LLCC MVPs, 2006-2018

So…had some time…and that means playing around with numbers.  I decided on a new Gedankenexperiment–a Thought Experiment in English.  I wanted to see if, by altering how ‘points’ are tallied in volleyball, it could be turned into a meaningful statistic to determine player value.  Now, for me, this isn’t new.  I’ve toyed with my formula for some time, but I haven’t ever really looked at it in depth.  It’s been more of a toy than anything.    I just always hate seeing a useless stat like ‘points’–all that tells you is that a hitter gets a lot of blocks and kills…totally negates the value of a passer or a great setter.

In any event, I’ll put the value next to the player…even though I’m not explaining the formula (sorry).  I’m curious to see what the formula says…:

2018: Lainey Jackson (setter) – 456 (3.0/set) 2017: Kiersten Anderson (opposite) – 459 (3.06/set) 2016: Kiersten Anderson (opposite) – 312 (2.23/set) So far, so good.  No surprises.  2nd in 2018 was our libero.  2017 was an all-American middle.  2016 was an all-American outside hitter.  The ‘advantage’ for Anderson is that she played all six rotations and shared setting duties, so she was contributing in all ways–defense, serving, blocking, setting, hitting.

2015: Claire Reinthaler (middle) – 274 (1.85/set) Here’s a surprise.  Claire was all-National Tournament, but I would’ve thought this would go to our six-rotation outside (Tiffany) or the six-rotation opposite.  Instead, they finished 3rd and 4th behind a setter who played great defense and made great setting choices.  Then again, Claire set a school record, hitting .377.  We had six starters between 175 and 274…a lot of balance.

2014: Tessa Amsden (libero) – 226 (1.55/set) Another surprise though maybe it shouldn’t be.  Our dominant OH played three rotations this year and we played rotating setters as well–otherwise this would be Taylor Wienke in the 1st slot (which would still have been a surprise for MVP/most productive).  Tessa went on to play D1, so this isn’t a ‘weird’ result either…just a surprise.

2013: Taylor Harper (setter) – 418 (2.97/set) 2012: Emily Orrick (libero) – 332 (2.32/set) 2011: Emily Orrick (libero) – 348 (2.09/set) None of these are surprising.  Harper was a clear choice (and made all-American).  Orrick is the best juco libero ever.  The surprise was that right behind her both years was our middle, Haley Maxwell–a lot of blocks and kills.  It says something that a pure passer was still able to be more ‘valuable’ than an all-American middle.

2010: Beka Pruemer (S/OPP) – 569 (3.53/set) 2009: Beka Pruemer (S/OPP) – 450 (2.76/set) Pruemer’s 2010 season was our first all-American selection.  The 2009 was surprising given we had three good hitters, two of whom played six rotations.  I think this is like Anderson in 2016 and 2017–being able to contribute in every phase of the game makes a difference.

2008: Jill Vogt (Setter) – 457 (2.89/set) 2007: Anna Becker (libero) – 406 (2.96/set) On the surface, Becker’s performance is ‘better’ than Orrick’s as a libero, but we accumulated more stats because the sets went to 30 rather than 25.  If we take that into account, we drop to 2.38/set, still more than Orrick.  We definitely relied on Anna’s defense and she went on to play libero at the D1 level–so not a wrong result by any means.

2006: Albana Gashi (outside hitter) – 337 (2.53/set) We played to 30 here as well.  2006 had five players between 200 and 337.  Becker is 2nd here as the other outside hitter.

So what do the stats look like for each ‘MVP’ and the runner-up?

2018: Lainey Jackson (MVP) -> 42 aces, 43 blocks, 366 digs, 1,571 assists, 91 kills “Nora Roberts” (2nd) -> 37 aces, 32 blocks, 337 digs, 11 assists, 328 kills

2017: Kiersten Anderson (MVP) -> 65 aces, 76 blocks, 418 digs, 1,099 assists, 334 kills Addie Patton (2nd) -> 26 aces, 113 blocks, 156 digs, 21 assists, 454 kills

2016: Kiersten Anderson (MVP) -> 56 aces, 65 blocks, 293 digs, 671 assists, 322 kills Talesha Scott (2nd) -> 13 aces, 45 blocks, 147 digs, 5 assists, 589 kills

