On one of volleyball’s biggest stages this summer, Centennial’s Elena Hoecke proved she was one of the best young middle blockers in the world.

At the under-21 world championship in Indonesia, the 6-3 senior ranked 12th in total blocks among all players.

Team USA’s ninth-place finish was impressive, but this was also the U-19 national team playing up.

“It was awesome and super fun,” said Hoecke, who is verbally committed to the Gophers. “The competition is great. You learn so much about volleyball but also about life being in a different part of the world.”

Hoecke went from having a strong presence at the net for Team USA to leading a young Centennial team to a top-10 Class 4A ranking and a spot in the state tournament for the first time since 2022.

Humble but hungry to establish herself among the elite players in her sport, Hoecke was named Strib Varsity’s 2025 All-Minnesota Player of the Year in girls volleyball.

“She deserves everything she’s been given,” Centennial coach Nicole Christensen said. “I’ve never seen an athlete work so hard, especially at her level and caliber.”

The Cougars started slow, posting an 11-7 record while adjusting to a new core, but all of their losses were to ranked opponents. Hoecke needed only a couple of matches to get comfortable before putting up big numbers.

“We had younger girls taking on new roles,” Hoecke said. “And I wasn’t there for two weeks when they started. I think I was there for one practice before we had a game, so it was getting used to playing with each other and our best lineup.”

During a stretch of seven matches, Hoecke recorded double figures in kills, including a season-high 23 kills vs. Duluth East to go with six blocks. She also had a 20-kill, 15-dig, five-block performance vs. Roseville and 16 kills, 12 digs, five blocks and four aces vs. rival Anoka.

Hoecke was sidelined by an ankle injury in a Sept. 23 loss against Rogers, but she recovered to help Centennial win 10 of the next 11 matches. Hoecke’s 13 kills and five blocks vs. Chanhassen on Oct. 11 started a stretch of five straight double-figure kill efforts.

The Cougars’ only loss was a hard-fought match against Maple Grove, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 4A entering the playoffs. Hoecke finished with 14 kills and eight blocks vs. the Crimson.

Hoecke finished among the top 10 in aces at the FIVB Women’s U21 World Championship, but the way she achieved that statistic surprisingly hindered her serving technique when she returned to Centennial. A slightly different ball size was used for international competition.

“So when she came back to try to serve our ball, I could say that she was a terrible server,” Christensen joked. “She would book her own court and do 30-45 minutes by herself of just serving reps. It’s that type of dedication to her craft that makes her the level she is.”

Minnesota Select club program director Scott Jackson, who coached two-time Star Tribune Player of the Year Stella Swenson at Wayzata, said Hoecke was projected as a top recruit nationally as early as seventh grade. She was already 6 feet tall.

“That was my only time coaching her playing up on a 14U team,” Jackson said. “There were coaches milling around when she was 13, making note that she was going to have a lot of good choices at the end of [her recruiting]. She was such a joy to coach, a sponge, and her parents have been really supportive.”

Earlier in her career, Hoecke made more of an impact offensively as a hitter. She turned her focus to defense, and she’s now known for that.

“I still love hitting, and I think that’s super fun,” Hoecke said. “But blocking is something I’ve really grown. My lateral speed and being able to read hitters. Treat it more like you’re attacking the ball instead of just them hitting it to you.”

In July 2024, Hoecke committed to Gophers coach Keegan Cook, who coached her as an assistant on the U-19 national team two summers ago.

Hoecke’s blocking talent will soon be on display in Big Ten women’s volleyball. She plans to graduate from high school early and join the Gophers in the spring.

“I’m super excited,” Hoecke said. “[The Gophers] had a couple unfortunate injuries, but it’s good being able to see how the team and coaches persevered.”