MaxPreps 2012 Volleyball All-American teams

They look a lot alike, and their statistics are almost identical. And their won-lost records as athletes are identical.

In the last three years, Amber and Kadie Rolfzen have lost just once on the volleyball court and have recorded 126 match victories along the way. They have also guided Papillion-La Vista South (Papillion, Neb.) to three straight Nebraska A Division state championships and last season's mythical national championship.

In leading Papio to its third-straight title in 2012, Amber recorded 390 kills, 283 digs, 34 aces and 38 blocks. Kadie totaled 369 kills (48.6 percent), 49 aces, 38 blocks and 340 digs. Both were members of the U.S. Junior Women's Team in 2012 and the U.S. Junior Team in 2011 and they will graduate early from high school and enroll at the University of Nebraska in January.

Both are 6-foot-3 outside hitters, and they are our choices as the MaxPreps 2012 Volleyball Players of the Year.



Other nominees for Player of the Year were Chloe Collins of Cy-Woods (Cypress Woods, Texas), Chiaka Ogbobu of Coppell (Texas), Ebony Nwanebu of Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas) and Lindsey Owens of Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.).

Our pick for Coach of the Year is Zachary Young of Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.). In his first year as head coach, Young was 40-0 and won all 80 games, including the Missouri Class 4 state title.

Lafayette is also the Team of the Year, as it won the 4A state title and swept all 40 matches it played this season. Lafayette was led by senior middle blocker Stephanie Campbell (254 kills, 96 blocks), junior outside hitter Lily Johnson (257 kills, 261 digs, 51 aces), junior setter Maggie Scott (872 assists, 263 digs) and senior middle Maddie Jones (93 blocks). All four are future Division-I players.

In the final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings, Lafayette finished No. 3 behind Bishop Moore (Medium School Team of the Year) and Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.). What did Lafayette do to edge out Moore and Mitty? It didn't slip up and lose a game in winning 40 matches.

MaxPreps 2012 Volleyball All-American teams

MB - Stephanie Campbell, Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.), 6-2 Senior
Campbell was named MVP of MaxPreps' Team of the Year (40-0). She had 254 kills (53 percent), and 96 blocks. Campbell, a three-time All-State player, will attend Auburn.



MB - Taylor Paulson, Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 6-3 Senior
Paulson, a 6-3 middle blocker, is the third-straight Assumption player to win Miss Volleyball Kentucky, following Jeni Houser (2010) and Katie George (2011). Paulson recorded 270 kills (55.4 percent) and 64 blocks in leading Assumption to a 38-2 record and back-to-back state titles. She will attend Saint Louis University.

MB/MH - Haleigh Washington, Doherty (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 6-4 Junior
Washington led Doherty to a state title and 29-0 season. She had 346 kills (64 percent), 101 blocks and 35 digs.

MB - Ebony Nwanebu, Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas), 6-4 Senior
Nwanebu recorded 639 kills (51 percent), 49 aces, 115 blocks (62 solo) and 306 digs in leading Lovejoy to 48-4 record (30 straight at season's end) and the Texas 4A title. She will play at USC.

OH - Lindsey Owens, Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.), 6-1 Senior
Owens led the Hornets to the Florida 4A title and a 32-0 record. In addition, Bishop Moore finished atop the Xcellent 25. For the season, Owens totaled 469 kills (48 percent), 41 aces (91 percent serving percentage), 297 digs, 50 assists and 25 blocks. Owens, who will attend Virginia Tech, was named Florida's Volleyball Player of the Year.

OH/MB - Chiaka Ogbogu, Coppell (Texas), 6-1 Senior
The Texas-bound Ogbogu led Coppell to the 5A state title and a 49-3 record. She finished with 29 aces, 470 kills (55.1 percent), 143 blocks and 98 digs. She was named Texas Volleyball Player of the Year.

OH - Alyssa Goehner, Lakeville (Minn.), 6-1 Junior
Goehner led Lakeville to the state title and a 32-1 record (the only loss was via forfeit). She totaled 536 kills, 244 digs and had a .906 service percentage. She has committed to Marquette.



DS/L - Anne Marie Schmidt, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 5-6 Senior
Schmidt was the sparkplug for California's Division II champion with a 38-0 record. Schmidt recorded 570 digs, 22 aces (391, 95.5 percent) and 465 serve receptions with 23 errors.

L - Amanda Benson, Xavier College Prep (Phoenix), 5-6 Senior
Benson led Xavier to the state runner-up spot and was named Arizona Volleyball Player of the Year. The senior recorded 725 digs, 76 aces (324 serves), 633 serve receptions with only 17 errors. She has signed with Oregon.

S - Alyssa Jensen, St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis), 5-11 Senior
Jensen recorded 870 assists, 182 digs, 56 kills, 45 blocks and 63 service aces this season, leading her team to the district semifinals. A three-time Class 4A first-team All-State selection, Jensen will play at California.

