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Five Huskers Make All-Big Ten Volleyball First Team, Lexi Rodriguez and Bergen Reilly Earn Individual Honors

Bergen Reilly and Lexi Rodriguez take a pair of individual awards as several Huskers earn All-Big Ten selections.

Kaleb Henry

Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point against Purdue. The Huskers won in five sets.
Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a point against Purdue. The Huskers won in five sets. / Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska volleyball once again has dominated the Big Ten Conference's end of season awards.

Five Huskers made the All-Big Ten first team. Two of them, Bergen Reilly and Lexi Rodriguez, also earned individual honors.

The five first teamers are Reilly, Rodriguez, Andi Jackson, Harper Murray, and Merritt Beason. Rodriguez and Jackson were unanimous selections.

Leyla Blackwell was the Sportsmanship Honoree from Nebraska.

Reilly repeated as Big Ten Setter of the Year. She is now 2-for-2 in her Husker career as being named the best setting in the conference. Reilly is the first Husker to win the award twice.

Rodriguez earned Big Ten Libero of the Year. This is the first year for the award, which had previously been named Defensive Player of the Year. Rodriguez won DPOY twice (2021, 2023).

Other individual awards went to Wisconsin's Sarah Franklin (Player of the Year), Penn State's Izzy Starck (Freshman of the Year), and Penn State's Katie Schumacher-Cawley (Coach of the Year). See the full list of Big Ten honorees at BigTen.org.

Nebraska begins NCAA Tournament play Friday against Florida A&M. First serve from the Bob Devaney Sports Center is set for 7 p.m. CST with the match to be streamed on ESPN+.

Nebraska Athletics Honorees Biographies

Merritt Beason, Sr., Opposite Hitter, Gardendale, Ala. 

  • Beason is second on the team in kills at 2.99 per set, and the two-year captain also contributes 1.24 digs per set and 25 aces. 
  • Beason posted 22 kills, eight digs and three blocks in a 3-2 win over No. 10 Purdue on Oct. 11. 
  • She also had 19 kills and hit .471 with a career-high 10 blocks in a Big Ten title-clinching win at Maryland on Nov. 30. 
  • Beason was an AVCA First-Team All-American, the AVCA North Region Player of the Year, and All-Big Ten First Team in 2023, her first year as a Husker after transferring from Florida. She was also the MVP of the NCAA Lincoln Regional in 2023. 

Andi Jackson, So., Middle Blocker, Brighton, Colo.

  • Jackson has elevated her game as a sophomore, averaging 2.58 kills per set with a .442 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth in the nation and first among Big Ten players. Her hitting percentage also ranks third in school history.
  • Jackson was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28 after 11 kills and six blocks against Illinois and 10 kills and five blocks against Michigan. 
  • In the final two matches of the regular season, Jackson tied her career high with eight blocks in each match. 
  • In her freshman season in 2023, Jackson earned AVCA All-Region, All-Big Ten Second Team and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors. 

Harper Murray, So., Outside Hitter, Ann Arbor, Mich. 

  • Murray leads the Huskers in kills with 3.28 per set and adds 2.27 digs per set and 30 aces, the most on the team. 
  • The sophomore outside hitter had 20 kills and hit .302 with six digs and three blocks in an Aug. 31 win over TCU. 
  • She was also clutch with 17 kills in a 3-2 win against No. 10 Purdue on Oct. 11, and 16 kills and 14 digs in a 3-2 win against No. 9 Creighton on Sept. 10. 
  • Murray made an instant impact as a freshman in 2023, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year, All-Big Ten First Team and AVCA All-America Third Team. 

Bergen Reilly, So., Setter, Sioux Falls, S.D.

  • Reilly is the only player in Big Ten history to win Big Ten Setter of the Year in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. She was also on the All-Big Ten First Team in 2023 and the AVCA All-America Second Team. 
  • The sophomore setter collected five Big Ten Setter of the Week honors this season, which set a school record, and she was also named Best Setter at the season-opening AVCA First Serve Showcase in Louisville, Ky. 
  • Reilly leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally in assists per set with 11.12, and she adds 2.89 digs per set and has 20 aces. She has 15 double-doubles on the season. 
  • Reilly set the Huskers to a .288 season hitting percentage, which ranks second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally. 
  • She had a career-high 60 assists to go with 17 digs in a 3-2 win against No. 10 Purdue on Oct. 11. 

Lexi Rodriguez, Sr., Libero, Sterling, Ill.

  • A four-year starter and three-year team captain, Rodriguez has climbed to No. 2 in school history in career digs with 1,819. She is chasing Justine Wong-Orantes' school record of 1,890.
  • Rodriguez is the fifth Husker to be named first-team all-conference four times in a career, joining Greichaly Cepero (1999-2002), Sarah Pavan (2004-07), Kadie Rolfzen (2013-16) and Lauren Stivrins (2018-21).
  • Rodriguez was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 and 2023, and the Big Ten Libero of the Year in 2024. She is the second player in Big Ten history to earn three Big Ten Defensive/Libero of the Year honors (Paula Gentil, Minnesota, 2002-04). 
  • The Sterling, Ill., native is a three-time AVCA All-American, earning first-team honors in 2021 and 2023.
  • This season, Rodriguez leads the Huskers with 3.80 digs per set and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice, giving her seven career Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. 

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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