MaxPreps 2012 volleyball tipoff guide

Rolfzens lead long list of impressive returning players

Who will be this year's Nicole Dalton?

The 6-foot-2 Dalton, a freshman at the University of Texas, was named by MaxPreps as the top 2012 high school volleyball player in the United States. Dalton helped Chaparral (Parker, Colo.) win its second-straight Class 5A Colorado state championship and extend its win streak to 53 matches.

A two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year award winner, Dalton was also a member of the U.S. Junior National Team last summer. Her statistics show her tremendous versatility. Besides registering 492 kills, she also had 406 assists and 267 digs.

Those are big footprints to follow, but there are dozens from coast to coast who think they have pretty good credentials and two of those play for the same team, live in the same household and have committed to play for Nebraska. As a matter of fact, they share the same parents.

Identical twins Kadie and Amber Rolfzen are hard to tell apart - on or off the court.

Both are 6-3 senior hitters and have helped lead Papillion-LaVista South (Pavilion, Neb.) to back-to-back state titles and 82 straight wins.

And both are members of the U.S. Junior Women's Volleyball Team. Kadie might get a slight nod over Amber atop the mythical ladder of top players, but barely. Kadie was first-team MaxPreps All-American and Amber was second-team in 2011.

Kadie was Gatorade State Player of the Year and her 2011 stats were jaw-dropping: 402 kills, 382 digs, 53 aces and an overly impressive .439 hitting percentage. She recorded 15 kills and 15 digs in the 3-0 state title game sweep of Burke (Omaha, Neb.). Statistically, Amber was close behind.

Another 6-3 senior hitter to keep an eye is Lovejoy (Lucas, Texas) star Ebony Nwanebu, who was named third-team All-American by MaxPreps. Nwanebu helped lead her team to a 48-4 record and fourth-straight Class 4A state championship. She has committed to play at Southern California and not surprisingly amassed some big-time numbers in 2011: 589 kills, 130 blocks, and 142 digs.

Not everyone on the top player Watch List is 6-3. Third-team MaxPreps All-American Megan Mollett from Boyd (McKinney, Texas) is a 5-9 senior who led her team to the Texas Class 5A state championship match. She, too, had huge numbers: 515 kills, 57 aces, 38 blocks, 340 digs.

Taylor Higgins, a 5-10 setter from Punahou (Honolulu), led the Buff n' Blue to a 15-0 record and the Division I state title this past season. She was named 2011 Interscholastic League of Honolulu Player of the Year.

Alyssa Jensen from St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis) is a 5-11 senior setter. Jensen recorded 783 assists, 182 digs, 49 kills, 37 blocks and 33 service aces in 2011. A two-time Class 4 First Team All-State selection, Jensen recorded a school-record with 989 assists in 2010.

Players on the Watch List come in all sizes: Merete Lutz is a 6-8 middle blocker from Houston, and Amanda Schiavo is a 5-7 libero from Corapolis, Penn. Both are on the U.S. Junior Women's National team.

There's a long list of impressive players waiting to make headlines. Others warranting a close watch include:

- Kelley Hunter from (Papillion LaVista-South, Papillion, Neb.)
- Lauren Kerrigan from Wilmington Friends (Wilmington, Del.)
- Alex Holston from Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.).
- Cassidy Stankowski from Frontier Regional (South Deerfield, Mass.)
- Sarah Wilhite from Eden Prairie (Minn.)
- Makenna Lommori from Yerington (Nev.)
- Nia Reed from Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.)
- Julia Warren from La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.)
- Kaysie Shebeneck from Burlington (Wis.)
- Makayla Lindburg from Crook County (Prineville, Ore.)
- Azariah Stahl from Elkhart Central (Elkhart, Ind.)
- Maya McClendon from Manual, (Louisville, Ky.)
- Shelley Anderson from Chino Hills (Calif.)
- Kelly Claes from El Dorado (Fullerton, Calif.)
- Kelsey Humphreys from Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.)
- Amanda Benson from Xavier College Prep (Phoenix)
- Haley Fauntleroy from New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.)
- Stephanie Aiple from Round Rock (Texas)
- Crissy Jones from Los Alamitos (Calif.)
- Simone Lee from Menominee (Mich.)
- Tia Scambray from Dana Hills (Dana Point, Calif.)
- Luisa Schirmer from Sutherland (Pittsford, N.Y.)
- Courtney Schwan from Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.)
- Carli Snyder from Dakota (Macomb, Mich.)
- Taylor Tashima from New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.)
- Chelsey Harris from Summer Creek (Houston)
- Jessica Janota from Gilmour Academy (Gates Mills, Ohio)
- Claire Kieffer-wright from South Pasadena (Calif.)
- Ashley Mariani from Arlington (Texas)
- Kayla Morin from Portage Central (Portage, Mich.)
- Michelle Strizak from Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati)
- Haleigh Washington from Clear Creek (Evergreen, Colo.)
- McKenzie Willey from Lone Peak (Highland, Utah)