2023 NCAA Volleyball Freshman Of The Year Award Prediction

[vantheman1976]

This is typically the week that the NCAA (actually American Volleyball Coaches Association) will name the All American Teams for 2023. One of the awards will name the national Freshman of the Year for 2023. Someone from the PAC 12 or Big 10 almost always is named the winner. I am certain that this year Olivia Babcock will be strongly considered. It's pretty simple to figure out who is considered....namely the winner of the FOTY in each of the power 5 conferences. The list is comprised of 4 hitters...and 1 is a setter.

O. Babcock RS Pitt/ACC
N. Gonzalez OH/RS Iowa State/Big12
B. DeLeye OH Kentucky/SEC
M. Li OH California/PAC12
B. Reilly S Nebraska/Big10

Babcock is the clear leader among the hitters....1st in hitting %, 1st in aces/set, 1st in blocks/set, and 1st in points/set. In my mind....this is between Babcock and Nebraska's freshman setter Reilly. Reilly's stats are among the very best setters in the country. Will another Big 10 school win the award again or will Pitt and the ACC finally break through?

 

[Chaos]

This is typically the week that the NCAA (actually American Volleyball Coaches Association) will name the All American Teams for 2023. One of the awards will name the national Freshman of the Year for 2023. Someone from the PAC 12 or Big 10 almost always is named the winner. I am certain that this year Olivia Babcock will be strongly considered. It's pretty simple to figure out who is considered....namely the winner of the FOTY in each of the power 5 conferences. The list is comprised of 4 hitters...and 1 is a setter.

O. Babcock RS Pitt/ACC
N. Gonzalez OH/RS Iowa State/Big12
B. DeLeye OH Kentucky/SEC
M. Li OH California/PAC12
B. Reilly S Nebraska/Big10

Babcock is the clear leader among the hitters....1st in hitting %, 1st in aces/set, 1st in blocks/set, and 1st in points/set. In my mind....this is between Babcock and Nebraska's freshman setter Reilly. Reilly's stats are among the very best setters in the country. Will another Big 10 school win the award again or will Pitt and the ACC finally break through?

Does each div 1 school have a vote?

 

[vantheman1976]

Does each div 1 school have a vote?

Good question...I don't know how the voting works....let's see if someone else chimes in with an answer to that.

 

[phijo]

The AVCA has a committee for everything, including D1 awards. The question is who is on the committee?

 

[Ray-Ray]

The AVCA has a committee for everything, including D1 awards. The question is who is on the committee?

It is the CFP committee that chooses so someone from SEC will win the award.

 

[mike412]

I think Reilly will win. I think Babcock should win. An outside hitter simply is a bigger weapon than a setter, no matter how good the setter is. Put Reilly on Louisville instead of Glock and Pitt still wins. But, Reilly was a bigger name coming out of HS and I think that will carry over.

I think right now Fairbanks is a better player than Reilly. We shall see on Thursday.

 

[chrisran24]

I think Reilly will win. I think Babcock should win. An outside hitter simply is a bigger weapon than a setter, no matter how good the setter is. Put Reilly on Louisville instead of Glock and Pitt still wins. But, Reilly was a bigger name coming out of HS and I think that will carry over.

I think right now Fairbanks is a better player than Reilly. We shall see on Thursday.

I agree Reilly will likely win. Nebraska is a blue blood and as good as Pitt has been the past few years, we still are not. But I disagree with saying a pin hitter is a bigger weapon than a setter - having a fantastic setter can make a world of distance in an offense. Oregon doesn't make the Elite 8 without Pukis. Hopefully we see Fairbanks outduel Reilly Thursday

 

[Chaos]

Per a post on volleytalk, these are the committee members:
Kimberly Lambert, Delaware
Marci Byers, Virginia Tech
Christy Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State
Katelyn Harrison, Belmont
Caitlin Schwihofer, Rutgers
Matt Ulmer, Oregon
Branden Higa, Cal Baptist
Betsy Freeburg, UAB
Eve Rackham, Tennessee
JT Wenger, UT Arlington
Erin Lindsey, Santa Clara (chair)

 

[vantheman1976]

I agree Reilly will likely win. Nebraska is a blue blood and as good as Pitt has been the past few years, we still are not. But I disagree with saying a pin hitter is a bigger weapon than a setter - having a fantastic setter can make a world of distance in an offense. Oregon doesn't make the Elite 8 without Pukis. Hopefully we see Fairbanks outduel Reilly Thursday

The Reilly vs Fairbanks stats as of today...

