My 2015 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball regular season awards
10 players I watched in-person and/or on TV this season who wowed me
2015 is the year I finally got into volleyball. Specifically, NCAA Division I women’s volleyball.
I wasn’t a fan from the start of the season, though. It wasn’t until midway through the Michigan Challenge that I found out my family had 3 season tickets to University of Michigan women’s volleyball. By that point, Michigan had already played and won their first 7 non-conference games: the Michigan Invitational (3–1 vs. George Washington, 3–0 vs. Oakland, and 3–0 vs. West Virginia), the Ohio Invitational (3–1 “vs.” Xavier at the host Ohio University’s gym, 3–1 “vs.” LSU, and 3–2 at Ohio), and the first game of the Michigan Challenge (3–0 vs. Western Michigan). I knew nothing about all those wins nor Michigan’s history in women’s volleyball nor really anything about women’s volleyball at all other than the fact that Penn State had been dominating lately, especially with star setter Micha Hancock, who had just graduated, leaving a potential power vacuum — sure enough, that power vacuum got filled by several B1G schools along with some opportunistic Pac-12 schools, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Heading into Cliff Keen Arena to watch Michigan play South Carolina, all I knew was that one of my sisters was on her high school’s varsity volleyball team and would be able to explain things to me.
What followed was a decently entertaining, but moreso engrossing experience. Cliff Keen Arena is a fairly intimate gym, with a student section of bleachers behind the team benches and media table, opposite of which is the VIP section along with some general seating and the entrance/exit (with the court in between of course); on the other ends (north and south if what I just mentioned are east and west) are general seating all the way down to ground level behind where one team will be serving, opposite of which is some general seating on top of a padded wall along with seating for the University of Michigan volleyball band in the corner. It’s an old building without much air conditioning, so that body heat sure builds up, and if you want you can get a seat very close to the players — definitely in danger of being hit by the ball, especially during warmups — not to mention it’s usually a polite enough atmosphere for any chant you want to start to be heard. Of course, the student section sometimes shows up, and if they’re slacking or absent, the band will lead the way, but nobody’s overly hostile, perhaps recognizing that the athletes on the court won’t have the privilege to go on and play for some professional league where they can make a living salary after college. This is the peak of most of their volleyball careers, except for the Olympic hopefuls on a national team or those planning on pursuing a career in beach volleyball — which, thankfully, seems like a growing, viable career path, especially with the NCAA finally sanctioning women’s beach volleyball for this upcoming spring 2016 season. And so that cozy atmosphere for a sport that may be low stakes in the long term, yet is of immense importance to the present lives of these young women makes for a compelling viewing experience, at least for someone such as myself, who can’t help but fall for sports narratives.
Michigan beat South Carolina 3–0 that night. The Wolverines would go on to beat Pittsburgh 3–1 to perform their 3rd preseason tourney sweep in as many appearances, before splitting the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with a 3–0 win at Duke but a 0–3 loss at North Carolina — who ended up with a solid regular season, finishing #22 with a 20–9 record, 17–3 in the ACC. Still, with Michigan 10–1 at the end of their nonconference schedule, I figured it was looking like a good season. And even though I missed that home win vs. Pitt, I made sure to attend the B1G opener vs. then-#20 Purdue. We lost 0–3, a far cry from that night vs. South Carolina, and I didn’t realize it yet then, but that game was a wake-up call for people who believed any other conference — save for maybe the Pac-12, though we’ll see about that during the national championship tournament — could compare with the B1G. Michigan would go on to have a roller coaster of a B1G schedule, splitting wins with Indiana (disappointingly), Michigan State — the win of which occurred at home, when Michigan came back from down 0–2 to win 3–2 in what has so far been the most exciting volleyball game I’ve ever attended — Penn State (always impressive), Ohio State, and Illinois. If it wasn’t for that disappointing loss in the 2nd-to-last game of the B1G schedule at Indiana, Michigan would have finished with a .500 conference record, but I guess you could play countless iterations of the if game, and so I have to accept that Michigan finished the regular season with a 9–11 conference record, 19–12 overall (yes, the B1G is that good).