S - Katie Schau, Gull Lake (Richland, Mich.), 5-6 Senior
Schau totaled 5,000 assists in her career, including an eye-popping 1,526 as a senior to lead Gull Lake to a 57-7 record. She also had 50 aces (96.2 percent on 526 serves), 415 digs, 126 blocks and 183 kills (59 percent). Schau has signed with Minnesota.

S - Tayler Higgins, Punahou (Honolulu), 5-9 Senior
With Higgins as setter, Punahou lost just once in two years and won back-to-back Hawaii D-1 titles. Higgins had only 10 service errors in 155 attempts (93.5 percent), 59 digs and 439 assists in 50 games. She will attend the University of Hawaii.

AA - Lauren Carlini, Aurora West (Ill.), 6-1 Senior
Carlini led Aurora West to a 32-6 record and a state playoff berth. She was setter for the 2011 Junior Olympic team in Turkey and named the top recruit by Prepvolleyball.com. A three-year team captain, she recorded 329 kills (60 percent), 92 aces, 301 assists and had 152 digs in 2012. She will attend Wisconsin.



AA/DS - Michelle Strizak, Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati), 6-1 Senior
A six-rotation player, Strizak recorded 49 aces, a 91 percent serving rate, 325 serve receptions, 401 kills (42 percent), 232 digs and 37 blocks. She has signed with the University of Illinois.

AA - Chloe Collins, Cy-Woods (Cypress, Texas), 5-8 Senior
Collins led Cy-Woods to a 40-4 record as she recorded 305 kills (49.5 percent), 51 aces (466 serves and 93.3 percent), 318 digs, 1,313 assists and 62 blocks. She is Texas-bound.



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Second team All-Americans

MB - Leah Perri, Gull Lake (Richland, Mich.), 5-11 Senior
Perry led Gull Lake to a 57-7 record and the state semis. She had 657 kills (54 percent), 44 aces (605 serves), 152 blocks and 603 serve receptions (30 errors). She will attend Clemson.

MH/MB - Kelly Robertson, Parkland (Allentown, Pa.), 6-0 Senior
Robertson totaled 548 kills (64 percent), 144 digs, 43 aces and 93 blocks to lead the team to a 38-5-2 record and the state finals. She will attend Penn State.

MH - Nikki Hess, Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 6-0 Senior
The middle blocker was the leading outside hitter on the state championship team. She totaled 378 kills and had 60 aces to go with her 94.5 service percentage.



OH - Gabriella Palmeri, St. Francis (Sacramento, Calif.), 6-0 Senior
Palmeri compiled 434 kills (46 percent), 30 aces, 392 digs, 36 blocks and 280 serve receptions in leading the Troubadours to the California D-I runner-up trophy. She will attend Pepperdine.

OH - Ashlie Williams, Marymount (Los Angeles), 5-11 Senior
Williams led Marymount (37-5) to the California D-I state title with more than 300 kills and 50 blocks. She played her best games in pressure situations. She will attend Georgetown.

OH - Courtney Schwan, Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.), 6-4 Junior
Schwan was Washington's top player and led the Lions to the state 4A title and a 31-2 record. In four state tourney matches, Schwan amassed 82 kills, 16 aces and 42 digs. She has committed to Washington.

OH - Skylar Dykstra, Redondo Union (Calif.), 5-10 Senior
The UCLA-bound Dykstra totaled 328 kills (40 percent), 45 aces, 51 blocks and 456 digs to lead the 38-5 Seahawks to the California D-I semifinals.

OH - Beth Prince, Avon (Ind.), 6-3 Sophomore
Prince led Avon to a 34-5 record and second-straight state title. She totaled 505 kills, 45 aces, 192 digs and 57 blocks.

OH - Sarah Wilhite, Eden Prairie (Minn.), 6-1 Senior
The Minnesota Player of the Year broke the school's season kill record with 667 kills and finished her career with 1,987 kills. She was the Gatorade State Player of the Year as a junior and has signed with Minnesota.



S - Kayla Crook, Barnstable (Hyannis, Mass.), 5-8 Senior
Crook had 680 assists, 177 digs and 39 aces (92 percent). For her four seasons at Barnstable, she recorded more than 2,000 career assists and led Barnstable to Massachusetts D-1 state championships in 2010, '11 and '12.

S - Alexa Filley, Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 5-8 Junior
Filley was first team All-State with 845 assists, 50 kills and 184 digs as the Rockets repeated as state champions and won 38 of 40 matches. She has committed to Western Kentucky.

DS/L - Taylor Lebo, LaPorte (Ind.), 5-9 Senior
After missing the entire 2011 season, Lebo bounced back impressively in leading LaPorte to a 27-7 record and earning The Times Media Company's Indiana Player of the Year honor. Lebo totaled 426 kills (40 percent), 82 aces (466 and 93 percent), 62 blocks, 755 digs and in 522 serves, had only 22 errors. Lebo has signed with Indiana.

