at 3.7 per set and 185 receptions, second on a 23-3 roster behind a player who leads seven categories. Being second in the back row on that team still means being on the floor for everything.

Kennedy Shockley DS/L Fishers IN

Shockley has 111 digs at 5.8 per set and 102 receptions through six matches, both team highs. That per set figure is the best of anyone in this piece and Indiana has been playing for about a fortnight, so the total will look very different in October.

Elizabeth Campbell DS/L Montgomery Academy AL

Campbell has 75 digs at five per set and 94 receptions, first on a 3-3 team in both, plus nine assists and eight aces. Alabama started in the middle of August.

Annie Cook DS/L Wasatch UT

Cook leads the Wasps in digs with 83 at 3.5 per set and in receptions with 154, with 20 assists, for a 5-2 team ranked twelfth in Utah.

Hayley Royal DS Carrboro NC

Royal has 78 digs at 2.2 per set and 104 receptions, second on an 8-2 roster. Carrboro's leading defender is its libero who also hits.

Alana Williams L/DS Westlake GA

Williams leads the Lions in digs with 66 and in receptions with 171, with 17 aces and 12 assists. There are three Williamses on that roster and they are three different players.

Emma Rupeika L/DS Northview GA

Rupeika leads Northview in digs with 55 at 3.9 per set, in receptions with 125 and in aces with seven, with ten assists. Her team is 1-14 and she is first in four categories inside it.

Elaine Bogus L/DS Juan Diego UT

Bogus has 38 digs at 2.7 per set and 75 receptions, first on the roster in both, through four matches.

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