Last week, we announced these 16 girls as Player of the Year Nominees. Now we’ve narrowed that list down to 6 Finalists for the award. Last year’s winner was Katerina Shalikashvili, sister of this year’s finalist, Alex. The six finalists are: Kate Blackburn (Tallulah Falls), Victoria Crotzer (Lumpkin), Roxie Fricton (Dawson), Alexandra Shalikashvili (Habersham Central), JoJo Smith (Jefferson), and Annabeth Vandiver (White). Habersham Central has traditionally owned this award, with eight of the last nine winners being Lady Raiders, including seven straight years.

DISCLAIMER: BLITZ Volleyball Player of the Year nominations come from coaches of each program. BLITZ narrows down to a list of Finalists and then votes for the Player of the Year with the help of the official BLITZ voting panel (this is NOT public voting).

KATE BLACKBURN

Tallulah Falls JR S #2

2.7 aces/match, 91.4% Serve, 1.4 kills/match, 17.4 assists/match, 7.5 digs/match

VICTORIA CROTZER

Lumpkin Co SO OH #18

58 aces, 90.6 serve %, 186 kills, 373 digs

ROXIE FRICTON

Dawson Co JR MH #33

25 aces, 248 kills, 44 blocks, 17 assists, 198 digs, 86% serve

ALEXANDRA SHALIKASHVILI

Habersham JR OH #3

335 kills, 311 digs, 96% serve accuracy, 0.280 hitting %, 51 aces
All-Region 8-AAAAAA

JOJO SMITH

Jefferson SO OH #17

191 kills, 58 aces, 28 blocks, 208 digs

ANNABETH VANDIVER

White Co SR OH #7

161 kills, 208 digs, 64 aces
7-AAAA All-Region