L/DS - Morganne Longoria, Burlington (Wis.), 5-1 Senior
The shortest All-American has a big game. She led Burlington to a 44-2 record and state title with 297 receptions, 300 digs and 57 aces (92 percent on 402 serves).

AA/DS - Marina Rose, Coventry (Conn.), 5-9 Senior
Rose led the Patriots to their seventh-straight state title and a 24-0 record in 2012. She played on all four of Coventry's state title teams and lost only one game in high school. She led all American preps with a 78.9 kill percentage (447 kills), and added 409 digs, served 92 aces with only seven service errors (307 serves). She will play at Providence.

AA - Nia Reed, Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 6-2 Junior
Reed led IHA to the state title and an 18-2 record. She led the state in kills with 525 and also totaled 100 blocks, 122 digs and had 42 aces. She was named New Jersey Player of the Year.



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Third team All-Americans

MB - Haylee Roberts, Liberty (Bakersfield, Calif.), 6-3 Senior
Roberts led Liberty to a 26-7 record with 404 kills (50 percent), 170 blocks, 85 digs and 26 aces (97 percent). She will attend Oregon.

MB/MH - Jessica Lewis, Huntsville (Ala.), 5-9 Senior
Lewis led Huntsville to four straight 6A Alabama state titles. In 2012, she totaled 1,289 kills. MVP of the state tournament four times, she will play for Southern Alabama University.

OH - Maddie Burnham, St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio), 6-2 Senior
The Arrows finished 26-2, losing in the state semis after three straight state titles. Teams were 104-6 with Burnham on the floor. She will play at Duquesne University.

OH - Carly Kan, Punahou (Honolulu), 5-9 Senior
Kan led Punahou (19-1) to back-to-back state titles as she totaled 132 digs, 138 kills (50 percent) and had only seven errors in 197 serves (97 percent). Her next step is the University of Missouri.

OH - Izzy Miller, Arcadia (Phoenix), 6-2 Senior
Miller led Arcadia to the Arizona D-II state title with 457 kills, 43 aces, 217 digs and 401 serve receptions. She will play at Boise State.

OH - Simone Lee, Menomonee Falls (Wis.), 6-1 Junior
Lee led the Indians to a 40-9 record and a state finals appearance. She totaled 667 kills, 77 aces, 352 digs, 65 blocks and 558 serve receptions.



OH - Holly Mattmuller, Venice (Fla.), 5-11 Senior
Mattmuller led Venice to the Florida state 7A title as she totaled 491 kills, 38 blocks, 49 aces and 484 digs. She was Florida's 7A Player of the Year.

OH - Ashley Elrod, Lamar (Arlington, Texas), 6-0 Senior
The rock-solid Elrod carried the load for Lamar with 585 kills, 447 digs and 91 service aces in the regular season. She will attend Texas A&M/Corpus Christi.

OH - Julia Warren, La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.), 6-1 Senior
Warren led La Cueva to a 20-4-1 record and state runner-up finish. She totaled 496 kills (57 percent), 94 percent on serves with 39 aces, 42 blocks, 317 digs and 295 service receptions (21 errors). She will attend the University of New Mexico.

S - Ryann Chandler, Torrey Pines (San Diego), 5-11 Senior
Chandler ran a Torrey Pines offense that went 31-5 and featured seven other D-I players. She totaled 774 assists, 124 digs and had 29 aces. She will play for Pepperdine.

S - Claire Kelley, Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.), 5-6 Senior
Kelley led Bishop Kelley to the state title and a 34-3 record. She totaled 168 kills, 47 aces, 231 digs, 98 blocks and 947 assists.

S - Danika Yoder, Venice (Fla.), 5-8 Senior
Yoder led Venice to Florida's 7A state title and 31-3 record as she recorded 1,124 assists, 39 blocks, 43 kills and 517 digs. She signed with Stetson University.



AA - Rachel Eppley, Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, N.C.), 5-7 Senior
Eppley led the Knights to the 4A state title. She totaled 276 kills, 378 digs, 48 aces and 36 blocks in leading Ardrey Kell to a 31-1 record. Eppley was the North Carolina 4A State Championship MVP.

L/DS - Kristen Webb, Libertyville (Ill.), 5-6 Senior
Webb led Libertyville to a 35-8 record with 775 digs, 33 aces, 485 serve receptions with only 21 errors and 51 assists.

AA - Kelly Hunter, Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.), 5-10 Senior
Hunter totaled 861 assists, 225 digs, 62 blocks, 73 aces and 91 kills to led Papio to its third-straight state title. She will attend Nebraska.

AA - Azariah Stahl, Elkhart Central (Ind.), 5-11 Senior
Stahl followed her sensational junior year with 411 kills, 158 digs, 47 aces and 27 blocks. As a junior, she had 710 kills. She will attend Purdue.