Five Huskers Named to Preseason All-Big Ten Team
Five student-athletes from the Nebraska volleyball team were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team on Thursday after a vote by the league's 18 head coaches.
Merritt Beason and Lexi Rodriguez were unanimous selections to the 18-player Preseason All-Big Ten Team. They were joined by fellow Huskers Taylor Landfair, Harper Murray and Bergen Reilly on the team. All five players were All-Big Ten selections in 2023. Seventeen of the 18 players on the team were either All-Big Ten or All-Pac 12 First Team selections last season. NU's five selections were the most for any team in the conference; no one else had more than three.
The coaches picked Nebraska as the top team in the preseason poll. The Huskers won their fourth Big Ten title in 2023 with a 19-1 conference record. Nebraska finished the season at 33-2 and reached the NCAA Championship match, falling 3-0 to Texas in Tampa, Fla. Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue and Minnesota rounded out the top five, followed by three of the conference's newcomers in Oregon, USC and UCLA.
Beason earned AVCA All-America First Team honors in 2023 and was selected as the AVCA North Region Player of the Year, becoming the second Husker (Kelly Hunter) to earn that distinction. She was named to the AVCA All-Region Team and All-Big Ten First Team unanimously in her first year at Nebraska. Beason averaged 3.76 kills per set on .282 hitting with 2.05 digs per set.
Rodriguez also was named to the AVCA All-America First Team in 2023, her third career All-America honor and second selection to the first team. She became the 14th Husker in school history to earn at least three All-America honors at Nebraska. The Sterling, Ill., native also was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in her career, becoming the fifth player in Big Ten history to receive that honor twice in a career. She was chosen to the AVCA All-Region and All-Big Ten First Team for the third straight year. Rodriguez led the Huskers to a nation-leading opponent hitting percentage for the second year in a row with 3.60 digs per set.
At Minnesota last season, Landfair earned AVCA All-Region honors and All-Big Ten First Team accolades for the third time. She averaged 3.19 kills and 2.03 digs per set for the Golden Gophers. Landfair was a first-team AVCA All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2022, as well as the AVCA North Region Player of the Year.
Murray was an AVCA All-America Third Team selection and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. She earned AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year, as well as All-Big Ten First Team, Big Ten All-Freshman Team and AVCA All-Region accolades. Murray finished second on the team with 3.23 kills per set and had a .237 hitting percentage to go with 2.07 digs per set and a team-high 36 service aces.
Reilly was named an AVCA Second-Team All-American, AVCA All-Region, Big Ten Setter of the Year, All-Big Ten First Team and Big Ten All-Freshman Team in her first season as a Husker. She became the first freshman to win Big Ten Setter of the Year since the award originated in 2012. Reilly led all Big Ten setters with 10.51 assists per set, and set the Huskers to a .273 hitting percentage on the season, which ranked second in the Big Ten and in the top 25 nationally.
2024 BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Nebraska
2. Wisconsin
3. Penn State
4. Purdue
5. Minnesota
6. Oregon
7. USC
8. UCLA
9. Ohio State
10. Indiana
11. Illinois
12. Michigan State
13. Washington
14. Maryland
15. Michigan
16. Northwestern
17. Rutgers
18. Iowa
2024 PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
Raina Terry, Gr., OH, Illinois
Camryn Haworth, Sr., S, Indiana
Melani Shaffmaster, RS-Sr., S, Minnesota
MERRITT BEASON, Sr., OPP, Nebraska
Taylor Landfair, Sr., OH, Nebraska
Harper Murray, So., OH, Nebraska
Bergen Reilly, So., S, Nebraska
LEXI RODRIGUEZ, Sr., L, Nebraska
Emily Londot, Fifth-Year, OH/OPP, Ohio State
Mimi Colyer, Jr., OH, Oregon
JESS MRUZIK, Gr., OH, Penn State
Chloe Chicoine, So., OH, Purdue
Eva Hudson, Jr., OH, Purdue
Anna Dodson, Gr., MB, UCLA
Mia Tuaniga, Sr., S, USC
Carter Booth, Jr., MB, Wisconsin
Sarah Franklin, Sr., OH, Wisconsin
Anna Smrek, Sr., MB/OPP, Wisconsin
Unanimous selection listed in ALL CAPS