Lincoln Arneal's Big Ten Conference Honors

Lincoln Arneal gives his take on the Big Ten award winners and All-Conference teams.

Andi Jackson smiles at Bergen Reilly after scoring a point against Illinois. Jackson and Reilly's connected helped them power Nebraska's elite offense. | Amarillo Mullen

After a grueling 10-week, 20-match run, the Big Ten season has come to a close.

The conference standings were ruled by one team this year: Nebraska. As we start the postseason award season, the Huskers will dominate that area as well.

Nebraska rolled through the league this year with a perfect record and clinched the title in the second-to-last week. The Huskers did so behind elite performances from nearly every position and a masterful coaching job.

The conference is scheduled to hand out its official awards on Tuesday during “B1G Today” on BTN at 11 a.m. CST. Before they do so, here are my takes on who should win the major awards and my pick for All-Big Ten teams, with the caveat that the players selected form an actual team.

Andi Jackson celebrates a kill in the first set against Maryland. The junior middle blocker finished the Big Ten schedule with a new conference record .559 hitting percentage. | Amarillo Mullen

Player of the Year: Andi Jackson, MB, Nebraska

I will admit that in my first take on this award, I gave it to Bergen Reilly. She was the engine that powered the elite Nebraska offense. It was a good pick (and she will probably win the real award). However, Andi Jackson just kept killing balls.

Since this is an award to recognize the best Big Ten player during the Big Ten season, it became more difficult to ignore the efficiency with which Jackson was playing. She finished the Big Ten season with a .559 hitting percentage to set a new league record, smashing the old mark of .541, which Arielle Wilson set in 2008. Those 18 points are a massive jump up. She did it on more volume too, as Wilson had just 147 kills while Jackson terminated 174 attacks for 2.95 kills per set, which was the best in the conference for a middle blocker. This year, she was 95 points better than the second-most-efficient attack, Carter Booth of Wisconsin.

Jackson was also eighth in the league in blocks per set (Seventh if you take out teammate Manaia Ogbechie, who only played in 13 sets) and added 13 aces as well.

The idea of Jackson as POY started to resonate after the regular season finale with this quote from NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly after Saturday’s match: “Andi takes care of average sets. She makes them look better.” That is not to disparage Reilly’s work at setter, but it is proof that Jackson is having a positive impact on the way Nebraska plays.

If this were a national player of the year for the whole season, I would go with Reilly, but Jackson had one of the most impressive performances in league history and accomplished something that’s never been done before.

Also considered: Bergen Reilly, S, Nebraska; Mimi Colyer, OH, Wisconsin; Harper Murray, OH, Nebraska; Kennedy Martin, OPP, Penn State

Bergen Reilly sets during the match against Northwestern. She helped the Huskers hit .379 in Big Ten action. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Setter of the Year: Bergen Reilly, Nebraska

This would have been a lot more interesting race had Wisconsin’s Charlie Fuerbringer not missed a month with an injury. In the end, Reilly should win her third straight B1G Setter honor, which would tie Sydney Hilley of Wisconsin for the most since the award was created in 2012.

That’s not to say Reilly wouldn’t have won the award even if Fuerbringer had played the whole season. The Huskers hit .379 for the Big Ten season, .352 for the year and were a juggernaut. All five NU starting attackers averaged more than 2 kills per set, leading the league with 15.11 kills per set as a team.

Reilly finished the league tied for third with 10.67 assists per set in league matches, though some of that number is deflated as she gave way to freshman Campbell Flynn during some matches.

The 6-foot-1 junior isn’t just a distributor running the offense; she’s also the best defensive setter in the league. She was second on Nebraska with 2.73 digs per set and chipped in .65 blocks per set, both of which topped her position group.

The cool, calm demeanor Reilly brings to the Huskers is the necessary ingredient that helps keep Nebraska on track even when they run into a bit of adversity. Reilly should be one of the finalists for National Player of the Year, and was the best setter by far in the Big Ten.

Also considered: Charlie Fuerbringer, Wisconsin; Teodora Kričković, Indiana; Taylor Anderson, Purdue

Oregon's Alanah Clemente hits a kill against USC. The freshman opposite finished with 3.89 kills per set for the Ducks | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Freshman of the Year: Alanah Clemente, OPP, Oregon

Oregon was supposed to be roadkill this year. The Ducks were rebuilding after a coaching change, which left only one player on the roster. Then along came Alanah Clemente.

Clemente was initially committed to Rutgers, but Trent Kersten got her to stay on the West Coast, and the Santa Clarita, Calif, native flourished this season. In her first match, she recorded 11 kills on 15 swings. It took a while for Clemente to settle in, but she got more comfortable as the season went on and carved out a role as the go-to attacker for Oregon.

She finished the season with seven matches of at least 20 kills, including 23 kills in a four-set win over Minnesota and 25 in a five-set victory over Purdue. She finished the year sixth in the Big Ten with 3.89 kills per set with a respectable .269 hitting percentage. Clemente was also second in the league with 51 aces, and she tied with teammate Valentina Vaulet in aces per set (.48).

This was a loaded freshman class with lots of players starting in their first collegiate season, including a couple of setters for tournament-qualifying teams. Clemente stood out with her athleticism, power and fearlessness as an attacker.

Also considered: Teodora Kričković, S, Indiana; Reese Messer, S, USC; Jaidyn Jager, OH, Indiana; Virginia Adriano, Nebraska.

