The 2018 women’s volleyball season is just about a month and a half away from beginning. As we move closer to its start, how about getting familiar with some more experienced names who are progressing to either junior or (most often) senior seasons and have compiled a heaping of statistics to this point. Below we give you the top five returners to the collegiate game in terms of active stat leaders for a myriad of categories.
Note: All stats and top career leaders are derived from stats.ncaa.org/active_career_leaders
Kills:
In terms of kills, the top 18 from last year were all seniors. That leaves Taylor Louis from Iowa with the most career kills of any active player in the game. Additionally, of the new top 5, all are seniors – as would be the list if it were extended to 10 and even beyond.
- Taylor Louis (Iowa) – 1,534 kills
- Jaali Winters (Creighton) – 1,392 kills
- Amanda Carroll (FGCU) – 1,354 kills
- Carlisa May (Arkansas State) – 1,317 kills
- Carlyle Nusbaum (Lipscomb) – 1,315 kills
NCAA Record: Svetlana Vtyurina (George Washington; 1992-1995) – 3,043 kills
Hitting Percentage:
Middle blockers reign supreme – as expected – in this category, led by Rachel Anderson of Western Kentucky. In fact, all five are middles with the top two also being seniors. Beyond that, Stone and Hillyer are the first players who will be juniors as opposed to seniors in 2018.
- Rachel Anderson (Western Kentucky) – .390
- Alyssa Munlyn (Missouri) – .386
- Ronika Stone (Oregon) – .370
- Kirstie Hillyer (Colorado State) – .351
- Tionna Williams (Wisconsin) – .346
NCAA Record: Chloe Mann (Florida; 2010-2013) – .476
Assists:
A couple of Big Ten setters pop up on this list in what should be quite the race for setters in the conference. FGCU looks to have a high-powered attack with Rick and Carroll (above) as well, as once again all five on the list are seniors-to-be for the fall.
- Samantha Seliger-Swenson (Minnesota) – 4,416 assists
- Sarah Bell (Southern Miss) – 3,921 assists
- Maggie Rick (FGCU) – 3,685 assists
- Haley Templeton (Miami (FL)) – 3,669 assists
- Jordyn Poulter (Illinois) – 3,635 assists
NCAA Record: Tammy Robertson (UAB; 1989-1992) – 6,650 assists
Digs:
There must have been something in the water a few years back when a trio of Missouri Valley liberos stepped on the court, because they made early impacts and now look to be some of the best and most experienced in the country. In fact, they spot three of the top four in career active digs, with all likely to reach the 2,000 dig club – although Pence is already there.
- Courtney Pence (Illinois State) – 2,083 digs
- Emily Butters (Missouri State) – 1,883 digs
- Ryann DeJarld (Notre Dame) – 1,808 digs
- Kendyl Sorge (Northern Iowa) – 1,731 digs
- Gabrielle Eyl (Northeastern) – 1,698 digs
NCAA Record: Lara Newberry (Chattanooga; 2005-2008) – 3,176 digs
Blocks:
Illinois will have an experienced team, so it’s no wonder why they put a few players on these top fives. Bastianelli is the latest as their sultan of swat. Munlyn is also the first to appear twice on this list, as she combines her career blocking prowess with her hitting efficiency.
- Ali Bastianelli (Illinois) – 567 total blocks
- Alyssa Munlyn (Missouri) – 490 total blocks
- Reed Copeland (Wyoming) – 463 total blocks
- Naghede Abu (Colorado) – 448 total blocks
- Claire Martin (Washington State) – 423 total blocks
Congratulations, Kendul Sorge