Jackson, Reilly Earn Top National Honors at Their Positions

Andi Jackson was named the best middle blocker by the AVCA, while Bergen Reilly received the top setter award.

Setter Bergen Reilly high fives middle blocker Andi Jackson after Jackson's kill. The duo each received awards from the AVCA on Friday as the top players at their position. | Amarillo Mullen

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a historic offensive season, the two centerpieces of Nebraska’s attack picked up a pair of awards Friday at the AVCA Convention. 

Junior Andi Jackson won the Middle Blocker of the Year award, and junior Bergen Reilly was named the top setter in the nation. This year was the first time AVCA has awarded the top positional players. 

Olivia Babcock of Pitt received Opposite of the Year honors, while Wisconsin's Mimi Colyer earned the award for top outside hitter. Iowa State's Rachel Van Gorp was recognized as the best libero. The overall Player of the Year honor went to Babcock.

Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly and middle blocker Andi Jackson celebrate against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Under the direction of a redesigned offense from first-year coach Dani Busboom Kelly, Jackson thrived. She got off to a slow start, but improved as the season progressed. Outside hitter Harper Murray credited the work that Jackson and Reilly put in to create such a dynamic offense. 

“We all know Andi’s that good, but it all falls back to Bergen and our passing,” she said. “To set the middles, you have to pass well, and even if we don’t pass the best, Bergen is still able to find Andi the ball. I know that they’ve worked on their connection a lot this year, and it’s paid off really well.”

The Brighton, Colorado, native finished the season with a .467 hitting percentage to lead the nation, which was the third-best in Huskers history, after hitting a blistering .559 during conference matches. Her Big Ten performance broke the record set by Penn State’s Arielle Wilson of .541 set in 2008. 

In her career, Jackson has a .437 hitting percentage, the top mark in school history. 

Jackson averaged 2.74 kills and 1.12 blocks per set while adding 16 aces. She was also first-team All-American and all-conference for the second straight year. Jackson’s most impressive performance of the season came in a sweep over Illinois, where she terminated all nine of her swings. (It wasn’t a school record, though, as 10 attacks are needed to qualify for the record book.) 

Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson attacks against Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Against Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Jackson recorded 10 kills on 15 swings. KSU coach Jason Mansfield called her special and a challenge to slow down. 

“She’s so elite athletically, but she attacks the court in different ways that you’re really not going to block her,” he said. “ You may soft block her a couple times, but you have to defend her. You have to dig her and hope that she hits the ball kind of around you, because she’s so physical. She’s somebody who has been hard to stop the whole season.”

Senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair credited Jackson’s work ethic for raising her level of play. 

“It just comes down to, honestly, Dani’s freedom to go for it,” she said. “The connection that she has with Bergen has also been amazing…I don’t think her mindset is very different, but I think it just comes down to her just wanting to get a kill and doing whatever she can to get a kill.”

Reilly earned her first first-team All-American award this season after two second-team honors in the first two years of her career. She was also the Big Ten setter of the year in each of her three seasons at Nebraska. 

Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly talks with setter Bergen Reilly during a timeout against Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The Sioux Falls, S.D., native guided the Huskers to a school-record .351 hitting percentage, which was 20 points higher than the old mark. She averaged 10.47 assists and 2.7 digs per set. The Huskers hit .400 or better in nine matches and finished with 10 double-doubles on the season. 

Reilly, who was named the Big Ten and AVCA Region Player of the Year, said she makes decisions about who to set based on what the defense is doing and how her teammates are playing.

“A lot of times it really is just a feel and feed the hot hand. I am always a big proponent of that, so it depends on the situation,” she said. “I joke with my family, I have the easiest job on the court because I have so many great people around me that there’s really no bad decision at any time.”

Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly sets the ball against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

While she is the centerpiece of the offense, Busboom Kelly said the key to NU’s success has been Reilly’s consistency and her well-rounded game. 

“You haven’t seen any dips in our offense,” she said. “Besides just her setting, she’s always leading the team in digs, and she’s blocking great, and one of our better servers. Being the complete player is really important to our team.”

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