During that B1G schedule, I tried to attend as many home games as possible, only missing the 3–1 win vs. Rutgers (which I decided to watch on TV instead), the 3–0 win vs. Maryland, and the 0–3 loss vs. #11 Wisconsin (which I guess I should be glad to have missed). Here’s how the full list of Michigan women’s volleyball games I attended during the 2015 season turned out:
- Friday, September 11, 2015, 3–0 vs. South Carolina
- Friday, September 25, 2015, 0–3 vs. #20 Purdue
- Saturday, September 26, 2015, 3–1 vs. Indiana
- Saturday, October 3, 2015, 3–2 vs. Michigan State
- Wednesday, October 21, 2015, 2–3 vs. #5 Penn State
- Saturday, October 24, 2015, 1–3 vs. #6 Ohio State
- Saturday, November 21, 2015, 1–3 vs. #6 Nebraska (in Crisler Center)
- Friday, November 27, 2015, 3–1 vs. #18 Illinois
Over the course of watching all of those games in-person as well as a handful of B1G conference games on the Big Ten Network, a decent amount of players have caught my attention. And so, with the regular season just completed (and no conference tournaments in NCAA women’s volleyball), I’d like to give a shoutout to 10 of those players, some who have just been my favorites to watch and others who I can’t help but give props for their outstanding skill.
My favorite 2015 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball players I’ve seen so far
Carly Warner, Setter, Michigan, #8, Senior
What can I say? Carly’s my favorite player on Michigan, and I’m truly bummed that I only got to watch her for her final season — although she only appeared sparingly in her first 2 seasons before making the transition from rotational player to starter as a junior.
The setter is a volleyball team’s on-court brain — with the coach(es) the brain on the bench — and Carly’s departure will surely mean that Michigan will look and feel different next year. Sure, head coach Mark Rosen has eased true freshman Maddy Abbott — yes, that Abbott’s daughter — into the rotation this season, so that when she inevitably is forced into the starting setter role she’ll have some experience, but Maddy is definitely a work-in-progress, while Carly is the only Wolverine to have appeared in every set this season, and for good reason: her setting ability is incredible and maybe even underrated — 9th in the B1G in assists and 10th in assists per set with 922 and 8.09 respectively, all while splitting reps with Maddy, who has 99 sets to Carly’s 114 and yet only 401 assists, for a 4.05 average — and her commitment to defense as shown by a willingness and ability to dive for digs — of which she has 307 total, 2.69 per set — is unrivaled on this Michigan squad, as far as I’ve seen. Carly’s also usually first in the rotation to serve, although I’m not convinced that she’s our best server, as she does a solid job but can be prone to service errors — 13 aces to 46 errors.
Hopefully Michigan qualifies for the national championship tournament and Carly gets to make another run on national TV like during her freshman year when that team made it to the Final Four. She didn’t sound like she has a real idea of what she’s doing after graduation, and her major was general studies, but I’ll be wishing her the best.
Cori Crocker, Middle Blocker, Michigan, #16, Freshman
As a true freshman MB on a team that has plenty of them — though none who are consistently impressive, apart from Abby Cole, who has recently been converting into an OH — Crocker hasn’t appeared in a single set this season. However, I’ve loved what I’ve seen of her during warmups and on the sideline. Even as one of the youngest members of the team and one who’s basically irrelevant this year, Crocker is a commanding presence. She spikes harder in warmups than any other player, as if to prove herself, and is often the most vocal and animated while standing in-game with the team by the bench. During the recent Senior Night vs. #18 Illinois, Crocker was even the lone player on the sideline audibly shouting words of encouragement to her on-court teammates — it was easier to be heard than usual, since the student section and band were likely preparing for The Game, which started 18 hours later, and even though this last home game of the volleyball season was sold out, the crowd was unbearably polite — suggesting that a captain role may be in Crocker’s future, if not as a sophomore making her debut then at least as a junior.
Standing 6'3" and with the aforementioned powerful spikes, Crocker will be a welcome addition next season, as this Michigan squad seems undersized and underpowered, one of the least intimidating front lines in the big bad B1G.
Dessaa Legros, Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter, South Carolina, #3, Junior
This is probably more of a nostalgic favorite than any other; regardless, the most dynamic player I noticed at my first ever NCAA Division I women’s volleyball game was Legros. Simply put, her jumps and spikes looked as explosive as a basketball player. And as a guy who played basketball from 3rd grade through 12th, I can really appreciate that skillset.
In fact, I’m surprised that more women’s volleyball players don’t look that way, considering how many also played basketball in high school — the aforementioned Abby Cole is even going to suit up for Michigan’s women’s basketball team after the conclusion of her volleyball season. I have a feeling that, like most if not all women’s sports, volleyball is in its infancy, but particularly when it comes to athleticism. Once volleyball becomes a more legitimate career choice, I expect to see even more women devote their lives to it — granted, like soccer, volleyball already has great youth participation rates among girls — and the emergence of athletic freaks, such as those that you see in the NFL or NBA. Legros is one of the only players I’ve seen this year who looks like she could belong in that future.
