Making Your Presence Felt in Division I Volleyball
You don't have to observe Missouri/Kansas high school volleyball for long to see the greatly disproportionate number of our athletes competing at the highest and most competitive collegiate levels.
I have become a fan of volleyball. There is a reason 800 million people worldwide play the game at least once a week. To be sure, it’s not just a game for women and girls. Men’s volleyball is growing rapidly at all levels. It is interesting that males are joining the volleyball world in large numbers. After all, the game was invented for them. A history of the sport deserves its own space, but let me digress for a bit. In 1895, a contemporary of James Naismith invented the game of volleyball when he intentionally combined aspects of basketball, tennis, handball, and baseball. William Morgan invented the game in Holyoke, Massachusetts just eight miles North of where his friend invented basketball.
Like all sports, volleyball has evolved into today’s game. While some rules are old, like the “three hit” rule instituted in 1916, there has been a plethora of rule changes since the 1990’s. The Libero position was instituted in 1998. Interestingly, liberos were finally allowed to be a team captain in 2022. Serving rules where changed in 2001, allowing the serve to touch the net as it goes over. The rally scoring rule provided a significant change. Now, a point is awarded after every rally. Prior to the change, only the serving team could score. A little known rule was put in place in 1996. Following that change, the ball can come into contact with any part of the player’s body. Soccer style “headers” are legal. Kicking the ball is legal. During my tenure as a volleyball game announcer (I was blessed to announce when some incredible talent was on the floor), I wasn’t aware of a 2022 rule change directly affecting me at courtside. It is now legal for volleyball players to jump over the score table. I will leave it to future announcers to deal with that one.
And now on to what our local talent is doing in NCAA Division I.
Without any attempt at a metaphor, this area is crushing it throughout the country. The country has taken notice. That is reflected in the programs who want to attract our athletes. There are 180 athletes playing Division I Volleyball. And significantly all are playing, usually most of the time. And they are doing so beginning as freshmen. Those 180 athletes come from 102 high schools and are on rosters at 94 colleges and universities. They blanket the nation as evidenced by competing in 29 of the 32 conferences. Are they in the dominant Big Ten? Yes, eight play there. Southeastern Conference? There are 19 there, and not just home state Missouri, but seven of their schools. Ivy’s? three of those eight. Stanford to Saint Louis University to the University of Delaware. Everywhere.
But, can those schools play volleyball? It’s difficult to get on a 14 player roster for a top team. Of this week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 poll, this area provides 13 of those programs with 33 players.
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At the end of this article you will find a link to a spreadsheet containing 27 offensive and defensive statistics.
As you look through the following highlights please note how difficult it is to lead in a statistical category as an underclassman. Here are the area leaders in some key statistics. The data is as of 9/25/2023:
Digs per Set (Min. of 35 sets)
5.51-Tara Beilsmith - Graduate Student - St. Joseph’s Academy-Southeast Missouri State Univ .- Ohio Valley Conference
Tara is 2nd in the Ohio Valley Conference and 7th in NCAA Division I in Digs per Set.
4.76 - Brooke Stonestreet - Junior - De Soto-KS - Iowa State Univ - Big 12 Conference
Brooke is 2nd in the Big 12 Conference in Digs per Set.
4.57 - Ashlyn Lovett - Junior - St. James Academy - Georgia Southern University- Sun Belt Conference
Ashlyn is 2nd in the Sun Belt Conference in Digs per Set
4.47 - Paige Lynn - Junior-RS - St. Francis Borgia - Univ. of South Alabama - Sun Belt Conference
Paige is 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference in Digs per Set.
4.32 - Ellie Bolton - Senior - St. James Academy - Creighton University - Big East Conference
Ellie is 3rd in the Big East Conference in Digs per Set.
4.32 - Carlie Rodgers - Senior - Lindbergh - Saint Louis University - Big East Conference
Kills per Set (Min. of 35 sets)
5.55 - Kayley Cassaday - Graduate Student - Blue Valley North - Univ. of Tulsa - American Athletic Conference
Kayley is 1st in the American Athletic Conference and 2nd in NCAA Division I in Kills per Set.
4.16 - Jillian Gillen - Graduate Student - Barstow - Univ. of Arkansas - Southeastern Conference
Jillian is 1st in the Southeastern Conference in Kills per Set.
4.16 - Ava Martin - Sophomore - St. Thomas Aquinas - Creighton Univ. - Big East Tournament
Ava is 2nd in the Big East Conference in Kills per Set.