2015: Claire Reinthaler (MVP) -> 63 aces, 117 blocks, 229 digs, 7 assists, 299 kills (Of note: it’s the best ‘efficiency’ season we’ve had–only 30 service errors and 55 attack      errors to go with those aces/kills) Sarah Mueller (2nd) -> 29 aces, 294 digs, 798 assists  (I attribute this to balance between our other hitters and libero as well as Sarah setting 3x rotations with 3 hitters, including one with our 3 best)

2014: Tessa Amsden (MVP) -> 39 aces, 736 digs, 20 assists, 4 kills (passed 2.41/3.00) Tiffany Sunderlin (2nd) -> 48 aces, 18 blocks, 307 digs, 14 assists, 465 kills (NOTE: Sunderlin was what basketball refers to as a ‘volume shooter’–so that here as a freshmen she had enough errors hitting/serving to knock her to 2nd)

2013: Taylor Harper (MVP) -> 30 aces, 34 blocks, 302 digs, 1,502 assists, 46 kills Lindsay Hathcoat (2nd) -> 43 aces, 885 digs, 29 assists, 17 kills (passed 2.36/3.00)

2012: Emily Orrick (MVP) -> 61 aces, 1,028 digs, 21 assists, 9 kills (passed 2.71/3.00..in a 2-man receive) Haley Maxwell (2nd) -> 31 aces, 111 blocks, 115 digs, 17 assists, 427 kills (.324)

2011: Emily Orrick (MVP) -> 59 aces, 1,020 digs, 37 assists, 15 kills (passed 2.60/3.00 in a 2-man receive)Emily Orrick (MVP) -> 59 aces, 1,020 digs, 37 assists, 15 kills (passed 2.60/3.00 in a 2-man receive)Emily Orrick (MVP) -> 59 aces, 1,020 digs, 37 assists, 15 kills (passed 2.60/3.00 in a 2-man receive)Haley Maxwell (2nd) -> 54 aces, 138 blocks, 150 digs, 20 assists, 404 kills Haley Maxwell (2nd) -> 54 aces, 138 blocks, 150 digs, 20 assists, 404 kills Haley Maxwell (2nd) -> 54 aces, 138 blocks, 150 digs, 20 assists, 404 kills 

2010: Beka Pruemer (MVP) -> 47 aces, 96 blocks, 398 digs, 1,104 assists, 245 kills Becky Breakfield (2nd) -> 97 aces, 72 blocks, 456 digs, 15 assists, 324 kills

2009: Beka Pruemer (MVP) -> 27 aces, 78 blocks, 408 digs, 929 assists, 131 kills Becky Breakfield (2nd) -> 41 aces, 75 blocks, 392 digs, 7 assists, 395 kills

2008: Jill Vogt (MVP) -> 57 aces, 77 blocks, 261 digs, 1,112 assists, 120 kills Caitlyn Sullivan (2nd) -> 53 aces, 37 blocks, 528 digs, 11 assists, 444 kills

2007: Anna Becker (MVP) -> 36 aces, 2 blocks, 1,292 digs, 22 assists, 41 kills (passed 2.39/3.00) Kelly Wajda (2nd) -> 67 aces, 70 blocks, 769 digs, 15 assists, 464 kills (Note: Kelly was ‘high volume’…she was an OH after all, so the hitting errors made her #2 by a distance rather than #1)

2006: Albana Gashi (MVP) -> 47 aces, 21 blocks, 784 digs, 14 assists, 442 kills Anna Becker (2nd) -> 44 aces, 45 blocks, 549 digs, 10 assists, 388 kills

By position, we have: S: 3 S/OPP: 4 MH: 1 OH: 1 L: 4

Conclusions?  Nothing definite–after all, this is just stuff from a single team.  If I had to come to one, it would be that our success comes from passing and the management of our offense (7 of 13 selections had setting responsibilities).  I think the number-crunching also shows the value of an athlete able to contribute for six rotations.  Other than Reinthaler’s insanely efficient 2015, every other player was on the court for 95%+ of points.

Please consider hitting the ‘Follow’ button for updates.Please also consider purchasing one of my books (easily found on Amazon or Smashwords) if you like reading odd, out-of-the-box stuff on coaching…or you could try my novels, too!