Personal
Born in Whittier, Calif. ... parents are Margaret and Robert Neilson ... the youngest of five children with four sisters ... served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Croatia ... sister Kari played at BYU in the mid 1990s ... works at volleyball camps over the summer ... enjoys all sports including tennis, basketball and homerun derby ... enjoys reading and outdoor activities including camping and snow boarding ... neuroscience major.
Before BYU
Earned three letters at Pacific Palisades Charter in California ... Palisades scholar athlete of the year in 1999 ... three-time first-team all-CIF city selection ... 1998 player of the year CIF city selection ... 1999 co-player of the year CIF city selection ... 1999 Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection ... also lettered in basketball ... played for Team LA club under Alvin Lamarr and LAAC club team under Chris McGee ... LAAC team won gold medal at 1997 Junior Olympics ... Junior Olympic All-American in 1997 ... Team LA won bronze medal at 1999 Junior Olympics.
Stats
C areer Match Highs
Kills: 7 vs. Penn State, 1/6/05
Attempts: 12 vs. Penn State, 1/6/05
Hitting Percentage: 1.000 (three times)
Digs: 10 vs. CS Northrdige, 1/14/06
Block Assists: 8 vs. Hawai'i, 3/19/05
Block Solos: 2 (six times)
Total Blocks: 9 vs. Hawai'i, 3/19/05
Service Aces: 3 at UC Santa Barbara, 1/21/05
Assists: 71 at UC Irvine, 3/10/06
| Year | MP | GP | K | K/G | E | TA | PCT | A | SA | SE | RE | D | BS | BA | TB | B/G | BE | BHE |
| 2003 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004^ | 32 | 104 | 7 | 0.07 | 1 | 11 | 0.545 | 76 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.02 | 2 | 1 |
| 2005 | 30 | 111 | 85 | 0.77 | 31 | 159 | 0.340 | 1467 | 14 | 74 | 1 | 137 | 19 | 79 | 98 | 0.88 | 9 | 24 |
| 2006 | 25 | 95 | 47 | 0.49 | 17 | 84 | 0.357 | 1245 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 148 | 9 | 52 | 61 | 0.64 | 6 | 7 |