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2017 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball National Championship

The 20 NCAA Middle Blockers Blowing Our Minds in 2017

The 20 NCAA Middle Blockers Blowing Our Minds in 2017

Good middles need to have speed, height, athleticism, power, and extremely high game IQ.

Oct 17, 2017 by FloVolleyball Staff
The 20 NCAA Middle Blockers Blowing Our Minds in 2017

Good middles need to have speed, height, athleticism, power, and extremely high game IQ, not to mention the intangibles like competitiveness and a coachable attitude.

The following 20 middles are the most ferocious blockers and most deadly accurate hitters in the country -- and they demand your respect.

20. Regan Pittman | 6-foot-5 | Redshirt Freshman | Minnesota

With the graduation of All-American middle/opposite twins Paige and Hannah Tapp, redshirt freshman Regan Pittman had a lot to live up to as the new starting Minnesota middle. Luckily, she had spent the 2016 observing the Tapps and Molly Lohman and building her connection with setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson. All that is paying off now, and in her redshirt freshman season, Pittman is third on the team with 148 kills and second with 71 blocks (1.09 blocks per set).


19. Emily Maglio | 6-3 | Senior | Hawaii

Hawaii's Emily Maglio is the undisputed best middle in the Big West conference, and has been for a few years now. As a sophomore, she ranked second in the league with a .384 hitting percentage and third with 1.13 blocks per set. Last fall, she led the Big West hitting .400 and tallying 1.33 blocks per set. Her final season of college ball looks to be even more impressive: she's averaging 1.54 blocks per set, the most in the league and ninth-best in the country. Hitting .380, she trails only Savannah Niemen of Cal Poly.


18. Audriana Fitzmorris | 6-6 | Sophomore | Stanford

Audriana Fitzmorris' first college volleyball season saw her earn honorable mention All-America honors and play a big role in Stanford's 2016 national championship. As a sophomore, Fitzmorris ranks fifth in the Pac-12 with 1.38 blocks per set (No. 36 nationally) and sixth in the conference with a .341 hitting percentage. The September 3 match versus Illinois showcased exactly how much Fitzmorris can take over a match when she's hot: the Kansas native mashed 20 kills while hitting .559, and she added seven blocks.


17. Emily Franklin | 6-4 | Redshirt Senior | Kentucky

Fifth-year Kentucky senior Emily Franklin entered the 2017 season ranked eighth in Wildcat rally-scoring-era history with 277 total blocks, but in her senior season it's her offensive game that has been most impressive. With 127 kills and only 20 errors on 246 attempts, Franklin is hitting .435 -- the seventh-best hitting percentage in the country, and No. 1 in the SEC.


16. Marion Hazelwood | 6-3 | Senior | Washington

In all three of her seasons at Oklahoma, Marion Hazelwood earned honorable mention All-American honors and the last two seasons, she was named first team All-Big 12. With her final year of eligibility, she transferred to Washington and is once again putting up All-American numbers. She's 26th in the country and fourth in the Pac-12 with 1.41 blocks per set, and has helped Washington hold its opponents to a .181 hitting percentage.


15. Lauren Stivrins | 6-4 | Redshirt Freshman | Nebraska

With All-American middles Kadie Rolfzen and Briana Holman on last year's Nebraska squad, you might think that Lauren Stivrins redshirted the season to wait out her chance for a starting spot. But in reality, the Arizona native might have earned a starting spot on the 2016 if she hadn't struggled with illness and injury early on in the season. Now that she's healthy, Stivrins is proving herself on the court. She's contributed double-digit kills on three separate occasions and is leading the team with 162 total blocks.


14. Kaz Brown | 6-4 | Senior | Kentucky

Kaz Brown has been garnering recognition for her play in the middle since her freshman year. A member of the 2014 All-SEC freshman team, 2015 and 2016 All-SEC Team, Brown entered her season ranked fifth in Kentucky history with 384 career blocks and fourth with a .337 career hitting percentage. In the 25-point rally scoring era, she's first and second in total blocks with 180 in 2015 and 151 in 2016.


13. Lauren Sanders | 6-4 | Freshman | Washington

The Pac-12's best blocker is Washington freshman Lauren Sanders (1.58 blocks per set), which shouldn't come as a huge surprise seeing as Sanders earned first team Under Armour All-America honors as a high school senior and won a silver medal with the U.S. junior national team at the 2016 NORCECA U20 Continental Championships. The keys to Sanders' success at the net? Great lateral speed and good hops, combined with a 6-4 frame and 10-3 touch.


12. Tionna Williams | 6-2 | Junior | Wisconsin

Tionna Williams gave Badger fans a glimpse of just how good she could be way back in 2015 when she blasted nine kills with zero errors on 11 attempts to hit a blistering .818 in a match versus Iowa. These days, the junior ranks fifth in the country with a .444 hitting percentage, and with her 1.17 blocks per set has helped hold Wisconsin's opponents to a .159 hitting percentage, second lowest in the Big Ten.


