“Power Five” vs. “Top 25” – The Volleyball Difference

Guilty as charged.  As a member of the media the easiest way to distinguish the difference between programs is led by football.  “The Power Five”. Schools from the Big 10, Big 12, ACC, SEC, and PAC-12 are considered “Power Five” and yes, football is a big driving force behind this.  In all college sports this term is thrown around and volleyball is no different. Official visits might include a sideline pass to a football game where there could be up to 100,000 fans, how could you not fall in love with that type of atmosphere.  However, in volleyball, saying “Top Twenty Five” or “NCAA Tournament Team” may just be a little more powerful than “Power Five”.

Here are some schools who might not be considered “Power Five” where plenty of athletes from Prep Dig states have found success or have made their verbal commit where the reality of playing in the NCAA Tournament much more realistic than potentially choosing a low RPI “Power Five School”.

Creighton

No football program, no problem.  Coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth has built a powerhouse in Omaha.  Creighton which is a perennial contender in the NCAA tournament has built their roster on Midwest talent with some of greats from Nebraska, but also some top talent from Iowa in Samantha Bohnet (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln), Jaali Winters (Ankeny Centennial), Megan Sharkey (Bettendorf), and Megan Ballenger (Ankeny).  They also have Kari Zumach from Buffalo, MN and Taryn Kloth from up the road in Sioux Falls, SD. Kloth will be playing beach at LSU and Winters will be playing professionally overseas. Creighton will be welcoming three recruits from Wisconsin in the next two years with Kiana Schmitt (Waunakee), Mckenna Krause (Hortonville), and Kiara Reinhardt (Cedarburg).

Marquette

The matchup between Marquette and Creighton is always the best in the Big East and is usually one of the top 25 matches in any conference.  Their non-conference schedule is loaded and with two (potentially three) matches with Creighton is always sure to beef up the RPI. Marquette has built their roster off of some of the top talent in state with Mosher sisters in Claire and Madeline (Waterloo, Hope Werch (Neenah), Jenna Rosenthal (Fond du Lac), Allie Barber (Cedarburg), and Katie Schoessow (Mukwonago).  They will also have incoming Northern Lights middle blocker Claire Nuessmeier to join another Minnesotan in Ellie Koontz. The Golden Eagles have already gotten two big 2021 recruits in setter Ella Foti (Edgewood/Capital) and Sam Naber (Burlington/Sky High).

Dayton

Dayton out of the Atlantic 10 Conference has been a powerhouse along with VCU, most recently winning the conference in 2018 and heading to Illinois for their NCAA tournament first round.  They have built a little pipeline to Wisconsin with Appleton North and Wisconsin Volleyball Academy alums in outside hitter Mikaylah Van Lanen and Carissa Beyer and already have a Class of 2022 commit from Wisconsin in Karissa Kaminski from Howards Grove and FC Elite.  Molly Asmus is also on the roster from Rochester, Michigan and played for Michigan Elite.

Green Bay

Green Bay has been on the rise with a smooth transition from Sean Burdette who is now at Memphis to Abbey Sutherland who was the head coach at Southern Miss and UW-Stevens Point.  This past season Sutherland led the Phoenix to a regular season Horizon League title and tournament title before facing Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This past season the Phoenix had Northern Lights alums in Jessica Wolf, Anna Eaton, and Taylor Wolf who was the Player of the Year in the league.  Maddie Yoss, a DSHA grad near Milwaukee who won two state titles in her high school career is the top setter in the conference.

The Missouri Valley Conference

Northern Iowa and Illinois State were the powers in the conference last year, but year in and year out this conference is producing multiple bids from the league.  There were times they got up to four when Wichita State and Creighton were in the league.  Now Loyola-Chicago will be an up and coming program getting some of the top athletes in the Midwest for the Class of 2019 and 2020.  Missouri State already has a big group of talented athletes coming in even from the Class of 2021.  They were undefeated in the conference in 2017.  

The Summit League

The Summit League was able to get two teams in last year with Denver being around the top 25, but falling to South Dakota in the Summit League Championship.  This league is getting some of the top players from Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska.  South Dakota has three recruits from Iowa coming in as well as Elizabeth Juhnke who is one of the top outside hitters in the Class of 2019 in Minnesota from Lakeville North.  Omaha, under first year coach Matt Buttermore will be a program to keep tabs on.  Buttermore has deep ties to Nebraska as he built one of the top NAIA programs at Hastings College and already has some big time recruits recently committing in the Class of 2020.