The Best Opposite Hitters in NCAA Volleyball
The Best Opposite Hitters in NCAA Volleyball
Find out which NCAA volleyball athletes are performing the best at the opposite hitter position so far this season.
Elite volleyball teams demand a lot of their opposite hitters. They must be big blockers to stop an opponent's strong-side hitters, and they must be great hitters in their own right to give the setter more options and spread the block.
Not to mention, in recent years, coaches have started leaving their opposite hitters in for all six rotations, giving front-row setters a good back-row attack option.
Even at the national-team level, we've seen the role of opposite get a lot of attention. Before the Rio Olympics, U.S. Women's National Team head coach Karch Kiraly had to decide which two of three incredibly talented opposites would make the team. And Matt Anderson, perhaps the world's best men's volleyball player in the world, has played on the right side for the U.S. Men's National Team for the past couple of years.
Wondering who are the best opposite hitters in NCAA Division I women's volleyball right now? Here's our top 10 list.
Thompson paces her conference-leading Cincinnati Bearcats with 487 kills. Her 4.82 kills per set is the sixth-highest average in the country, and even with carrying such a large load for her team, the Minnesota-native maintains a .296 percentage. Thompson, a member of the 2016 U.S. Collegiate National Team that toured China over the summer, also gets it done in the back row and has contributed 217 digs so far this season.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJODEpih4f4/?taken-by=gobearcatsvb" hide_caption="0"]
A redshirt her first year in Chapel Hill, NC, and a substitute in her second, Treacy has made up for lost time in the past two and a half seasons with the UNC volleyball squad. As a redshirt junior in 2015, Treacy earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors. So far this season, the product of Columbia, South Carolina, has posted 214 kills, hitting .264, and has stuffed 85 balls at the net.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BL1-bC1B5lY/?taken-by=uncvolleyball" hide_caption="0"]
Stanford's Lutz earned second team All-America honors as a redshirt freshman and redshirt sophomore playing in the middle. Since the return of Inky Ajanaku, Lutz has moved to the right side, where she has continued to thrive. Her experience in the middle has helped her become one of the best blocking opposites in the country with 97 total blocks so far this season. On the offensive side of the ball, Lutz has 218 kills (2.32 per set), hitting .289.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLSfba8hULc/?taken-by=stanfordwvb" hide_caption="0"]
Jones can do it all. A fantastic blocker, she has 96 blocks on the season in addition to 218 kills (.271), 31 aces, and 186 digs. Earlier this year, Jones was even asked to play in the middle due to injuries on the Washington team, and she excelled there as well, collecting two solo blocks and seven block assists against Colorado on October 16.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/UWVolleyball/status/796942830371377152" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Alabama's Rivers posts unbelievable numbers for a right-side hitter. Her 621 kills leads her team by more than 400 and she ranks third in the country with 5.75 kills per set. Rivers ranks second on her team with 76 blocks and fourth with 231 digs. She's also deadly behind the service line, boasting 40 aces.
Taylor's contributions for Hawaii start behind the service line where she ranks fifth nationally with .60 aces per set. Her 4.53 kills per set puts her 15th in the country and lead the Big West Conference. With 87 blocks and 168 digs, the Honolulu native is no slouch on the defensive side of the ball either.
Rolfzen made the switch from outside to opposite at the start of her junior season. First team All-American honors and a national championship later, you'd have to say she's thriving in the new role. She is once again leading the Huskers with 268 kills and is second on the No. 1-ranked squad with 214 digs.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/Huskervball/status/796534904175677440" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Florida's lefty cannon has been garnering national honors since her freshman season. As a senior, Holston, the 2014 SEC Player of the Year and a third team All-American, ranks 49th in the country with a .360 hitting percentage.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/797916465429118976" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
When Nwanebu is healthy, she is unstoppable. The 2013 Freshman of the Year, Nwanebu, then playing for USC, led the Trojans with 3.47 kills per set and ranked fifth in the Pac-12 with a .358 hitting percentage. Nwanebu struggled with injuries through much of her second season at USC and her first season at Texas, during which she only played one match and was granted a medical hardship redshirt, but she is back as one-third of the most lethal group of pin hitters in the country with 306 kills and hitting .356.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLxBZzPgb39/?taken-by=texasvolleyball" hide_caption="0"]
Payne led her Jayhawks squad to the final four last year, and this year has Kansas in the top 10 the entire season. The junior leads her team with 361 kills (3.65/set) and is huge defensively with 184 digs and 91 total blocks.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/KUVolleyball/status/795086599965052928" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
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Not to mention, in recent years, coaches have started leaving their opposite hitters in for all six rotations, giving front-row setters a good back-row attack option.
