10 freshmen making a splash in DII women's volleyball this season

The DII women’s volleyball season is in full swing. While there are many familiar faces atop the national rankings, there are many fresh faces already making big names for themselves.

Some are hitters and some are setters, but all of these fabulous freshmen are making an immediate impact for both their teams and the stat sheets. Let’s take a look at a few freshmen that are making a splash through the first month of the season.

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Rayishon Jackman, Emporia State, OH. Jackman, who played for New Taipei City in Taiwan prior to coming to the Hornets, has made an immediate impact on the team. The Hornets are off to their best start since 2010, and Jackman already has a MIAA offensive player of the week honor to her name. She is ranked No. 16 in DII in points per set (4.87), top 10 in kills per set (4.53), No. 6 with 12.40 attacks per set and she leads the MIAA in both total points and total kills.

Makenna Cox, Illinois Springfield, OH. After redshirting her true freshman year at Missouri Western, Cox has taken the GLVC by storm. With Cox now a part of the rotation, the Prairie Stars have already matched last season’s win total in just 12 matches. Cox is second in the GLVC in total points and kills per set and she leads all DII freshmen with 4.93 points per set, ranks 18th in attacks per set with 11.46 and is 11th in DII with 4.40 kills per set.

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Alayna Santel, Missouri St. Louis, RH. UMSL has become quite the force in DII women’s volleyball. The Tritons have made the national semifinals in each of the past two seasons. Perhaps that makes it more impressive that Santel has quickly established herself as one of the leaders on this team. She is currently top 10 in both kills per set and total points in the GLVC.

Elena Kasavica, Quincy, S. The freshman from Belgrade, Serbia has truly assisted in Quincy’s red-hot 13-1 start. Bad puns aside, Kasavica leads the GLVC in assists and is second in assists per set with 11.81. That also has her No. 6 in all DII, which is quite impressive for a “rookie.” Kasavica already has a GLVC setter of the week award and if she keeps up her pace, there are likely any more in her future.

Gaby Fernandez, Goldey-Beacom, Libero. The Lightning had a new coach entering 2024 coming off an 0-20 season last year. Now, they aren't climbing the national rankings just yet, but the Lightning are a much-improved 7-7 through the first month of the season. Head coach Alexa Poss isn't the only factor, as Fernandez has been rather instrumental in this massive turnaround. She already has a CACC rookie of the week honor and is second in the conference with 5.09 digs per set, a mark that has her ranked 28th in all DII. 

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Madi Hathaway, Queens (NY), S/RS. Hathaway leads all DII women's volleyballers in triple doubles with six. She also has a season high — and program record — with 13 service aces in a 3-0 victory over Holy Family on Sept. 25. The 5-foot-10 setter is quickly building quite the trophy case: Hathaway already has two ECC player of the week honors and three rookie of the week honors.

Talia Emmen, Shaw, OH. The Bears made program history a year ago, winning their first-ever DII women's volleyball championship tournament match. Emmen is a new addition but is certainly doing what she can to help the Bears get back to the tourney and win more matches along the way. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter won the CIAA rookie of the week in her collegiate debut with a 10-kill, 13-dig performance during Shaw's opening weekend. She currently leads the CIAA in hitting percentage (.382), kills (3.86 per set) and points per set (4.43), which ranks her No. 41 in all DII.

Tory Vitko, Bentley, S/RS. Tory's older sister Rachel is also on the Falcons — and the duo has helped Bentley soar to the top of the NE10 standings. Tory leads the team in assists and is second in digs, and even recorded her first career triple double on Sept. 14 with 11 kills, 25 assists, and 14 digs, making her one of just 11 DII players to achieve the feat this season. 

Molly Romano, Wayne State (Neb), S. The 5-foot-9 setter joins one of the best programs in DII women's volleyball in arguably the toughest conference in the nation... and is fitting in just fine. She is currently third in a loaded NSIC with 11.28 assists per set, which is a top-15 mark in all DII. 

Sydney Thein, Southwest Minnesota State, S. Thein is a redshirt freshman, but having not played at all last year, she makes the cut as the last entry on our list. The Mustangs are now a top-5 team in DII behind a perfect 13-0 record, and Thein has done her fair share to help. Thein has been the NSIC setter of the week two weeks running, which is impressive with the amount of talent in the conference. She is second in the conference in assists (her 11.66 are also sixth in all DII) and 14th in digs.

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