3.91 - Mikayla Powell - Graduate Student - Raymore-Peculiar - Austin Peay Univ. - ASUN Conference
Mikayla is 1st in the ASUN Conference in Kills per Set.
3.68 - Keyana Cruse - Junior - Bonner Springs - Western Illinois Univ. - Summit League
Keyana is 1st in the Summit League in Kills per Set.
Assists per Set (Min. of 35 sets)
11.44 - Addison Beagle - Sophomore - Liberty North - Drake University - Missouri Valley Conference
Addison is 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference i and 2nd in NCAA Division I in Assists per Set.
10.63 - Camryn Turner - Junior - Seaman - Univ. of Kansas - Big 12 Conference
Camryn is 2nd in the Big 12 Conference in Assists per Set.
10.57 - Torri Henry - Senior - St. Teresa’s Academy - Stony Brook University - Colonial Athletic Association
Torri is 2nd in the Colonial Athletic Association in Assists per Set.
10.51 - Sydney Draper - Freshman - Pembroke Hill - Princeton University - Ivy League
Sydney is 1st in the Ivy League in Assists per Set.
10.44 - Alyssa Miller - Junior - Blue Valley West - Univ. of Dayton - Atlantic-10 Conference
Alyssa is 2nd in the Atlantic-10 Conference in Assists per Set.
Blocks per Set (Min. of 35 Sets)
1.35 - Andi Kreiling - Junior - Kearney - Univ. of California-Santa Barbara - Big West Conference
Andi is 2nd in the Big West Conference in Blocks per Set.
1.23 - Morgan Isenberg - Junior - Lafayette-Wildwood - Univ of Missouri - Southeastern Conference
1B.15 - Kennedy Davis - Senior - O’Fallon Christian - Tennessee State Univ. - Ohio Valley Conference
Kennedy is 1st in the Ohio Valley Conference in Blocks per Set.
1.09 - Kelsey Watson - Senior - Cor Jesu Academy - Utah State University - Mountain West Conference
1.07 - Caroline Crawford - Senior - Lansing - Univ. of Wisconsin - Big Ten Conference
Points per Set (Min. of 35 Sets)
5.87 - Kayley Cassaday - Graduate Student - Blue Valley North - University of Tulsa - American Athletic Conference
Kayley is 1st in the American Athletic Conference and 3rd in NCAA Division I in Points per Set.
4.39 - Mikayla Powell - Graduate Student - Raymore-Peculiar - Austin Peay University - ASUN Conference
Mikayla is 1st in the ASUN Conference in Points per Set.
4.35 - Ava Martin - Sophomore - St. Thomas Aquinas - Creighton University - Big East Conference
4.11 - Keyana Cruse - Junior - Bonner Springs - Western Illinois University - Ohio Valley Conference
Keyana is 3rd in the Ohio Valley Conference in Points per Set.
3.91 - Odyssey Warren - Senior - Lee’s Summit West - Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City - Summit League
Odyssey is 2nd in the Summit League in Points per Set.
3.91 - Emily Henken - Senior - Cor Jesu Academy - Saint Louis University - Atlantic-10 Conference
Hitting Percentage (Min. of 250 Attempts)
.343 - Julia Brooks - Senior - Parkway North - Troy University - Sun Belt Conference
Julia is 4th in the Sun Belt Conference in Hitting Percentage
.306 - Aubrey Lapour - Junior - Blue Springs South - Bryant University - American East Conference
Audrey is 4th in the American East Conference in Hitting Percentage
.302 - Azyah Green - Senior - Kickapoo - Missouri State University - Missouri Valley Conference
.296 - Rebecca Janke - Senior - Rolla-MO - Lindenwood University - Ohio Valley Conference
.279 - Kayley Cassaday - Graduate Student - Blue Valley North - Univ. of Tulsa - American Athletic Conference
Receiving Percentage (Min. of 150 Attempts)
.973 - Juliette Myrick - Freshman - Eureka-MO - Army - Patriot League
.970 - Harper Snyder - Senior - Lee’s Summit - Colgate - Patriot League
.964 - Brooke Stonestreet - Junior - De Soto-KS - Iowa State University - Big 12 Conference
.963 - Rachel Fairbanks - Graduate Student - Lansing - Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha - Summit League
.959 - Blair Taylor - Sophomore - Maur Hill-Mount Academy - Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City - Summit League
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Attached below is a spreadsheet with 27 offensive and defensive statistics for each of these 180 Division I Volleyball athletes. The data is as of 9/25/2023