• Hitting %.....Reilly .276......Fairbanks .231
• Assists/set....Reilly 10.64.....Fairbanks 9.32
• Digs/set.....Reilly 2.70....Fairbanks 1.87
• Aces/set....Reilly .23....Fairbanks .23
• Blocks/set.....Reilly .54....Fairbanks .54
• Points/set...Reilly 1.10....Fairbanks 1.12

So...based on the above set of stats....slight edge to Reilly. What these stats don't give us are the intangibles...leadership, grit, determination, etc. Thumbs up to both of you...@mike412...I think right now Fairbanks is a better player than Reilly. We shall see on Thursday.....@chrisran24....Hopefully we see Fairbanks outduel Reilly Thursday.

 

[Chaos]

The Reilly vs Fairbanks stats as of today...

• Hitting %.....Reilly .276......Fairbanks .231
• Assists/set....Reilly 10.64.....Fairbanks 9.32
• Digs/set.....Reilly 2.70....Fairbanks 1.87
• Aces/set....Reilly .23....Fairbanks .23
• Blocks/set.....Reilly .54....Fairbanks .54
• Points/set...Reilly 1.10....Fairbanks 1.12

So...based on the above set of stats....slight edge to Reilly. What these stats don't give us are the intangibles...leadership, grit, determination, etc. Thumbs up to both of you...@mike412...I think right now Fairbanks is a better player than Reilly. We shall see on Thursday.....@chrisran24....Hopefully we see Fairbanks outduel Reilly Thursday.

Where do you find those stats? I'm curious what Babcock's look like. Thanks.

 

[vantheman1976]

Per a post on volleytalk, these are the committee members:
Kimberly Lambert, Delaware
Marci Byers, Virginia Tech
Christy Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State
Katelyn Harrison, Belmont
Caitlin Schwihofer, Rutgers
Matt Ulmer, Oregon
Branden Higa, Cal Baptist
Betsy Freeburg, UAB
Eve Rackham, Tennessee
JT Wenger, UT Arlington
Erin Lindsey, Santa Clara (chair)

Well....can't complain that it doesn't cut across a good selection of conferences.

 

[Chaos]

The Reilly vs Fairbanks stats as of today...

• Hitting %.....Reilly .276......Fairbanks .231
• Assists/set....Reilly 10.64.....Fairbanks 9.32
• Digs/set.....Reilly 2.70....Fairbanks 1.87
• Aces/set....Reilly .23....Fairbanks .23
• Blocks/set.....Reilly .54....Fairbanks .54
• Points/set...Reilly 1.10....Fairbanks 1.12

So...based on the above set of stats....slight edge to Reilly. What these stats don't give us are the intangibles...leadership, grit, determination, etc. Thumbs up to both of you...@mike412...I think right now Fairbanks is a better player than Reilly. We shall see on Thursday.....@chrisran24....Hopefully we see Fairbanks outduel Reilly Thursday.

• Hitting %.....Reilly .276......Babcock .311
• Assists/set....Reilly 10.64.....Babcock .11
• Digs/set.....Reilly 2.70....Babcock 1.37
• Aces/set....Reilly .23....Babcock .44
• Blocks/set.....Reilly .54....Babcock 1.04
• Points/set...Reilly 1.10....Babcock 4.60

I think I found the correct numbers. I know it's not an apples to apples comparison, but it's nice to see Babcock's #s in what she does for the team.

 

[vantheman1976]

Where do you find those stats? I'm curious what Babcock's look like. Thanks.

You have to go to the 'stats' tab on the volleyball home page of each school. Here's the link for Pitt.

2023 University of Pittsburgh Women's Volleyball (PDF) - Pitt Panthers #H2P

2023 University of Pittsburgh Women's Volleyball (PDF)

pittsburghpanthers.com