Top 12 college volleyball impact freshmen in 2023 — so far

Here is the breakdown of Michella Chester's top 12 freshmen — in no particular order — who are making waves in the 2023 season. 

Nebraska: Harper Murray, OH | Andi Jackson MB | Bergen Reilly, S 

Nothing says freshmen impact like a trio of first years in the starting lineup of the No. 2 team in the country. The Huskers' thrilling success this season can largely be attributed to these three standouts. There's Harper Murray on the outside, with 184 kills on .293 hitting. In the middle, Andi Jackson presents an offensive threat, hitting a whopping .404 this season and connecting well with setter, and fellow freshman, Bergen Reilly. Reilly has 541 assists on a Huskers team hitting .293.

Pitt: Olivia Babcock, RS | Torrey Stafford, OH

A freshman duo headlines No. 8 Pitt's continued stance in the top 10. Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford have five ACC honors between them and have helped their squad to a .305 hitting percentage on the season. Babcock's killer jump serve has reaped 19 aces this season and her 189 kills lead the team. Stafford won the OH position and is a threat at 177 kills,

Tor gets her 10th kill, and Clemson calls a timeout! Time to finish it out.

Pitt - 21
Clemson - 17

— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB)
 

Chloe Chicoine | Purdue OH

Another week leading the league. is the Big Ten Freshman of the Week! 🏅

☝️ Led all Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 players with 5.83 points per set AND 1.00 ace per set
⚡️ Averaged a .349 attack % and 4.67 kills per set

— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB)

Chicoine has been turning heads over at Purdue as the Boilermakers produce yet another standout freshman. The outside hitter's stats are impressive with 257 kills on .266 hitting and 22 aces. Coach Dave Shondell said she was unlike any high school player he had ever seen. Against one of the best defenses in the country, the standout hit almost .360 with 18 kills and 7 digs in the five-set loss to Nebraska. 

Kennedy Martin  —  Florida OH

It's no coincidence that the year Martin showed up, Florida surged into the top 10. Winning the AVCA National Player of the Week award in the first week of the season, Kennedy is the only freshman on this list to have claimed the honor this season. The 6-foot-6 player averages 4.7 points per set.

Maggie Li |California OH

The California outside has been named the Pac-12 Volleyball Freshman of the Week four times this season and made conference history by earning three consecutive Pac-12 honors to start the season. Interim head Li has a strong passion for the sport and is always looking for ways to improve her game. The star rookie is averaging over 4.7 points per set.

Jurnee Robinson |LSU OH

The outside Tiger made her collegiate debut in epic fashion with two 20-plus point back-to-back performances. Since then, Robinson has been a strong point for LSU against tough opponents with 4.5 points per set while hitting .270 on the season and averaging four kills per set.

Anja Kujundzic | VCU L

Another week, another award. Anja Kujundzic is the Defensive Player of the Week! She averaged 7.0 digs per set in three matches!

— VCU Volleyball (@VCUvolleyball)

The Serbian native has just collected back-to-back Atlantic 10 awards after averaging seven digs per set in three matches. The standout has five digs per set and has led her team to a .166 opponent-hitting percentage. 

Eva Rohrbach | Maryland MB

Another star middle makes it onto the list, Rohrbach is an absolute wall at the net as well as a big threat offensively, hitting over .380 this year. Rohrbach had six blocks in the upset over Minnesota recently and in the Terps' sweep over Howard hit .800 with no errors.

Angelina Sayles |Citadel OH

The Citadel has not lost this season and star freshman Angelina Sayles's 30 aces definitely have something to do with it.  
Sayles produces offensively and poses a major threat in the front and back row. 

👀➡️ But that's not all...

Here are a few more freshmen making impacts: Kyndal Stowers at Baylor, Grace Lopez at Miami, Sydney Bold at Princeton, Mia Lee at BYU, Nayeli Gonzalez at Iowa State and Panna Ratkai at Purdue Fort Wayne.