From Huskers.com
Three members of the Nebraska volleyball team were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team on Monday.
Nicklin Hames, Lauren Stivrins and Lexi Sun were all voted to the 14-player preseason team by the conference’s head coaches. Additionally, the Huskers were picked second in the preseason poll behind Wisconsin. Minnesota was third.
Stivrins, a Scottsdale, Arizona native, had a breakout sophomore season to earn first-team All-Big Ten and first-team AVCA All-America honors in 2018. The middle blocker averaged 2.36 kills per set and had a hitting percentage of .421, the third-highest mark in school history and the No. 3 mark in the nation last season. Stivrins was selected to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after a career-high 19 kills on .615 hitting in the championship match against No. 1 Stanford.
Hames, a sophomore from Maryville, Tennessee, set the Huskers to the NCAA Championship match as a true freshman. She finished the season with 10.49 assists per set and 3.32 digs per set, along with 40 service aces, second-most on the team. Hames had 25 double-doubles during the 2018 season, which broke Jordan Larson’s school record for double-doubles. She tallied a career-best 62 assists in the NCAA final against Stanford with 12 digs.
Sun, a junior from Encinitas, California, is Nebraska’s top returning kills leader. She averaged 3.11 kills per set and 2.69 digs per set in 2018, her first season as a Husker. Sun was one of NU’s top servers with 30 aces on the season, and she played a big role for the Huskers down the stretch with 19 kills and 12 digs in the NCAA Semifinal win over Illinois.
The second-ranked Huskers begin the regular season on Friday with a 7 p.m. match against Creighton in the Husker Invitational. The match will be televised on NET, streamed on BTN+ and will air on Husker Sports Network affiliates, Huskers.com and the Huskers app.
2019 PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Jacqueline Quade, SR., OH, Illinois
Erika Pritchard, Jr., OH, Maryland
Alexis Hart, Sr., OH, Minnesota
Taylor Morgan, Sr., MB, Minnesota
Stephanie Samedy, Jr., OPP, Minnesota
Nicklin Hames, So., S, Nebraska
Lauren Stivrins, Jr., MB, Nebraska
Lexi Sun, Jr., OH, Nebraska
Kaitlyn Hord, So., MB, Penn State
Jonni Parker, So., RS, Penn State
Kendall White, Sr., DS, Penn State
Blake Mohler, Sr., MB, Purdue
Sydney Hilley, Jr., S, Wisconsin
Dana Rettke, Jr., MB, Wisconsin
2019 BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
1. Wisconsin
2. Nebraska
3. Minnesota
4. Penn State
5. Illinois
6. Purdue
7. Michigan
8. Ohio State
9. Michigan State
10. Maryland
11. Indiana
12. Northwestern
13. Iowa
14. Rutgers
