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.
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