We're about halfway through the 2024 college volleyball season, and I had some fun creating my own all-star teams. I made two teams, an East and West, with the dividing line running along the easternmost borders of Texas and Nebraska.
This puts teams like Purdue, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Louisville, and Penn State in the East, while teams like Washington, Texas, Stanford, Nebraska, SMU and Arizona State represent the West.
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These are my picks; let's do it.
East All-Star team
Outside Hitter: Jess Mruzik
Outside Hitter: Sarah Franklin
Opposite: Olivia Babcock
Middle Blocker: Sophie Fisher
Middle Blocker: Raven Colvin
Setter: Rachel Fairbanks
Libero: Elena Scott
For the East, I chose Rachel Fairbanks as my setter. She runs one of the most efficient offenses in the country, she's so dynamic — Pitt leads the nation in hitting percentage. This was an easy pick for me.
At libero, I am going with Louisville’s Elena Scott, another easy choice for me. She is one of the best to ever do it, and her numbers are insane.
For my two outsides, I’m picking Wisconsin's Sarah Franklin, the reigning National Player of the Year. Her court vision and shot selection and a great passer. Joining her is Penn State’s Jess Mruzik, averaging 4.55 kills per set and bringing a cannon of an arm and another great passer.
Plenty of great opposites are on this side of the country, including players like Emily Londot and Kennedy Martin, but I’m going with Olivia Babcock at Pitt. She’s nearly unstoppable on offense, and as a bonus, she’s a lethal server.
3rd in the nation in points per set? Not bad, Liv 😏
— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB)
I’m going with Purdue's Raven Colvin and Georgia's Sophie Fischer for my two middles. Colvin is going off this year, averaging nearly 4 points per set, hitting over .400 and ranking second in the nation with 1.7 blocks per set. And Fischer is an offensive middle and a great server, averaging almost 4.5 points per set and 1.4 blocks per set.
Now, let’s shift our focus to the West.
West All-Star team
Outside Hitter: Melanie Parra
Outside Hitter: Madi Skinner
Opposite: Naya Shime
Middle Blocker: Andi Jackson
Middle Blocker: Claire Jeter
Setter: Kami Miner
Libero: Lexi Rodriguez
I struggled to decide between Stanford's Kami Miner and Creighton's Kendra Wait for my setter. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice, but I am going with Miner here. She runs a beautiful offense.
Kami taking care of business 😎
— Stanford Women's Volleyball (@StanfordWVB)
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My two top choices at libero are Nebraska's Lexi Rodriguez and Arizona State's Mary Shroll. Shroll has flashier dig numbers, but I am picking Rodriguez, again, one of the best to do it. She has fewer digs as she is straight-up avoided on the court and one of the best passers in the game.
For my two outsides, it’s hard to pass up on the NCAA’s leading point scorer, Melanie Parra from TCU. She leads the country in both points and kills per set and can take over any match.
And while stats are great, I’m picking Madi Skinner all day, every day. A three-time national champion and one of the best competitors I’ve ever seen. Elia Rubin was another strong contender for this spot as well.
I am going to take SMU’s Naya Shime as my opposite. She can control how a game goes and puts up great numbers against some of the country's top teams, blockers and passers.
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Lastly, I am taking Nebraska’s Andi Jackson as my first middle. She is just an electric player out of the middle, hitting .471 this season.
ANDI JACKSON IS HER. BIG RED IN FRONT. TIMEOUT, PURDUE.
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB)
For my second, I was torn between Texas' Mariana Singletary and Arizona State's Claire Jeter. I am taking Jeter, given her experience and strong offensive numbers. She has scored over 3 points per set and is hitting over .455 this season. She has a great Volleyball IQ and is tough to defend.
