We’re about halfway through the 2024 college volleyball season and I’ve been having fun creating my own all-star teams. I made two teams, one East and one West, with the dividing line running along the easternmost border of Texas and Nebraska.

This places teams like Purdue, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Louisville and Penn State in the East, while teams like Washington, Texas, Stanford, Nebraska, SMU and Arizona State represent the West.

WEEK 7 VOLLEYBALL POWER 10: Pitt remains top, SMU slides down rankings

These are my choices; let’s do it.

East All-Star Team

Outside hitter: Jess Mruzik
Outside hitter: Sara Franklin
Opposite: Olivia Babcock
Middle blocker: Sophie Visser
Middle blocker: Raven Colvin
Setter: Rachel Fairbanks
Libero: Elena Scott

For the East I chose Rachel Fairbanks as my setter. She runs one of the most efficient offenses in the country, she’s so dynamic: Pitt leads the nation in hitting percentage. This was an easy choice for me.

For libero I go with Elena Scott from Louisville, also an easy choice for me. She’s one of the best to ever do it, and her numbers are insane.

For my two outsiders, I choose Wisconsin’s Sarah Franklin, the reigning National Player of the Year. Her court vision and shot selection and a great passer. Joining her is Penn State’s Jess Mruzik, who averages 4.55 kills per set and brings a cannon of an arm and a great passer to boot.

There are a lot of great opposites on this side of the country, including players like Emily Londot and Kennedy Martin, but I’m going with Olivia Babcock at Pitt. She’s nearly unstoppable when she goes on the attack, and as a bonus, she’s a deadly server.

3rd in the country in points per set? Not bad, Liv 😏 pic.twitter.com/M2SHWamMoZ

— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB) October 15, 2024

I’m going with Purdue’s Raven Colvin and Georgia’s Sophie Fischer for my two remedies. Colvin is coming off this year averaging nearly 4 points per set, hitting over .400 and ranking second in the nation with 1.7 blocks per set. And Fischer is an attacking center and a great server, averaging almost 4.5 points per set and 1.4 blocks per set.

Let us now shift our focus to the West.

West All-Star Team

Outside hitter: Melanie Parra
Outside hitter: Madi Skinner
Opposite: Naya Shime
Middle blocker: Andi Jackson
Middle blocker: Claire Jeter
Setter: Kami Miner
Libero: Lexi Rodriguez

I had a hard time choosing between Stanford’s Kami Miner and Creighton’s Kendra. Wait for my setter. I don’t think you can go wrong with either choice, but I’m going with Miner here. She runs a nice attack.

Kami takes care of things 😎

💻 » https://t.co/VusvkwVPA1#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/bPbpmc8Qir

— Stanford Women’s Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) October 12, 2024

My top two picks at libero are Lexi Rodriguez from Nebraska and Mary Shroll from Arizona State. Shroll has flashier dig numbers, but I’m picking Rodriguez, again, one of the best to do it. She has fewer problems because she is outright shunned on the field and is one of the best passers in the game.

For my two outsiders, it’s hard to pass up the NCAA’s leading point scorer, TCU’s Melanie Parra. She leads the country in both points and kills per set and can take over any match.

And while the stats are great, I root for Madi Skinner all day, every day. A three-time national champion and one of the best competitors I have ever seen. Elia Rubin was also a strong contender for this spot.

I’m going to take Naya Shime from SMU as my opposite. She can dictate how a game plays and can put up great numbers against some of the best teams, blockers and passers in the country.

BEST OF THE BEST: Top 8 freshman women’s volleyball so far this season

Finally, I’ll take Nebraska’s Andi Jackson as my first middle. She’s just an electric center player and is hitting .471 this season.

ANDI JACKSON IS HER. BIG RED IN FRONT. TIME OUT, PURDUE. #GBR pic.twitter.com/PxIKaKXmKX

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) October 12, 2024

For my second, I was torn between Mariana Singletary from Texas and Claire Jeter from Arizona State. I’ll take Jeter, given her experience and strong offensive numbers. She scored more than 3 points per set and is hitting over .455 this season. She has a great volleyball IQ and is difficult to defend.