Picking college volleyball All-Star teams, by Michella Chester

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.

WEEK 7 VOLLEYBALL POWER 10: Pitt stays on top, SMU slides into rankings

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 😏 pic.twitter.com/M2SHWamMoZ

— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB) October 15, 2024

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…