Freshman Watch by Steve Callihan
As the season goes on, I’ll be following notable NCAA Women’s Volleyball freshmen players who are either starting or in their teams’ regular rotations. This week, I’ll be focusing on hitters (outsides and opposites), listing those I think are the most worthy of watching, while coming to a rough ranking of their performances so far. In the coming weeks, I’ll be looking at other positions as well.
Attackers (outsides and opposites – Min. 20 sets, .200 hit%)
1. Krista Vansant (UW): 31 sets, 111 kills, 3.21 k/set, .316 hit%, 10/15 SA/SE, .26 blocks/set, 1.97 digs/set, 4.16 pts/set
2. Jane Croson (UH): 40 sets, 140 kills, 3.50 k/set, .257 hit%, 15/22 SA/SE, .23 blocks/set, 2.85 digs/set, 4.01 pts/set
3. Summer Ross (UW): 30 sets, 52 kills, 1.73 k/set, .323 hit%, 12/7 SA/SE, .44 blocks/set, 2.03 digs/set, 2.57 pts/set
4. Crystal Graff (Wisc): 38 sets, 100 kills, 2.63 k/set, .233 hit%, 5/10 SA/SE, .25 blocks/set, 2.42 digs/set, 3.01 pts/set
5. Nia Grant (PSU): 33 sets, 44 kills, 1.33 k/set, .319 hit%, 0/0 SA/SE, .5 blocks/set, 0.06 digs/set, 1.83 pts/set
Note: Haley Eckerman (TX), Khat Bell (TX), and Madison Kingdon (AZ) were not included, due to hitting only .183, .187, and .198 on the season so far.
Vansant is ranked #1 primarily due to having a higher hitting percentage and points per set (.316 and 4.16) than Croson (.257 and 4.01). Croson has the highest digs per set (2.85) of the group, while Vansant is fourth on the list (1.97), pointing to Croson as the better backrow player. On the other hand, Vansant is marginally the better blocker (.26 vs. .23 blocks/set).
It is important to note, however, that Washington’s schedule has not been as strong as Hawaii’s, although that will change as the Huskies get further into their Pac-12 season. Looking at common opponents, at home against LBSU, Croson had a higher hitting percentage (.452 vs. .146), but lower kills per set (3.2 vs. 4) than Vansant, who faced LBSU on the road. Against UCLA at home, Vansant had the higher hitting percentage (.182 vs. .135) and kills per set (3.4 vs. 2.5) than Croson, who also faced UCLA at home. An additional common opponent will be added next week, when Washington faces Arizona on the road. Against the Wildcats at home, Croson hit .111, with 2.4 kills per set. All in all, it looks like there could be a neck-and-neck race all year between the two for Freshman of the Year. (FOY).
Summer Ross comes in with the highest hitting percentage (.323) and service ace/error ratio (12/7), and the second highest blocks per set (.44 vs. .5 for Nia Grant) of those listed, but is next to last in kills per set (1.73). The latter is partly due to her currently being the fourth option among Washington’s hitters (behind Vansant, Munoz, and Rowland), but also because she is still transitioning from the beach to the indoor game which have different hitting styles. She is more of a location hitter than a power hitter and makes the broadest contribution in areas other than hitting.
These are subjective evaluations, of course depending on weighing statistical categories differently. Will Vansant’s statistics suffer or Croson’s improve as they get further into their conference seasons?
This Weekend’s Results:
The top performance goes to Croson, with 23 kills and .388 hitting percentage in a four-set win over Pepperdine on Saturday. She was less impressive on Friday, with 10 kills and a .000 hitting percentage in a four-set win over the same opponent. Croson has also been named WAC Player of the Week. Vansant showed some freshman jitters in her introduction to Pac-12 play, with 10 kills and a .128 hitting percentage in a three-set loss to USC on Friday. She did improve on Saturday, with 10 kills, a .182 hitting percentage and much steadier overall play in a three-set win over UCLA, as UW spread the offense more equally around. Ross had only 4 kills for the weekend, hitting .111 and .333, but had 12 and 10 digs, showing her defensive value. Graff had a rough weekend, with 4, 4, and 7 kills and .143, .000, and .200 hitting percentages. Grant had 5, 4, and 6 kills and .364, .200, and .625 hitting percentages.
Sources: GoHuskies, HawaiiAthletics, UWBadgers, GoPSUSports
Photo by VolleyballMag, ChannelOne
