MaxPreps 2015 National Girls Volleyball Player of the Year: Jesuit's Nicole Peterson

Video: MaxPreps National Volleyball Player of the Year
See Nicole Peterson in action for Jesuit High.

When unbeaten Jesuit (Portland, Ore.) graduated an All-American setter in 2014, coach Teresa Zimmerlee wasn't worried. She had Oregon's top power hitter – Nicole Peterson – willing to do whatever was asked of her.

Perhaps even play setter.

Peterson was coming off a junior season filled with honors, including Oregon 6A Player of the Year, after leading the Crusaders to a 37-0 record and a state title. She led the team in most offensive categories - certainly in most exciting kills, as it has been reported that on more than one occasion, she knocked opponents off their feet.

But the switch was made and the rest is, as they say, history. Jesuit finished another unbeaten season (32-0) and was ranked No. 2 in the final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National High School Volleyball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, the highest finish ever for a team from the Pacific Northwest.

And as a result, Peterson played setter, did more than was asked and is MaxPreps' 2015 National Girls Volleyball Player of the Year. The 6-foot senior setter led the Crusaders to their second-straight 6A state championship, as she tallied 956 assists (11.1 per set), 142 digs, 120 service aces, 95 kills and 22 blocks.

"I believe it is a pretty difficult transition, given that Nicole played as an all-around for Jesuit for three years, then transitioned to play setter for us this year. But she made that change seem effortless," said Zimmerlee. "It was great to have her running the offense and giving us that tremendous top spin jump serve in the back row. Of course, we missed her stellar passing ability, but other players filled in and did well for us."

Peterson said she has played setter in club ball and that the transition "wasn't that difficult. But I've not played it at Jesuit. I would say it is my ‘go-to' position. I love hitting and setting ... they are very different. But I would now say I prefer setting."

Though she was setting this year, Peterson did manage to record 95 kills (posting a .552 kill percentage and .453 hitting percentage). And her serving was better than ever, as 25.8 percent of her serves were aces. Off her 466 serves, Jesuit got 306 points.

"In my 40 years as a head varsity coach, I have not seen a better serve than Nicole Peterson's," said Rick Lorenz, head coach of rival Central Catholic High. "Sometimes she would run off 10-15 points. She is not weak at any skill."

The daughter of tennis pros Rob and Carolina, Peterson said her spin serve was developed at a young age and attributed it to tennis.

"It just came natural to me and I was strong enough to make it work," said Peterson, who also plays for the Jesuit tennis team.

A four-year starter, she played in just five losing sets her last two years, as Jesuit was 83-3 in sets in 2015 and 94-2 in 2014.

"Nicole is a standout in all of the positions we asked her to play, and she played wherever the team needed her," said Zimmerlee. "Nicole is competitive, confident, and an amazing floor leader. She is powerful and has great court vision."

Peterson, who will play indoor and sand volleyball collegiately at the University of San Francisco, was again named Oregon's 6A Player of the Year in 2015 as well as the Oregon Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year.

"Being named National Player of the Year is such a great honor. I don't know really what to say. This is just awesome," said Peterson, who began playing volleyball at age 8. "As a team, we worked so hard to be successful."

The MaxPreps National POY said she strives to improve every day.

"I have a passion for volleyball. It is what I do the most and means the world to me," said Peterson. "I put in the extra time, the extra dedication. I do all the things, even the little things, in practice that others might skip, to make myself better."

With Peterson as setter, Jesuit notched some incredible 2015 wins over several state champions at the Nike Invitational held in Phoenix. The Crusaders defeated California Division I champion Redondo Union (Redondo Beach), Arizona D-I titlist Desert Vista (Phoenix), Nevada large schools winner Coronado and Florida 3A title winner P.K. Yonge (Gainesville). In the final Xcellent 25, Yonge was ranked No. 6, Desert Vista No. 8 and Redondo No. 9.

The Crusaders won seven matches (losing just one set) at the prestigious Nike event and Peterson averaged 10.9 assists. She had 27 of them in the 2-0 sweep of Yonge in the title match.

Zimmerlee said she would give the 2015 Crusaders (32-0) a slight edge over the 2014 Crusaders (37-0).

"Both teams were exceptional, but (in 2015) we were able to put players in other positions and they all stepped up."

Especially Peterson.