Big Ten VB Postseason Honors Announced

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Big Ten Announces 2021 Volleyball Postseason Honors

Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Wisconsin each had individual award recipients

bigten.org

2021 Big Ten Volleyball Postseason Awards (PDF) - Big Ten Conference

bigten.org

Big Ten Player of the Year
OPP - Stephanie Samedy, Minnesota (SR)

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
L/DS - Lexi Rodriguez, Nebraska (FR)

Big Ten Setter of the Year
Sydney Hilley, Wisconsin (SR)

Big Ten Freshman of the Year
OH - Julia Orzol, Wisconsin (FR)

Big Ten Coach of the Year
Dave Shondell, Purdue

FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG TEN
ALL CAPS = Unanimous Selection

OH/OPP - Megan Conney, Illinois (SR)
MB - Rainelle Jones, Maryland (SR)
OH - Jess Mruzik, Michigan (SO)
OH - Sarah Franklin, Michigan State (SO)
L/DS - CC McGraw, Minnesota (SR)
OPP - STEPHANIE SAMEDY, MINNESOTA (SR)
OH - Madi Kubik, Nebraska (JR)
L/DS - Lexi Rodriguez, Nebraska (FR)
MB - Lauren Stivrins, Nebraska (SR)
OH - Temi Thomas-Ailara, Northwestern (JR)
S - Mac Podraza, Ohio State (JR)
MB - RYLEE RADER, OHIO STATE (SO)
MB - Kaitlyn Hord, Penn State (SR)
RS - Jonni Parker, Penn State (SR)
S - Hayley Bush, Purdue (SR)
OH - Grace Cleveland, Purdue (SR)
OH - Caitlyn Newton, Purdue (SR)
S - SYDNEY HILLEY, WISCONSIN (SR)
MB - DANA RETTKE, WISCONSIN (SR)

SECOND TEAM ALL-BIG TEN
RS - Courtney Buzzerio, Cockeye (SR)
OH - Jenna Wenaas, Minnesota (SO)
S - Nicklin Hames, Nebraska (SR)
OPP - Emily Londot, Ohio State (SO)
L/DS - Jenna Hampton, Penn State (SR)
L/DS - Jena Otec, Purdue (SR)
L/DS - Lauren Barnes, Wisconsin (SR)
MB/RS - Devyn Robinson, Wisconsin (SO)

BIG TEN ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
L/DS - Milan Gomillion, Maryland
MB - Jacque Boney, Michigan
OH - Lindsay Krause, Nebraska
L/DS - Lexi Rodriguez, Nebraska
MB - Arica Davis, Ohio State
MB - Raven Colvin, Purdue
OH - Julia Orzol, Wisconsin

SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
OH/RS - Jessica Nunge, Illinois (JR)
MB - Kaley Rammelsberg, Indiana (JR)
S - Bailey Ortega, Cockeye (SO)
DS - Maddie Naumann, Maryland (SR)
L/DS - Hannah Grant, Michigan (SO)
MB - Rebecka Poljan, Michigan State (SR)
OH - Airi Miyabe, Minnesota (SR)
MB - Kayla Caffey, Nebraska (SR)
OH - Natalie Chizzo, Northwestern (SO)
L/DS - Hannah Gruensfelder, Ohio State (SR)
OH - Annie Cate Fitzpatrick, Penn State (SO)
DS - Marissa Hornung, Purdue (SR)
MB - Shealyn McNamara, Rutgers (SR)
OH - Grace Loberg, Wisconsin (SR)

 

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Big Ten Announces 2021 Volleyball Postseason Honors
BigTen.org
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced the 2021 Volleyball All-Big Ten Teams and individual honorees Wednesday, with Big Ten champion Wisconsin earning two individual accolades, according to a vote of the conference’s 14 head coaches. The Badgers’ Sydney Hilley was selected as the Setter of the Year and Julia Orzol was voted Freshman of the Year. In addition, Minnesota’s Stephanie Samedy repeated as Player of the Year, Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year and Purdue’s Dave Shondell earned Coach of the Year honors (the lone award that featured separate voting by the conference coaches and a select media panel, both of whom chose Shondell).

