Penn State Selected as Preseason Volleyball Favorite by Big Ten Coaches

 

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Defending NCAA and Big Ten Champion Penn State was chosen as the conference favorite for the 2014 volleyball season as voted on by the Big Ten coaches, it was announced on Thursday. After claiming their sixth national title last season, the Nittany Lions top the preseason poll for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.

Nebraska, which finished second in the Big Ten last season, was picked to finish second in 2014. After appearing in the NCAA championship match last season, Wisconsin was selected third this season, while Illinois was picked fourth in the voting. Purdue rounded out the top five in the preseason poll.

Additionally, conference coaches selected a Preseason All-Big Ten Team, which features six unanimous selections and five returning members. Illinois’ Jocelynn Birks, Michigan State’s Kori Moster, Nebraska’s Kadie Rolfzen, Penn State’s Micha Hancock, Purdue’s Val Nichol and Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini were all unanimous selections. Birks and Hancock earned preseason recognition for the second year in a row. Illinois’ Liz McMahon is a three-time preseason All-Big Ten honoree, while Michigan’s Lexi Dannemiller and Penn State’s Megan Courtney appear on the list for the second consecutive year.

The preseason poll and All-Big Ten Team can be found below. 

 2014 BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL

1. Penn State
2. Nebraska
3. Wisconsin
4. Illinois
5. Purdue
6. Michigan State
7. Minnesota
8. Michigan
9. Ohio State
10. Northwestern
11. Iowa
12. Indiana
13. Maryland
14. Rutgers

2014 PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL TEAM*

 

Name	School		Position	Hometown
JOCELYNN BIRKS (2)	Illinois		Outside Hitter	Willow Springs, Ill.
Liz McMahon (3)	Illinois		Opposite Side Hitter	Liberty Township, Ohio
Lexi Dannemiller (2)	Michigan		Setter	West Chester, Ohio
KORI MOSTER	Michigan State		Libero	Cincinnati, Ohio
Adrianna Nora	Minnesota		Middle Blocker/Opposite Side Hitter	Stillwater, Minn.
Hannah Tapp	Minnesota		Middle Blocker	Stewartville, Minn.
Mary Pollmiller	Nebraska		Setter	Littleton, Colo.
KADIE ROLFZEN	Nebraska		Outside Hitter	Papillion, Neb.
Megan Courtney (2)	Penn State		Setter/Outside Hitter	Dayton, Ohio
Nia Grant	Penn State		Outside Hitter	Warren, Ohio
MICHA HANCOCK (2)	Penn State		Setter	Edmond, Okla.
KiKi Jones	Purdue		Middle Blocker	Fishers, Ind.
VAL NICHOL	Purdue		Setter/Outside Hitter	Normal, Ill.
LAUREN CARLINI	Wisconsin		Setter	Aurora, Ill.
Ellen Chapman	Wisconsin		Outside Hitter	Glenview, Ill.

*Additional honoree due to tie

UNANIMOUS SELECTIONS IN CAPS

(2)  Two-time selection

(3)  Three-time selection