Penn State libero Gillian Grimes celebrates a point with Emmi Sellman. Grimes averaged 3.65 digs per set and led the league in passing. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Libero of the Year: Gillian Grimes, Penn State

This was another award where I changed my mind late. Lola Schumacher stood out with her 4.37 digs per set, which was more than .57 better than anyone else in the league. However, with liberos, digs do not tell the whole story.

Passing numbers are not widely available, which is unfortunate, and Gillian Grimes dominated those statistics. Grimes passed a league-best 2.33 on serves and a 62.3 good pass percentage, which also dwarfed the rest of the field. In comparison, Schumacher passed at 2.14 with a 54.9 GPP. Her numbers also lagged behind Purdue’s Ryan McAleer (2.21/57.8) and USC’s Taylor Deckert (2.22/56.0). Schumacher’s passing numbers were quite close to Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray (2.15/53.7). This is not to say Schumacher wasn’t a positive passer for UCLA, but the passing numbers put her behind the rest of the pack.

Stats comparison for leading liberos in the Big Ten Conference. | Lincoln Arneal

Most teams want their libero to make first contact as much as possible. Even though Schumacher was better at floor defense, Grimes and Purdue’s Ryan McAleer were more involved in serve receive. Combining the total number of digs and passes, McAleer had 930 touches, followed by Grimes (890), Deckert (837) and then Schumacher (798). Iowa’s Milana Moisio topped the group with 1,094 touches, and she passed a 2.33/63.3.

Each libero mentioned here played great defense for their respective team. Grimes was not given enough credit amid the Nittany Lions’ roster turmoil and blocking woes, but she still provided strong defense for Penn State. Her solid floor coverage and her elite passing numbers move her to the top of the award.

Also considered: Lola Schumacher, UCLA; Ryan McAleer, Purdue; Taylor Deckert, USC.

Nebraska volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly guided the Huskers to an undefeated 30-0 record in her first year at her alma mater. | Nebraska Athletics

Coach of the Year: Dani Busboom Kelly, Nebraska

The Big Ten featured a lot of coaches doing great work this year. Multiple teams overachieved after roster overhauls. Several others dealt with injuries to top players and still put themselves in position to host postseason matches.

However, the historic nature of Nebraska’s season cannot be ignored. Busboom Kelly walked into an ideal situation, but she didn’t sit back and let the well-oiled Big Red machine hum along. Instead, she tinkered with the Huskers’ offense, raising it to a new level. As a result, Nebraska finished with an undefeated 20-0 league record, which hadn’t been accomplished since 2009.

The Huskers also dropped just one set in their 20 conference matches, a feat that only 2008 Penn State topped. In previous years, when it was clear Nebraska was better than its opponents, it would get complacent, lose its edge, and often drop the third set. This year’s Huskers didn’t let a lack of focus get the best of them as they made quick work of every opponent.

In addition, Busboom Kelly managed a large, talented roster. She would switch up starting lineups, let reserves get time late in sets or get a spot start. It’s not easy to keep everyone happy, but she managed the egos and kept stacking up wins while developing depth.

Purdue also had a great season, and Dave Shondell is a worthy runner-up for this award. He lost almost all of his starting lineup, including All-Americans Eva Hudson and Chloe Chicoine, from last year’s regional semifinalist team. Shondell rebuilt the roster and elevated several players into more prominent roles.

The Boilermakers exceeded early-season expectations, but those were low because no one knew what was left on the roster. This conversation would have been more interesting had Purdue added another big win late (it closed the season 2-3) or had not dropped matches to lesser-talented Illinois or Oregon teams at home.

Also considered: Dave Shondell, Purdue; Steve Aird, Indiana; Kelly Sheffield, Wisconsin; Keegan Cook, Minnesota.

Finally, we close with the All-Big Ten teams. These will look quite different from the teams released by the conference because they resemble an actual lineup. Last year, the league named 25 players to the bloated first team and another 16 to the second team. The Big Ten also recognized 16 outside hitters last year, while my list only contains eight. (Sorry, Taylor de Boer and Kierstyn Barton.) My list includes only 28 players, but in groups that could actually play together.

Rebekah Allick holds the Big Ten champions trophy. | Amarillo Mullen

Big Ten All-Conference Teams

First Team
OH: Mimi Colyer, Wisconsin
OH: Harper Murray, Nebraska
MB: Andi Jackson, Nebraska
MB: Rebekah Allick, Nebraska
OPP: Kennedy Martin, Penn State
S: Bergen Reilly, Nebraska
L: Gillian Grimes, Penn State

Second Team
OH: Julia Hanson, Minnesota
OH: Kenna Wollard, Purdue
MB: Carter Booth, Wisconsin
MB: Marianna Singletary, UCLA
OPP: Alanah Clemente, Oregon
S: Charlie Fuerbringer, Wisconsin
L: Ryan McAleer, Purdue

Third Team
OH: London Wijay, USC
OH: Allison Jacobs, Michigan
MB: Leah Ford, USC
MB: Serena Nyambio, Michigan
OPP: Grace Heaney, Purdue
S: Teodora Kričković, Indiana
L: Lola Schumacher, UCLA

Fourth Team
OH: Cheridyn Leverette, UCLA
OH: Candela Alonso-Corcelles, Indiana
MB: Jordan Taylor, Minnesota
MB: Hannah Whittingstall, Iowa
OPP: Avry Tatum, Indiana
S: Taylor Anderson, Purdue
L: Taylor Deckert, USC

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