Samedy is the sixth two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and the first since Penn State’s Megan Hodge bookended her career with awards in 2006 and 2009. Samedy is also the fourth student-athlete to capture Big Ten Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons and the first since 1997-98, when PSU’s Bonnie Bremner pulled off the feat. In addition, she is one of seven Golden Gophers to be chosen Big Ten Player of the Year, with a Minnesota student-athlete now receiving that award five times in the past seven seasons (Daly Santana in 2015; Sarah Wilhite in 2016; Samantha Seliger-Swenson in 2018; Samedy in 2020 and 2021).

A redshirt senior opposite from Clermont, Fla., Samedy leads the Big Ten in kills (4.84/set; also eighth in the NCAA) and points (5.39/set; 10th in the nation), while also recording 21 double-doubles, 12 20-kill matches, three 30-kill outings and five 20-dig contests. During Big Ten play, she led the conference in kills (4.75/set) and points (5.30/set) with 14 double-doubles, seven 20-kill matches, two 30-kill performances and all five of her 20-dig contests.

Along with earning Player of the Year honors, Samedy also joins Wisconsin graduate student middle blocker Dana Rettke in becoming the first five-time first-team All-Big Ten selections in conference history. Both players, who are also in line to garner All-America honors, returned for their final seasons to compete through use of the NCAA waiver process in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rodriguez is just the second freshman to capture Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year accolades and the first since 2002, when Minnesota’s Paula Gentil earned the first of her three consecutive honors. Rodriguez is also the second Nebraska student-athlete chosen as Defensive Player of the Year, joining Justine Wong-Orantes, who was a two-time honoree (2015, 2016).

A libero and defensive specialist from Sterling, Ill., Rodriguez ranks sixth in the Big Ten in digs (4.46/set) with seven 20-dig matches to her credit, including a career-high 28 digs on the road at both Minnesota (Oct. 30) and Purdue (Nov. 27). In conference action, she ranked third in the Big Ten with 4.71 digs per set, with five 20-dig contests.

With Wednesday’s announcement, Hilley cements her place in Big Ten history as the first three-time Big Ten Setter of the Year since the award was created in 2012. The graduate student from Brooklyn Park, Minn., is also the second Badger to earn the honor, following two-time recipient Lauren Carlini in 2014 and 2015. Hilley currently stands second in both the conference and the nation in assists (11.96/set) and was tops during conference play (12.01/set). For her career, she has 5,876 assists, ranking second among active Division I players and seventh in the Big Ten record books.

An outside hitter from Olsztyn, Poland, Orzol is the sixth Wisconsin student-athlete chosen as Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the first since Rettke in 2017. Orzol is averaging 3.01 kills and 2.15 digs per set this season with six double-doubles to her credit.

Shondell has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second time, following his selections by both his conference peers and the media in 2011. Now in his 19th season at Purdue, Shondell has guided the Boilermakers to a 23-5 record this year and a tie for third in the Big Ten standings at 15-5, the program’s best conference finish since 2011. Purdue also has risen as high as a school-record No. 4 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll and earned the No. 6 national seed for this year’s NCAA Tournament, also the best in program history.

Samedy, Rettke and Hilley were unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selections this year. They were joined on that squad by Rodriguez, who was also a unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree, along with Orzol. The complete All-Big Ten teams can be found by CLICKING HERE.

The Big Ten also recognized 14 Sportsmanship Award honorees. The students chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The complete list of honorees can be found by CLICKING HERE.

Eight Big Ten schools earned berths in this year’s NCAA Tournament, which opens this weekend with first- and second-round matches at campus sites around the country. Five Big Ten teams received top-16 national seeds and will play host to those opening two rounds — No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 6 Purdue, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 12 Minnesota. All first- and second-round matches will be televised on ESPN+.

The NCAA Tournament continues with regional play Dec. 9 & 11, with the Final Four slated for Dec. 16 & 18 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, co-hosted by Ohio State and the Columbus Sports Commission. The national semifinals will be televised on ESPN and the national championship match will be broadcast on ESPN, with selected regional matches also being shown on the ESPN family of networks.