Haleigh Washington, Middle Blocker, Penn State #15, Sophomore
Even though I only started following NCAA Division I women’s volleyball towards the end of the nonconference schedule of this 2015 season, I caught a few games last year too, particularly during Penn State’s run to a 2nd straight national championship. And the single player who caught my attention back then was Haleigh Washington.
Maybe I initially fell for the short hair, but the fact that Haleigh was already a force as a 6'3" freshman MB made her exciting to watch. She ended up as the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and headed into this 2015 season as a Preseason All-Big Ten. And even if Haleigh isn’t the offensive focal point (yet) on a team that features senior OH Megan Courtney and redshirt senior OH/MB Aiyana Whitney, Haleigh is 1st in the B1G in solo blocks, 4th in assisted blocks, 3rd in total blocks, and 2nd in blocks per set, cementing her status as a defensive wall. I have a feeling that, once Courtney and Whitney graduate, Haleigh will be forced to lead the Nittany Lions in kills as well, at which point she may become a national player of the year candidate (as a junior!).
Sure, it’s been a bit of a let-off for defending back-to-back national champions Penn State, but that isn’t so surprising considering the caliber of the player they lost in Micha Hancock, one of the greatest servers I’ve ever seen, as well as the long-time server, which is a big deal to replace, as I’ve mentioned. Redshirt freshman Bryanna Weiskircher (more on her in a sec) has performed valiantly in Micha’s stead, but you can only ask for so much, and so Penn State finished the regular season #7 at 26–5, 15–5 in the B1G, in which they finished 4th — after an end-of-season loss at #5 Nebraska that could have given the Nittany Lions a share of 2nd in the B1G if they’d won. I think the future looks bright in Happy Valley, though, with Haleigh and Bryanna suggesting a return to the promised land if not this season then next and/or the one after.
On a final note, I always appreciate Haleigh’s enthusiasm on the court. She celebrates positive plays — of her own or her teammates’ — with such swagger that I have to believe she motivates everyone returning to that mid-play huddle throughout the game. I have an instinctual aversion to dynasties — other than teams I support — so I don’t want to see Penn State continue to win national championships, but it’s hard to root against Haleigh.
The standout 2015 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball players I’ve seen so far
Bryanna Weiskircher, Setter, Penn State, #21, Redshirt Freshman
In her debut season, Bryanna has had the impossible task of replacing Micha. Thankfully, she has legendary head coach Russ Rose to help her avoid that temptation and instead flower into her own player. And what a player that is.
With a wicked one-step hop, Bryanna leads the B1G in service aces (39) while tied for 11th with those fellow acers in total sets, for a comfortable lead of 0.37 aces per set. Might not be Micha’s far-out build-up to a towering jump into a booming spike, but it’s already the best in the NCAA’s best Division I conference. Michigan almost upset Penn State when the Nittany Lions were #5 and visiting Cliff Keen Arena, only for Bryanna to clinch the 5th set with an assassin’s display of aces and forced errors off the serve — thankfully Michigan won the next time they faced off.
Bryanna’s setting is some of the best in the B1G too — though it probably doesn’t hurt to have so many weapons to assist; in fact, if the advanced stat tallying whether a setter has 0–3 attacking options per set was publicly available for every team, I’d bet Bryanna would be at or near the top. In her 105 sets, she has 1128 assists (5th in the B1G) for a 10.74 average (also 5th). (If you noticed, I haven’t mentioned any national rankings for statistics, mainly because the conferences are so imbalanced that it’s just not fair or overly helpful.)
Facing Penn State for these 4 years with Bryanna is going to be just short of a nightmare, especially when she’s serving. If Michigan can continue to split the series with them, I’ll consider that a total success.
Ashley Evans, Setter, Purdue, #5, Redshirt Sophomore
Evans probably holds the record for the sweatiest player I’ve seen this season. Kudos to her for that work rate, though, which is essential for a setter, a role that she performs very well. She finished that game I attended — when Purdue was #20 and visiting Cliff Keen Arena to kick off the B1G conference schedule — with 37 assists (most for either team) and 11 digs (tied with Devin Gardner’s favorite Michigan player, Caroline Knop).
I didn’t watch enough of Purdue outside of that game to see much more of Evans, nor does Purdue seem to share their stats — though they do share their player’s playlists — but her performance against us was so dominant that I have to commend her.
Annie Drews, Outside Hitter, Purdue, #18, Senior
Another Purdue player, so again, I can’t boast about her stats, but Drews is a 6'4" OH with a body seemingly engineered to produce thundering spikes and intimidating blocks. She puts the “women” in women’s volleyball. (And she seems to be more into classic rock than Evans.)
