Big Ten Conference Announces 2023 Volleyball Postseason Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. (Nov. 30, 2023) – The Big Ten Conference announced the 2023 Volleyball All-Big Ten Team and individual honorees Thursday, as chosen by a vote of the conference’s 14 head coaches. Wisconsin’s senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin was selected as Player of the Year, while Nebraska claimed the remainder of the individual awards with junior libero Lexi Rodriguez named Defensive Player of the Year, Bergen Reilly earned Setter of the Year, Harper Murray was chosen as Freshman of the Year and John Cook 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 Cook).

Franklin is the sixth Badger to be chosen as Big Ten Player of the Year and first since Dana Rettke in 2019. A native of Lake Worth, Fla., Franklin was named the AVCA National Player of the Week on Monday. Franklin averaged 5.0 kills/set with a .329 hitting percentage, 2.5 digs/set and 5.25 points/set as part of a 2-0 week highlighted by a 3-0 win over No. 1 Nebraska and a sweep of Iowa. The Badgers handed the Huskers their first loss of the season, powered by Franklin’s 16 kills and 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. The senior is fifth in the conference with 413 kills this season, averaging 4.17/set.  Franklin was also a unanimous selection on the All-Big Ten First Team.

Rodriguez earns her second Defensive Player of the Year honor after being chosen for the award following her freshman season in 2021. Rodriguez finished the regular season with 367 digs, averaging 3.60 digs/set, a mark that ranks ninth in the Big Ten. The junior libero is the second Husker to earn the honor after Justine Wong-Orantes was chosen back-to-back seasons in 2015-16.

Reilly is the first freshman to be chosen as Big Ten Setter of the Year and second Husker to earn the honor since Kelly Hunter in 2017. Reilly was selected as Setter of the Week four times this season and leads the conference and is 13th nationally with 10.74 assists/set, totaling 1,095 on the year.

Murray is the second Husker to be chosen as Freshman of the Year after finishing the regular season averaging 3.29 kills/set and 336 kills overall. Murray was named the conference’s Freshman of the Week three times throughout the season.

Cook earned dual selections by both his conference counterparts and the media voters, earning his fourth coaches vote honor overall and third while at Nebraska. Cook led the Huskers to their first Big…