Over the past several years, NCAA volleyball fans have been treated to some absolutely elite setting. Between the impressive freshman who have led their teams to national championship appearances (and wins) and the more senior leaders who emerged as top talent, there has been no dearth of top-tier setters in the first half of the 2020s.

2024, however, meant saying goodbye to some of the absolute best of the best. It’s going to be a bit jarring to watch Pitt without Rachel Fairbanks and Stanford without Kami Miner, who were my top two favorite setters to watch last year. Add in stars like Kendra Wait, Camyrn Turner, Melani Shaffmaster, and Emma Grome, and it’s clear that offenses are going to be much different this year.

Still, those aforementioned younger players have been stepping up in big ways, and they are absolute joys to watch. With that in mind, here is my list of the top 10 returning setters, presented in alphabetical order by last name.

Nayelis Cabello, Louisville

Louisville spent most of the season running a 6-2 offense, which meant freshman setter Nayelis Cabello was sharing time with Elle Glock. However, when the Cardinals were struggling against Pitt in the national semifinals, the team switched to a 5-1 with Cabello leading the show, which was one element that helped them pull out the win against their conference rivals. This confidence in Cabello is warranted; she sets with great pace and location, and does an excellent job getting all of her hitters involved. She also showed a lot of promise in the spring match against Kentucky when she was the one primarily running the show—and even got in some swings in herself when incoming freshman Hannah Kenny took on setting duties for a few rotations.

Averi Carlson, SMU (previously Texas)

As an outside observer, it seemed like Averi Carlson was put into a bit of an awkward situation during her season with the Longhorns. After transferring in from Baylor, Carlson shared playing time, often in a 6-2, with Ella Swindle, who notably led the team to the 2023 national championship. The “problem” was that Carlson was noticeably outplaying Swindle, whose connection with her hitters just seemed off. Carlson, meanwhile, set a beautiful ball, putting her hitters in good positions and . By the end of the season, Carlson had played in roughly 30 more sets than her counterpart, and who knows how that affected things in the locker room. Now that she’s presumably going to be leading the offense for SMU full-time, I’m excited to see how Carlson comes into her own, especially with some of the phenomenal hitters that the Mustangs have transferred in.

Cristin Cline, Kansas (previously Oregon)

After Matt Ulmer left Oregon for Kansas, Cristine Cline followed suit, ditching the green and yellow to follow her coach to the Big 12. I thought Cline was very impressive last year, setting her team to a .261 hitting efficiency and giving top-seeded Pitt a scare in the third round of the post-season tournament. I enjoyed watching her run the offense during Kansas’ spring match vs. Nebraska, and I’m excited to see how she fares in her new conference.

Marina Crownover, Missouri

Since Dawn Sullivan took over as head coach of Missouri, the Tigers have been on the up-and-up. In 2024, they made it to the third round of the tournament for the first time since 2017, and a big part of their 22-9 overall record was Marina Crownover’s command of the offense. Crownover, who transferred after one season at Texas, recorded 10.9 assists per set in her first year at Mizzou thanks to her precise setting and aggressiveness at the net. Notably, she helped Missouri upset her former team in five sets, during which she notched six kills of her own. Crownover then led her team to another upset of a Texas team, beating SMU in four sets in the second round of the NCAA tournament. 

Caroline Kerr, Tennessee

Who can forget the scare that Tennessee, led by Caroline Kerr’s setting, gave Texas in the 2023 NCAA tournament? While they did end up losing to the eventual champions and things have been up and down for the team since then, Kerr has continued to impress. I like the tempo she sets with as well as her decision-making; she knows when to spread the ball around and when to find the hot hand (an example being Nina Cajic’s 42-kill match last year). Kerr is also one of the most aggressive setters returning to the NCAA this season, with .83 kills per set last year and a .451 hitting efficiency. 

Brooke Mosher, Pitt (previously Illinois)

Filling the shoes of two-time first-team All-American Rachel Fairbanks is a tall task, but I like the idea of Brooke Mosher for the job. With Torrey Stafford having left Pitt, it’ll be more important than ever for Pitt’s setter to find the hot hand that is Olivia Babcock, but considering how much of the Illini offense ran through Raina Terry, that shouldn’t be a big shift for Mosher. In addition to her solid setting, Mosher’s serve is a weapon, and with .38 aces per set last year, she is the best server of returning setters in the Power 4 conferences.

Bergen Reilly, Nebraska

While I don’t think the 2024 season was quite up to the standard she set during her freshman year, Bergen Reilly is still an immensely talented setter who has shown the ability to run a beautifully balanced offense, and it shows in the stats. Of returning setters in Power 4 conferences, Reilly is in second place for assists per set, with 11.08. In 2025, she has some competition for her starting spot, with the very promising Campbell Flynn coming in as a freshman. It will be interesting to see what new head coach Dani Busboom Kelly does with the volume of talent she’s inherited as part of this Husker squad, and whether that will involve a 6-2 offense in order to make use of both Reilly and Flynn.

Avery Scoggins, Arizona

Though Arizona didn’t end up with a bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament, the team showed immense promise, much of which was thanks to setter Avery Scoggins. As only a freshman, Scoggins led her team to multiple upsets of top-25 teams, including BYU and Kansas, and accrued 12 double-doubles (assists/digs) over the course of the season. In the post-season NIVC tournament, Scoggins and Arizona cruised their way through to the finals, where they gritted out a five-set win against Bowling Green to take the title. Scoggins contributed 54 assists in that winning match.

Izzy Starck, Penn State

It’s hard not to sing Izzy Starck’s praises, so I’m not going to bother restraining myself. Starck is one hell of an athlete, especially given that she was only a freshman last year when she led Penn State to its first national championship in a decade. Even in tricky situations (that 16-22 deficit in the fourth set against Nebraska in the national semifinals comes to mind), Starck manages to stay calm and collected on the surface. Beyond that emotional maturity, she is simply an elite setter whose ability to better the ball and get it in the right location for her hitters is a thing of beauty. In addition to her 11 assists per set last season, she also emerged as a strong blocker, with .73 per set making her the third best blocker of returning Power 4 conference setters. I don’t number these lists, but if it isn’t clear from my effusive praise of Starck—she’s number one, and it wasn’t a tough choice to make.

Alexis Stucky, Florida

Before Alexis Stucky went down with a gnarly knee injury early in her sophomore season, she and the Florida Gators looked primed for absolute dominance. It was great to see her return to the court this past season, even if she was clearly experiencing some lingering limitations with regards to her mobility. Despite that, her setting still looked as clean as ever, and I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll see Stucky return to her top form in all facets this year.