All Huskers

Four Huskers Named to National Volleyball Player of the Year Watch List

Nebraska volleyball is well represented on the AVCA's watch list for national player of the year.

Kaleb Henry

Lexi Rodriguez (left), Harper Murray (middle) and Bergen Reilly celebrate a kill from Rebekah Allick.
Lexi Rodriguez (left), Harper Murray (middle) and Bergen Reilly celebrate a kill from Rebekah Allick. / Amarillo Mullen

For the first time, the AVCA is releaseing a watch list for its 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award. That list, of course, includes several Nebraska volleyball players.

The award, presented by Nike Volleyball, will be announced on Friday, Dec. 20, in Louisville, KY, during the AVCA Convention. Before that, the inaugural list of 36 players will be narrowed down in November.

The AVCA is releasing the initial list in waves of 12 over three days this week. Day two saw four Huskers with their names included: Merritt Beason, Harper Murray, Bergen Reilly, and Lexi Rodriguez.

The four Huskers have all made previous All-America teams. Rodriguez is the two-time reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year while Reilly is the reigning Big Ten Setter of the Year.

Notably absent from the Nebraska list is middle blocker Andi Jackson. She is currently third in the nation in hitting percentage on 4.4 attacks per set.

A number of players on the list will be, or already have been, opponents for the Huskers this season. Those include Creighton's Ava Martin and Kendra Wait, Minnesota's Melani Shaffmaster, Oregon's Mimi Colyer, Stanford's Kami Miner and Elia Rubin, Indiana's Camryn Haworth, Louisville's Anna DeBeer and Elena Scott, TCU's Melanie Parra, and Wisconsin's Carter Booth, Sarah Franklin, and Anna Smrek.

The full list will be posted here.

Fresh off of a sweep of No. 2 Stanford on Wednesday, Nebraska is on the road this weekend to face No. 4 Louisville. Tip from the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday is set for 11:30 a.m. CDT. That match will be televised on ABC.

AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List Bios from Nebraska Athletics

Merritt Beason, Sr., Opposite Hitter

Merritt Beason goes up for a kill.
Merritt Beason goes up for a kill. / Amarillo Mullen

Beason put together a sensational season in 2023 - her first as a Husker after transferring from Florida - earning AVCA first-team All-America honors and AVCA North Region Player of the Year, becoming just the second Husker (Kelly Hunter) to earn that honor. Beason averaged a team-leading 3.76 kills per set on .282 hitting with 2.05 digs per set. She was named Big Ten Player of the Week four times and was the AVCA National Player of the Week on Oct. 23 after averaging 4.25 kills per set and 1.75 digs per set in wins against Northwestern and top-ranked Wisconsin. Beason was the MVP of the NCAA Lincoln Regional after 19 kills, 11 digs and a career-high eight blocks in a regional final win over Arkansas. 

This season, Beason is averaging 2.82 kills per set for the Big Red. Over her last four matches, Beason is averaging 3.36 kills per set with a .353 hitting percentage.

Harper Murray, So., Outside Hitter

Harper Murray celebrates a point.
Harper Murray celebrates a point. / Amarillo Mullen

Murray made an instant impact at Nebraska 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 honors. Murray finished her freshman campaign with 3.23 kills per set, the highest kills per set average by a Husker freshman since Kadie Rolfzen (3.46) in 2013. One of the Big Ten’s best six-rotation players, Murray also added 2.07 digs per set with a team-high 36 aces. She was a three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Murray is off to a solid start to her sophomore season, leading the Huskers in kills with 3.18 per set with 2.30 digs per set and nine service aces. 

Bergen Reilly, So., Setter

Bergen Reilly celebrates a block.
Bergen Reilly celebrates a block. / Amarillo Mullen

Reilly was the Big Ten Setter of the Year in 2023, becoming the first freshman to win the award since it originated in 2012. Reilly was also an AVCA second-team All-American and an All-Big Ten first-team selection. Reilly led all Big Ten setters with 10.51 assists per set in 2023, and she has received six career Big Ten Setter of the Week honors, including on Sept. 2 and Sept. 16 this season.

Reilly was named Best Setter at the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Louisville, Ky., as she guided the Huskers to a 3-1 win over No. 9 Kentucky with 39 assists and 11 digs. She ranks sixth nationally with 11.26 assists per set this season. 

Lexi Rodriguez, Sr., Libero

Nebraska Volleyball Lexi Rodriguez (8) celebrates an Arizona State service error.
Lexi Rodriguez (8) celebrates an Arizona State service error. / Amarillo Mullen

Rodriguez is in her final year of a stellar career as the Huskers’ libero. A four-year starter and a three-year team captain, Rodriguez will go down in history as one of the all-time greats in Nebraska volleyball history. Rodriguez is a three-time AVCA All-American, earning first-team honors in 2021 and 2023, and second-team honors in 2022. She will look to join Kadie Rolfzen (2013-16) and Sarah Pavan (2004-07) as the only four-time All-Americans in program history. Rodriguez made her mark instantly as a freshman in 2021, earning AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Over the last two seasons, Rodriguez has guided the Huskers to the No. 1 defense in the country, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year again in 2023 to become the fifth player in Big Ten history to receive the honor twice in a career.

Rodriguez has 1,547 career digs, which ranks fifth in school history. U.S. Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes is the career leader in digs at NU with 1,890. With 21 more digs, Rodriguez will tie Jennifer Saleaumua for No. 4 all-time.

MORE: Nebraska’s New Batch of Floridians May Change Husker Recruiting Fortunes in the Sunshine State

MORE: Dave Feit: 400 Husker Sellouts in 40 Stats

MORE: Nebraska Football Preview: No. 24 Illinois

MORE: How Mental Toughness Fueled Nebraska Volleyball’s Sweep of No. 2 Stanford

MORE: No. 5 Nebraska Volleyball Earns Dominant Sweep Over No. 2 Stanford

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

Published |Modified
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. 

Home/Volleyball