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.