11. Rachael Kramer | 6-8 | Sophomore | Florida

When Florida kicked off the season taking down Texas and Nebraska, it was sophomore Rachael Kramer leading the way. The 6-8 Arizona native posted a career-high 20 kills versus Nebraska and hit a combined .545 in the two Vert Challenge matches. Now, with Florida 14-1, she's ranked 12th in the country with a .426 hitting percentage, second best in the SEC.

Rachael Kramer Florida 2017

USA Today Sports

10. Briana Holman | 6-1 | Senior | Nebraska

Credit senior middle blocker Briana Holman for helping Nebraska hold opponents to the lowest hitting percentage in the Big Ten. What attacks she doesn't immediately reject, she gets a touch on or funnels to her defensive players in the back row. The 2014 first team All-American at LSU is third on the Nebraska team with 148 kills and leads all starters with a .328 hitting percentage, thanks to her quick hits out of the middle and athletic, unstoppable slides.

Briana Holman Nebraska 2017

USA Today Sports

9. Tami Alade | 6-2 | Junior | Stanford

This fall, junior Tami Alade faced the tall task of taking over for graduated first team All-American Stanford middle Inky Ajanaku, and she's quietly become a key player for the Cardinal. With a .401 hitting percentage, she leads the Pac-12, but isn't ranked nationally since she doesn't meet the NCAA's requirement of averaging at least 3.33 swings per set. Defensively, she ranks third in the conference in blocks per set, and 18th in the country with 1.50 blocks per set.


8. Molly Lohman | 6-3 | Senior | Minnesota

Last season, Molly Lohman shared the Minnesota middle blocker limelight with Paige and Hannah Tapp. This year, she's the star of the show, ranking 15th nationally with 1.51 blocks per set (third in the Big Ten) and 21st in the country with a .399 hitting percentage (sixth-best in the Big Ten). The 2016 honorable mention All-American has earned two Big Ten defensive player of the week honors so far this year.


7. Dana Rettke | 6-8 | Freshman | Wisconsin

The most impressive freshman middle blocker we've seen in quite some time, there's much more to Dana Rettke than just a 6-8 frame. She ranks in the top 20 in the nation with 1.45 blocks per set (fifth in the Big Ten) and is eighth in the country with a .432 hitting percentage. There's no doubt the Riverside, Illinois, native is in the running for the national freshman of the year honor; she's already been named the Big Ten freshman of the week five times.


6. Alyssa Munlyn | 6-2 | Junior | Missouri

As a freshman, Alyssa Munlyn set a school record for the total blocks in a single season (149) and block assists in a single season (124). That year, she earned her first honorable mention All-American honor. Last season, Munlyn came oh-so-close to breaking another school record with a .424 hitting percentage, and she was awarded honorable mention All-American status a second time. As a junior, Munlyn is on the road to greatness once again, ranking third in the country in total blocks with 121 and eighth in blocks per set.


5. Alyssa Garvelink | 6-4 | Senior | Michigan State

Alyssa Garvelink's 1.52 blocks per set (second in the Big Ten and 13th nationally) have played a significant role in Michigan State's upsets of Minnesota and Wisconsin. As a junior, the second team All-American trailed only Illinois' Ali Bastianelli in the Big Ten with 1.40 blocks per set, and as a senior she's playing even better, bringing more maturity and game IQ onto the court.

4. Ali Bastianelli | 6-3 | Junior | Illinois

Ali Bastianelli is the nation's top blocker, averaging 1.80 blocks per set, and ranks fourth in the country with a .448 hitting percentage. Bastianelli, who led the Big Ten in blocks per set last year, is the whole package, and the Illini junior is looking to build on her honorable mention All-America sophomore season.


3. Chiaka Ogbogu | 6-2 | Senior | Texas

After earning her second first team All-American honors in 2015, Chiaka Ogbogu had to sit out a season due to academic ineligibility. Now she's back as a senior and a captain, and she's making a huge impact on the team in 2017. She ranks third nationally in blocks per set with 1.68 and has the second best hitting percentage in the Big 12 (.372).


2. Haleigh Washington | 6-3 | Senior | Penn State

Penn State senior Haleigh Washington is the ultimate offensive middle. Ranked No.1 in the country with a .506 hitting percentage, the first team All-American is second on the Nittany Lion squad with 185 total kills. With her unstoppable swings and .146 blocks/set (good for fourth in the Big Ten and 19th nationally), Washington has been a big part of the Nittany Lions' 17-1 start to the season.


1. Rhamat Alhassan | 6-4 | Senior | Florida

Opposing teams build their game plans around avoiding the massive block of Rhamat Alhassan. The No. 2-ranked blocker in the country (1.70 blocks/set) also dominates offensively, racking up a nationally 13th-ranked hitting percentage of .420. The Maryland native has already established herself in the USA gym, too, as a member of the Pan-Am Cup team for the past two summers. This season, she'll likely garner her fourth All-America honor and go on to a decorated professional and national team career.

Rhamat Alhassan Florida 2017 Vert

USA Today Sports