Even at the national-team level, we've seen the role of opposite get a lot of attention. Before the Rio Olympics, U.S. Women's National Team head coach Karch Kiraly had to decide which two of three incredibly talented opposites would make the team. And Matt Anderson, perhaps the world's best men's volleyball player in the world, has played on the right side for the U.S. Men's National Team for the past couple of years.
Wondering who are the best opposite hitters in NCAA Division I women's volleyball right now? Here's our top 10 list.
10. Jordan Thompson, Sophomore, Cincinnati
Thompson paces her conference-leading Cincinnati Bearcats with 487 kills. Her 4.82 kills per set is the sixth-highest average in the country, and even with carrying such a large load for her team, the Minnesota-native maintains a .296 percentage. Thompson, a member of the 2016 U.S. Collegiate National Team that toured China over the summer, also gets it done in the back row and has contributed 217 digs so far this season.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJODEpih4f4/?taken-by=gobearcatsvb" hide_caption="0"]
9. Taylor Treacy, Redshirt Senior, North Carolina
A redshirt her first year in Chapel Hill, NC, and a substitute in her second, Treacy has made up for lost time in the past two and a half seasons with the UNC volleyball squad. As a redshirt junior in 2015, Treacy earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors. So far this season, the product of Columbia, South Carolina, has posted 214 kills, hitting .264, and has stuffed 85 balls at the net.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BL1-bC1B5lY/?taken-by=uncvolleyball" hide_caption="0"]
8. Merete Lutz, Redshirt Junior, Stanford
Stanford's Lutz earned second team All-America honors as a redshirt freshman and redshirt sophomore playing in the middle. Since the return of Inky Ajanaku, Lutz has moved to the right side, where she has continued to thrive. Her experience in the middle has helped her become one of the best blocking opposites in the country with 97 total blocks so far this season. On the offensive side of the ball, Lutz has 218 kills (2.32 per set), hitting .289.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLSfba8hULc/?taken-by=stanfordwvb" hide_caption="0"]
7. Crissy Jones, Junior, Washington
Jones can do it all. A fantastic blocker, she has 96 blocks on the season in addition to 218 kills (.271), 31 aces, and 186 digs. Earlier this year, Jones was even asked to play in the middle due to injuries on the Washington team, and she excelled there as well, collecting two solo blocks and seven block assists against Colorado on October 16.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/UWVolleyball/status/796942830371377152" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
6. Krystal Rivers, Redshirt Senior, Alabama
Alabama's Rivers posts unbelievable numbers for a right-side hitter. Her 621 kills leads her team by more than 400 and she ranks third in the country with 5.75 kills per set. Rivers ranks second on her team with 76 blocks and fourth with 231 digs. She's also deadly behind the service line, boasting 40 aces.
5. Nikki Taylor, Senior, Hawaii
Taylor's contributions for Hawaii start behind the service line where she ranks fifth nationally with .60 aces per set. Her 4.53 kills per set puts her 15th in the country and lead the Big West Conference. With 87 blocks and 168 digs, the Honolulu native is no slouch on the defensive side of the ball either.
4. Kadie Rolfzen, Senior, Nebraska
Rolfzen made the switch from outside to opposite at the start of her junior season. First team All-American honors and a national championship later, you'd have to say she's thriving in the new role. She is once again leading the Huskers with 268 kills and is second on the No. 1-ranked squad with 214 digs.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/Huskervball/status/796534904175677440" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
3. Alex Holston, Senior, Florida
Florida's lefty cannon has been garnering national honors since her freshman season. As a senior, Holston, the 2014 SEC Player of the Year and a third team All-American, ranks 49th in the country with a .360 hitting percentage.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/797916465429118976" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
2. Ebony Nwanebu, Junior, Texas
When Nwanebu is healthy, she is unstoppable. The 2013 Freshman of the Year, Nwanebu, then playing for USC, led the Trojans with 3.47 kills per set and ranked fifth in the Pac-12 with a .358 hitting percentage. Nwanebu struggled with injuries through much of her second season at USC and her first season at Texas, during which she only played one match and was granted a medical hardship redshirt, but she is back as one-third of the most lethal group of pin hitters in the country with 306 kills and hitting .356.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLxBZzPgb39/?taken-by=texasvolleyball" hide_caption="0"]
1. Kelsie Payne, Junior, Kansas
Payne led her Jayhawks squad to the final four last year, and this year has Kansas in the top 10 the entire season. The junior leads her team with 361 kills (3.65/set) and is huge defensively with 184 digs and 91 total blocks.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/KUVolleyball/status/795086599965052928" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
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