Bishop Moore from Orlando, FL, looked as if it was poised to have yet another incredible girls' volleyball season in 2017. The Hornets only graduated two players from last year's team that went 32-1 and won its fourth Florida state title in five years, and seniors Gracie Ryan, Marlie Monserez, and Shannon Crenshaw were on track to have their best showings to date.

But that was before Washington commit Crenshaw and Arkansas-bound Ryan, along with defensive specialist Peyton Grace Garrison, decided not to participate in the fall high school season.

These three Bishop Moore players are not the first elite volleyballers to pass on the high school season. In late July, Ryan Mitchell, head coach of Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, revealed that all-state middle blocker and 2018 Texas commit Asjia O'Neal would not participate in her senior high school season. The 2016 District 5-6A MVP led the Dragons with 509 kills hitting .425 as a junior. "She's such a big impact player," Mitchell said. "It's a huge loss."

Lexi Sun, the 2016-2017 National Gatorade Player of the Year, took her junior high school season off after a busy summer of USA Volleyball competitions but rejoined her Solana Beach (CA) Santa Fe Christian team as a senior last fall.

In Bishop Moore's case, head coach Tanya Jarvis wasn't able to shed much light on her former players' decisions, saying it was a personal choice made by the players and their families.

Bishop Moore, which was originally ranked No. 1 in the Flo50 Girls' High School Preseason Rankings but fell to No. 10 with the news of the departure of Crenshaw, Ryan, and Garrison, will still have 6-foot setter Monserez, a Florida commit and younger sister of current UF setter Allie Monserez and former Gator defensive specialist Madison Monserez, in addition to Kentucky-committed setter Cameron Scheitzach, Wofford recruit and middle blocker Claire Meier, and Texas A&M-bound outside hitter Lauren Davis.

At the end of the day, despite losing their No. 1 national ranking, the Hornets are still looking forward to another great year in which they will contend for the state title. And, as Jarvis pointed out, there's so much more to high school volleyball than winning.

"High school volleyball is the best experience they can get that mimics what [these players are] going to get in college," Jarvis said. "There are freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors. It's learning the pride that comes from playing for your school. It's having things like senior night and banquets, and it's just it's full of tradition. I just think that that's something you don't find in club."

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