Five Nebraska volleyball players were named first team All-Big Ten by the conference on Wednesday. Outside hitter Merritt Beason, middle blocker Andi Jackson, outside hitter Harper Murray, setter Bergen Reilly and libero Lexi Rodriguez were all named to the 25-woman first-team by the league. Additionally, Reilly earned Big Ten Setter of the Year for the second straight year, while Rodriguez was named Big Ten Libero of the Year after earning two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Reilly, a sophomore, becomes the first player in Big Ten history to earn conference setter of the year as both a freshman and a sophomore. She’s also the first Huskers to be named setter of the year twice by the Big Ten since NU joined the league in 2011. She ranks eighth nationally (and first in the Big Ten) in assists per set at 11.12 while also adding 2.89 digs per set and 20 aces. Rodriguez, a senior, is just the second player in Big Ten history to earn three conference libero/defensive player of the year awards, joining Minnesota’s Paula Gentil, 2002-04. She enters the NCAA Tournament second in school history in career digs, 71 behind Justine Wong-Orantes school record. Rodriguez becomes the fifth Husker to be named first-team all-conference four times in her career (Greichaly Cepero (1999-2002), Sarah Pavan (2004-07), Kadie Rolfzen (2013-16) and Lauren Stivrins (2018-21).
Beason captured her second first team All-Big Ten honor in two years at Nebraska after transferring from Florida. She currently ranks second on the team with 2.99 kills per set, while adding 1.24 digs per set and 24 aces. Murray also captures her second first team all-conference honor in two years as a Husker. She leads the team with 3.28 kills per set and also 30 aces. Meanwhile, Jackson earned her second all-conference honor after being named second team All-Big Ten last year. She averages 2.58 kills per set while hitting a Big Ten best .442, good for sixth in the nation.
The No. 2 national seed, Nebraska starts NCAA Tournament play Friday at 7 p.m. against Florida A&M. The match can be heard starting with pregame coverage at 6 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.