That almost unfair physical advantage was probably most apparent when she recorded 33 kills last season against Western Kentucky, becoming the only Boilermaker to post more than 30 during the rally scoring era (c. 2001). In the game I attended this season, Drews had “only” 14 kills, tied for the most of either team with Michigan’s Adeja Lambert, who frustratingly shows glimpses of promise as a hard-hitting OH — especially recently on Senior Night, when Adeja as an OH and CK as a back row attacker proved a lethal combo until the final set or so — only to not see much playing time.
Brooke Kranda, Middle Blocker/Opposite Hitter, Michigan State, #13, Redshirt Sophomore
Kranda is a similarly intimidating giantess to Drews, except she’s only a redshirt sophomore! Kranda stands a 6'6" that’s more powerful than awkward, but she hasn’t seen as much playing time as I’d expect from such a force. Maybe when she acquires more fitness and/or experience, Michigan State will make her a regular.
Even without breaking 100 sets, Kranda’s still managed to dominate. In 89 sets, she’s accumulated 272 kills, good for a 3.06 average that’s 11th in the B1G. I don’t look forward to seeing more of her the next 2 years.
Elizabeth Campbell, Outside Hitter, Ohio State, #14, Senior
I haven’t gushed about looks much in this post so far — even though Carly is ridiculously cute and I’m such a fan of Haleigh’s hair, not to mention Bryanna approaching femme fatale status in terms of looks combined with danger — but I have to get this out of the way: Campbell is gorgeous. Born in Venezuela, Campbell has somehow managed to maintain her tan in Columbus, Ohio — by way of Durham, NC, where she transferred from Duke — and she wears her long brunette hair messily tied back. She may not have been as sweaty as Ashley Evans in the game I attended, but her face was streaked with sweat and strands of her hair sticking to her skin, and yet she seemed unperturbed, always flashing a friendly smile to the ballboy/girl before unleashing a dangerous serve.
For some reason, Ohio State’s player statistics aren’t on the B1G statistical leaders page, but fortunately those stats are on each individual player’s school profile page, letting us know that Campbell has 434 kills in 119 sets, for a 3.65 average. That would place her 2nd in the B1G for total kills, behind only Daly Santana (more on her in a sec), and 3rd in average. She racked up 17 kills against us in the 1–3 loss I attended— when Ohio State was #6 — which was the most of either team.
Daly Santana, Outside Hitter, Minnesota, #1, Senior
Daly fully deserves to wear that #1 because she’s the best player I’ve seen this year, and may very well be the best player in the country — though she’s actually Puerto Rican and has already represented her country’s national team in competitions. She’s a 4 year starter with such a deadly combination of power and accuracy, not only from her usual OH spot but also as the most dangerous back row attacker I’ve seen. I almost feel regretful that I missed out on her the past few years — like with Carly — except that I know I’ll enjoy watching Daly in the upcoming Olympics.
She leads the B1G in kills by a ridiculous amount — 497 total with an incomparable average of 4.44 per set — and has a respectable amount of service aces — 36 (4th in the B1G) with an average of 0.32 (tied for 4th) — and digs — 319 (11th) with an average of 2.85 (14th).
Daly’s amount of kills is so head & shoulders above the rest of the B1G that I just had to look up how they rank nationally: turns out she’s 16th in kills per set, but only 3 players ahead of her play for ranked teams — USC, BYU, and UCLA — of which only 2 play in a comparable conference — USC and UCLA in the Pac-12. We’ll have to see how well Samantha Bricio, senior OH on USC with 578 kills in 114 sets for a 5.07 average (tied for 3rd), or Jordan Anderson, junior OH on UCLA with 485 kills in 108 sets for a 4.49 average (15th), do in the national championship tourney. I’d be willing to bet that Daly is better than both of them, and her 24–4 #4 Minnesota Golden Gophers just might support her far enough to make the deep run necessary to warrant player of the tournament consideration.
Honorable Mention
Sarah Wilhite, Outside Hitter, Minnesota, #8, Junior
I just want to give a special shoutout to a player who’s becoming one of my favorites the more I see her. In my eyes, Wilhite is Minnesota’s 2nd most dangerous hitter — only behind the inimitable Daly — and considering they just finished atop the best conference in NCAA Division I, that’s worth looking into.
Wilhite alternates between this focused look that you can see in the photo above and a smile that breaks out briefly while she’s celebrating or not in the middle of a point. She seems to be in her own world much like Carly, which makes her another interesting player for me. Hopefully Wilhite can support Daly en route to a Final Four; they’d be worth watching.
I’ll write a follow-up post after watching the national championship tournament, during which I’ll finally be able to see teams outside of the B1G (other than South Carolina), of which there’s bound to be plenty more players who dazzle me. Hopefully tonight’s Selection Show doesn’t disappoint!
