Release from the Big Ten Conference:
Defending NCAA Champion Penn State was chosen as the conference favorite for the 2015 volleyball season as voted on by the Big Ten coaches, it was announced on Thursday. After claiming their seventh national title last season, the Nittany Lions top the preseason poll for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
NCAA quarterfinalist Nebraska was picked to finish second, while Illinois was tabbed third. Wisconsin, which claimed the Big Ten Championship last season, was voted to finish fourth, while Minnesota rounded out the top five of the preseason poll in fifth place.
Additionally, conference coaches selected a Preseason All-Big Ten Team featuring four unanimous selections and four previous preseason honorees. Illinois’ Jocelynn Birks, Michigan’s Abby Cole, Penn State’s Haleigh Washingtonand Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini were all unanimous selections. Birks collected the recognition for the third consecutive year, while Carlini received Preseason All-Big Ten honors for the second season in a row. Penn State’s Megan Courtney claimed Preseason All-Big Ten plaudits for the third straight year while Nebraska’s Kadie Rolfzen earns the second preseason honor of her career.
Of the 14 members on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, seven were American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans in 2014 with Wisconsin’s Carlini earning first-team honors. Illinois’ Birks, Penn State’s Ali Frantti andAiyana Whitney and Wisconsin’s Taylor Morey claimed second-team honors and Minnesota’s Paige Tapp and Nebraska’s Rolfzen recorded third-team nods. In addition, five members of the preseason team were AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honorees in Michigan’s Abby Cole, Michigan State’s Chloe Reinig, Nebraska’s Kelsey Fien, Purdue’s Annie Drews and Ohio State’s Taylor Sandbothe.
The preseason honorees include all of the conference’s individual award winners from last season in Big Ten Player of the Year and Setter of the Year Carlini, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Morey and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Washington. Ten members of last year’s All-Big Ten Team are represented on the 2015 Preseason All-Big Ten Team. In addition, Reinig, Tapp, Rolfzen, Courtney, Carlini and Morey were all named Academic All-Big Ten honorees in 2014-15.
The preseason poll and All-Big Ten Team can be found below.
2015 BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
- Penn State
- Nebraska
- Illinois
- Wisconsin
- Minnesota
- Michigan State
- Purdue
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Northwestern
- Iowa
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Rutgers
2015 PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL TEAM
| Name | School | Yr. | Position | Hometown |
| JOCELYNN BIRKS (3) | Illinois | Sr. | Outside Hitter | Willow Springs, Ill. |
| ABBY COLE | Michigan | Jr. | Middle Blocker | Grand Haven, Mich. |
| Chloe Reinig | Michigan State | Jr. | Outside Hitter | South Lyon, Mich. |
| Paige Tapp | Minnesota | Jr. | Middle Blocker | Stewartville, Minn. |
| Kelsey Fien | Nebraska | Sr. | Outside Hitter | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| Kadie Rolfzen (2) | Nebraska | Jr. | Outside Hitter | Papillion, Neb. |
| Taylor Sandbothe | Ohio State | Jr. | Middle Blocker | Lee’s Summit, Mo. |
| Megan Courtney (3) | Penn State | Sr. | Outside Hitter | Dayton, Ohio |
| Ali Frantti | Penn State | So. | Outside Hitter | Spring Grove, Ill. |
| HALEIGH WASHINGTON | Penn State | So. | Middle Blocker | Colorado Springs, Colo. |
| Aiyana Whitney | Penn State | Sr. | Outside Hitter/Middle Blocker | Norwood, N.J. |
| Annie Drews | Purdue | Sr. | Outside Hitter | Elkhart, Ind. |
| LAUREN CARLINI (2) | Wisconsin | Jr. | Setter | Aurora, Ill. |
| Taylor Morey | Wisconsin | Sr. | Libero | Muncie, Ind. |
UNANIMOUS SELECTIONS IN CAPS
(2) Two-time selection
(3) Three-time selection
The Sports Inquirer 
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