ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten announced its postseason volleyball awards on Tuesday, with student-athletes from four schools earning recognition following the conclusion of the 2013 regular season. Nebraska’s Kelsey Robinson has been named the Big Ten Player of the Year by a vote of the conference’s coaches, while Michigan State’s Kori Moster and Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini were tabbed Defensive Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Penn State’s Micha Hancock earned Setter of the Year honors, while Nittany Lion head coach Russ Rose was tabbed Coach of the Year by Big Ten coaches and media.
Robinson led the Big Ten in kills (4.69) and points (5.41) per set during the conference season, helping Nebraska to the No. 8 overall seed in the NCAA Championship. The Husker senior also hit at a .349 clip on 765 total attempts. Robinson becomes the first Nebraska player to win the Player of the Year award.
Moster averaged 4.65 digs per set this season en route to being tabbed the top defensive player in the conference for the second year in a row. The Spartan junior is the only Michigan State player to have earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and just the second student-athlete to collect multiple defensive accolades, joining Minnesota’s Paula Gentil who won three straight from 2002-04.
Hancock takes home her second consecutive Big Ten Setter of the Year award. The Penn State junior led the Big Ten in assists (11.47) and service aces (.52) per set in conference play. Hancock was named Big Ten Setter of the Week five times this season.
Carlini is the third Badger to be named Freshman of the Year and the first since Claudia Rodriguez in 2000. The setter paced the Wisconsin offense, averaging 10.87 assists per set. She has also accumulated a team-high 19 double-doubles this season.
Rose earns top billing among the conference’s coaches and media for the second consecutive year after guiding Penn State to a 28-2 overall record and a 19-1 mark in Big Ten play en route to its 10th conference title in the last 11 years. The Nittany Lions also earned the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Championship. Rose’s award from the coaches marks his 12th all-time and sixth in the last seven years, while his honor from the media is his eighth in the last nine years.
Fourteen Big Ten players were tabbed All-Big Ten by the conference’s coaches, with eight making the team via unanimous vote. Joining Robinson as unanimous All-Big Ten selections are Illinois’ Jocelynn Birks, Michigan State’s Lauren Wicinski, Minnesota’s Tori Dixon and Ashley Wittman, and Penn State’s Deja McClendon, Katie Slay and Ariel Scott. Rounding out the All-Conference Team are Michigan’s Jennifer Cross, Nebraska’s Kadie Rolfzen, Northwestern’s Stephanie Holthus, Penn State’s Hancock, Purdue’s Val Nichol and Wisconsin’s Carlini.
Carlini was unanimously voted to the All-Freshman Team, along with Nebraska’s Rolfzen. Michigan’s Abby Cole, Michigan State’s Chloe Reinig, Minnesota’s Hannah Tapp, Ohio State’s Taylor Sandbothe and Wisconsin’s Haleigh Nelson also appeared on the seven-player team.
The Big Ten also recognized 12 Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
The complete list of All-Big Ten honorees, individual award winners and Sportsmanship Award Honorees can be found below.
ALL-BIG TEN
JOCELYNN BIRKS, So., OH, ILL
Jennifer Cross, Sr., MB, MICH
LAUREN WICINSKI, Sr., OH, MSU
TORI DIXON, Sr., MH, MINN
ASHLEY WITTMAN, Sr., OH, MINN
KELSEY ROBINSON, Sr., OH, NEB
Kadie Rolfzen, Fr., OH, NEB
Stephanie Holthus, Sr., OH, NU
DEJA McCLENDON, Sr., OH, PSU
Micha Hancock, Jr., S, PSU
KATIE SLAY, Sr., MB, PSU
ARIEL SCOTT, Sr., OH, PSU
Val Nichol, Jr., OH/S, PUR
Lauren Carlini, Fr., S., WIS
Honorable Mention
Liz McMahon, Jr., OPP, ILL
Alexis Mathews, Sr., MB, MSU
Kori Moster, Jr., LIB, MSU
Mary Pollmiller, Jr., S, NEB
Kaitlyn Leary, Sr., OH, OSU
Carly Cramer, Sr., LIB, PUR
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Abby Cole, RS, MICH
Chloe Reinig, OH, MSU
Hannah Tapp, MB, MINN
KADIE ROLFZEN, OH, NEB
Taylor Sandbothe, MB, OSU
LAUREN CARLINI, S, WIS
Haleigh Nelson, MB, WIS
Unanimous selections in CAPS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kelsey Robinson, NEB
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kori Moster, MSU
SETTER OF THE YEAR
Micha Hancock, PSU
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Lauren Carlini, WIS
COACH OF THE YEAR (COACHES AND MEDIA)
Russ Rose, PSU
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES
Courtney Abrahamovich, ILL
Jade Henderson, IND
Alli O’Deen, IOWA
Brittany Lee, MICH
Kristen Kelsay, MSU
Daly Santana, MINN
Morgan Broekhuis, NEB
Katie Dutchman, NU
Andrea Kacsits, OSU
Maggie Harding, PSU
Katie Griffin, PUR
Annemarie Hickey, WIS