 

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Five Huskers Collect Big Ten Postseason Honors
Huskers.com
The Nebraska volleyball program was well represented on the 2021 All-Big Ten teams and postseason accolades announced by the conference office Wednesday, earning four all-conference nods, one superlative honor and two all-freshman awards.

Madi Kubik, Lexi Rodriguez and Lauren Stivrins were named to the All-Big Ten First Team, and Nicklin Hames was selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team. Rodriguez was tabbed the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Fellow newcomer Lindsay Krause joined her on the All-Freshman Team.

Teams were determined in a vote of the league's 14 head coaches.

Nebraska and Purdue were the only two schools to have three first-team All-Big Ten picks this season. NU has boasted at least three first-teamers six straight years.

Rodriguez has had an outstanding freshman season as NU's libero, averaging 4.46 digs and 1.12 assists per set while adding 14 aces. She collected six weekly conference awards over the 10-week regular season -- four as Big Ten Freshman of the Week and two as Defensive Player of the Week. Rodriguez ranked third in conference play with 4.71 digs per set. The Sterling, Ill., native totaled at least 15 digs in 16 matches and notched 20+ digs seven times.

Rodriguez is the Huskers' third Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in program history, joining two-time winner Justine Wong-Orantes (2015, 2016). She is just the second freshman in conference history to capture the award and the first since Minnesota's Paula Gentil in 2002.

Additionally, Rodriguez is the fourth Husker to garner All-Big Ten accolades as a freshman, following in the footsteps of first-team selections Meghan Haggerty (2012) and Kadie Rolfzen (2013) and second-teamer Kubik (2019).

Kubik has averaged 3.49 kills and 2.01 digs per set on .215 hitting in her junior season, adding 17 aces and 46 blocks. The outside hitter ranked third among Big Ten players with 4.11 kills per set in conference play. Kubik led the Huskers in kills in all but one conference match, finishing in double figures in 17 of 19 contests in the Big Ten slate. She was named Big Ten Player of the Week back-to-back on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18.

A West Des Moines, Cockeye, native, Kubik was previously second-team all-conference in 2019 and is a two-time AVCA all-region and All-America Honorable Mention pick.

Stivrins picks up her fourth straight first-team All-Big Ten award, having previously been honored in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The three-time All-America middle blocker returned to the lineup on Oct. 1 after coming back from offseason surgery and has averaged 2.41 kills and 1.09 blocks per set. Stivrins has hit .346 on the year, which ranked seventh in conference play, and helped NU limit teams to just .147 hitting, which was the league low and ranks 10th nationally.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., native has hit .380 for her career, which ranks fourth in school history, and is 10th for career blocks and 15th for career kills.

Hames garnered her third straight All-Big Ten accolade, having previously been a first-team selection in 2019 and 2020. The All-America setter has averaged 10.58 assists, 3.37 digs, 0.43 blocks and 0.28 aces per set in her senior season, ranking fourth for assists and seventh for aces in league play.

Hames, who hails from Maryville, Tenn., was honored as Big Ten Setter of the Week twice this season -- on Oct. 11 and Oct. 25. She has led NU with 19 double-doubles this season, took ownership of the program's rally-scoring era career assists record and ranks second all-time at Nebraska for assists.

Krause has averaged 2.36 kills and 0.76 blocks per set in her freshman campaign while hitting .213, starting in 22 matches. The Papillion, Neb., native finished with double-digit kills 11 times and hit .300 or better on eight occasions. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week recognition on Sept. 27.

Since joining the Big Ten in 2011, Nebraska has counted 33 first- and second-team All-Big Ten selections and 11 All-Freshman honorees.

Kayla Caffey was Nebraska's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. A graduate student pursuing a master's degree in teaching, learning and teacher education, Caffey is a member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll.

No. 10 Nebraska opens the NCAA Tournament this Friday, Dec. 3, facing Campbell in the first round. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center.