The 20 most underrated high school girls volleyball middles in the nation

These 20 front-row standouts have big-time production and are hoping to boost their recruiting stock this season

The craziness surrounding high school football and basketball recruiting has yet to fully seep into other sports, but recruiting rankings and star systems are becoming more commonplace in the volleyball world.

As the hype around top prospects grows, high school volleyball players who don’t get flooded with Division I offers continue to grind away.

SBLive Sports is featuring high school volleyball players from across the country who are rising up recruiting boards with their play on the court. We started with the distributors, followed by the attackers, and are now moving on to the tallest players on the court.

Here are 20 middles who are boosting their recruiting stock this season.

Note: All stats are current through Sept. 21.

Sydney Anderson, sr., Strong Rock Christian (Georgia)

Anderson averaged two blocks per set as a junior and is putting up 1.9 this fall. She is also a standout goalkeeper who recorded 271 saves during the spring soccer season for Strong Rock Christian. 

Aubrey Bellus, jr., Mountain View (Arizona)

Bellus has 60 total blocks this season, averaging 1.2 per set. She is also a strong attacker for Mountain View who is notching 2.4 kills per set. 

Symphanie Browne, jr., Northeast (Tennessee)

Standing at only 5-foot-7, Browne does it all for Northeast on the front row. The junior is averaging 1.9 blocks per set this season while also filling it up with 135 kills and 33 aces. 

Ellie Bruce, sr., Fisher Catholic (Ohio)

Bruce is having a dominant senior season for Fisher Catholic, averaging 2.4 blocks and 4.4 kills as a middle. She is also a standout basketball player who averaged 16.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game as a junior. 

Maycee Cole, sr., Morristown (Indiana)

Cole recently broke the Morristown single-season total blocks record and is sitting on 125 this fall (averaging 2.3 per set). She is also slamming nearly two kills per set.

Savannah Creamer, sr., Liberty County (Florida)

Creamer put up 141 total blocks a season ago for Liberty County, the Class 1A state champion. Creamer is on pace to break that mark this year and is averaging two blocks and two kills per set. 

Idahlia Garcia, sr., Sangre de Cristo (Colorado)

Garcia is leading the state of Colorado in total blocks (71) and blocks per set (2.5). She is on pace to blow by her junior block total of 121. 

Helen Guajardo, jr., Incarnate Word (Texas)

Guajardo is a versatile junior who can play anywhere on the court. She has thrived as a middle the past two seasons, putting up a combined 366 total blocks while averaging 2.4 blocks per set this fall. 

Ava Gustafson, sr., Madison County (Alabama)

Gustafson is a prolific middle who averaged 1.7 blocks per set last year (236 total) and is up to 1.9 this season. The senior also has 171 kills and 55 aces. 

Kynli Kirkendoll, sr., Jenks (Oklahoma)

Kirkendoll had 258 kills and 68 total blocks a season ago for a Jenks team that reached the Class 6A state championship game. She is averaging 3.1 kills and nearly one block per set this fall. 

Allie Kirkland, sr., Alcorn Central (Mississippi)

Kirkland put up 1.1 blocks and 3.1 kills per set last year as Alcorn Central made it all the way to the Class 3A state championship match. She has upped her block (1.4) and kill (3.7) percentages this fall. 

Angelina Masojc, sr., Midlothian (Texas)

The national leader in total blocks with 178, Masojc is averaging 2.2 blocks per set as a senior. She is also slamming a career-best 2.4 kills per set for Class 5A contender Midlothian. 

Olivia Miller, jr., Oconee County (Georgia)

A varsity standout since her freshman season, Miller can play nearly anywhere on the court for Oconee County. She is averaging 1.3 blocks and 2.9 kills per set this fall. 

Aubrey Muirhead, sr., Ben Franklin (Louisiana)

Muirhead is a force in the middle who recorded 236 total blocks as a junior. She is also an offensive standout who slammed 405 kills from her middle hitter position last year. 

Carissa Musta, sr., Cadillac (Michigan)

The 6-foot-4 Musta has put up eye-popping stats during her four seasons with Cadillac. She recorded 189 total blocks last year and is sitting on 52 this fall (averaging 1.3 per set). For her career, Musta has 484 total blocks and 1,027 kills. 

Lydia Pitts, jr., Southside (Arkansas)

Pitts, who recorded 138 total blocks during her first two seasons of high school volleyball, has become a six-rotation player for Fort Smith Southside. She is averaging 1.1 blocks per set and also has 110 assists, 58 kills and 48 digs this fall. 

Lillianna Rowe, so., Orland (California)

An imposing sophomore middle, Rowe tallied 131 total blocks a season ago and is already sitting on 133 this year while averaging 1.8 per set. She also has 165 kills and 41 aces. 

Ashlyn Smith, sr., Highland (Idaho)

Smith was sitting on 206 career blocks entering her senior season for Highland. She has 53 more blocks this fall and is averaging 1.2 per set. 

Cayla Weisner, sr., Stevenson (Illinois)

Weisner is averaging 1.5 total blocks per set during her senior season for Stevenson. She has also showcased her serving ability with 32 aces. 

Maddy Wilson, jr., Onalaska (Wisconsin)

Wilson is a force at the net who is averaging 1.6 blocks per set this year. She had 10 blocks in an early-season win over Cuba City. 

(Olivia Miller photo by Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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-- Bob Lundeberg | @sblivesports