Nebraska senior Kelsey Robinson leads three Husker volleyball players who earned All-Big Ten honors from the league’s coaches on Tuesday. A native of Bartlett, Ill., Robinson became the first Husker to earn Big Ten Player-of-the-Year accolades.
Robinson paces a Husker contingent that also includes freshman Kadie Rolfzen and junior Mary Pollmiller. Nebraska saw Robinson and Rolfzen earn All-Big Ten honors, while Pollmiller earned honorable-mention accolades. Kadie Rolfzen was also named to the All-Freshman Team as a unanimous pick. In addition, senior Morgan Broekhuis was selected as Nebraska’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Robinson earned player-of-the-year accolades and a unanimous All-Big Ten award after totaling 481 kills on the season and 4.50 kills per set for the Huskers. She is hitting at a clip of .323 for the year and has a total of 356 digs for an average of 3.33 digs per set. In conference play, Robinson tallied 352 kills and a hitting percentage of .349. She led the Big Ten in kills (4.69) and points (5.41) per set during the conference season. She has 19 double-doubles on the season and was named the Big Ten Player of the Week four times in 2013. She was also honored as the AVCA/Sports Imports Player of the Week once as a senior. She has tallied 10 or more kills 26 times in 2013 and hit .300 or better 19 times. Robinson notched a career-high-tying 29 kills against Wisconsin on Oct. 5 and a season-high 23 digs against Texas on Sept. 22.
Rolfzen put together a stellar freshman campaign for the Huskers in 2013. She has made an immediate impact for NU, totaling 341 kills on the year and 240 digs. During conference play she had 267 kills for an average of 3.56 kills per set and hit at a clip of .292. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week once in 2013. Rolfzen has posted 10 or more kills 21 times in 2013 and hit at a clip of .300 12 times as a freshman. She has also notched 11 double-doubles for the Huskers and recorded a career-high 20 kills and 17 digs twice.
Pollmiller garnered honorable-mention accolades as she has recorded 1,142 assists on the year, for an average of 10.67 assists per set. During Big Ten play, she posted 832 assists and averaged 11.09 assists per set. Pollmiller has helped Nebraska hit .300 or better in nine matches in 2013, including a season-high .418 hitting percentage against Indiana on Nov. 23. She has totaled 50 or more assists six times as a junior and notched four double-doubles on the season. Pollmiller tallied a season-high 62 assists against Texas on Sept. 22 and was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week four times in 2013.
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. Broekhuis received the honor for her contributions this season.
The Huskers open the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Dec. 6, when they face Fairfield at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The match is set to start at 7 p.m., or 30 minutes after the 4:30 p.m. match between Miami (Fla.) and Oregon. The first-round winners will then meet on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.
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