It may be early, but we still have our eyes on a few Otsego County volleyball players heading into the 2025 season:
GAYLORD ― The fall sports season may be known as football season for most, but you can make the case that autumn also holds the most exciting female-dominated high school sport, volleyball.
Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston will be back in action in the coming weeks, with Gaylord's Aug. 20 matchup against Cheboygan set to kick things off for Otsego County. All three teams have high hopes heading into 2025, with new faces mixing with the returning stars of last season.
Each team has players whom we're keeping an eye on, even before the teams are officially set. Here are the early Otsego County volleyball players to watch:
Gaylord
Addison McDonald, senior
McDonald had a breakout season in 2024, finishing as the top offensive threat for the Blue Devils last season. As a junior, she led GHS with 244 kills and was third on the team with 24 total blocks.
Karlee Pretzlaff, senior
Pretzlaff took over as GHS's setter in the early stages of 2024, eventually playing her way onto the Gaylord Herald Times second team all-area squad after finishing with 445 assists.
Johannesburg-Lewiston
Mady Peppin, junior
The last five GHT Volleyball Player of the Year awards have gone to JoBurg Cardinals, with four-straight going to former star Jayden Marlatt while last year's award went to sophomore Mady Peppin. With Peppin back in 2025, she very well could make it six straight JoBurg POYs.
No area player had more kills (357) or blocks (57) than Peppin in 2024 while adding 80 aces to her total, showing her versatility as a middle hitter and an elite server. A year older and with more confidence heading into her junior season, Peppin is the top player to watch heading into the fall.
Lexi Hogle, senior
Hogle was the team's only captain as a junior in 2024, a four-year varsity player with a ton of big game experience. She led all area players with 744 assists and 85 aces last season.
Gaylord St. Mary
Payton Glasby, senior
Glasby's height near the net helped GSM go from a two-win squad in 2023 to a 14-10 record in 2024. She figures to be one of the conference's top players this fall.
Kaylee Jeffers, senior
Jeffers serves as a playmaker and a leader for all three teams she plays for, and her high motor helped GSM improve last season. Coming back for one more season, GSM will have quite a few talented, experienced players.
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord, St. Mary and JoBurg volleyball players to watch in 2025
Category: General Sports
