# Big Ten Conference volleyball

Big Ten volleyball is made up of the women's volleyball programs from the Big Ten's 18 member universities. Through 2021, the Big Ten has earned a combined 36 NCAA national semifinal appearances by eight different teams. In 1987, Illinois became the first Big Ten program to make an appearance in the national semifinal. In 1999 Penn State won the conference's first national championship, and they have won seven overall, including a record four consecutive titles from 2007 to 2010. Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, and Wisconsin (four times) have each made national championship game appearances.
In 2011, former Big 12 member Nebraska joined the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers have won five national championships, with two of these coming since the school joined the Big Ten. Rutgers University and the University of Maryland joined the Big Ten in July 2014, and on August 2, 2024, the Big Ten Conference announced the formal admission of the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, UCLA, and USC from the recently dissolved Pac-12 Conference.

## Teams

| School | Head coach | Big Ten titles† | National semifinal appearances | Best NCAA finish |
| Penn State | Katie Schumacher-Cawley | 18 (1992, 1993, 1996–99, 2003–10, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2024) | 13 (1993, 1994, 1997–99, 2007–10, 2012–14, 2017) | Champions (1999, 2007–10, 2013, 2014, 2024) |
| Nebraska | Dani Busboom Kelly | 5 (2011, 2016, 2017, 2023, 2024) | 17 (1986*, 1989*, 1990*, 1995*, 1996*, 1998*, 2000*, 2001*, 2005*, 2006*, 2008*, 2015–18, 2021, 2023) | Champions (1995*, 2000*, 2006*, 2015, 2017) |
| Wisconsin | Kelly Sheffield | 9 (1990, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2014, 2019–22) | 6 (2000, 2013, 2019–21, 2023) | Champions (2021) |
| Illinois | Chris Tamas | 4 (1986–88, 1992) | 4 (1987, 1988, 2011, 2018) | Runner-up (2011) |
| Ohio State | Jen Flynn Oldenburg | 3 (1989, 1991, 1994) | 2 (1991, 1994) | National semifinal (1991, 1994) |
| Michigan State | Kristen Kelsay | 2 (1995, 1996) | 1 (1995) | National semifinal (1995) |
| Minnesota | Keegan Cook | 3 (2002, 2015, 2018) | 6 (2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019) | Runner-up (2004) |
| Purdue | Dave Shondell | 1 (1985) | | Regional final (2010, 2020, 2021) |
| Michigan | Erin Virtue | | 1 (2012) | National semifinal (2012) |
| Iowa | Jim Barnes | | | First Round (1989) |
| Northwestern | Tim Nollan | | | Regional semifinal (1981) |
| Indiana | Steve Aird | | | Regional semifinal (2010) |
| Maryland | Adam Hughes | | | Second Round (1996) |
| Rutgers | Caitlin Schweihofer | | | Qualifying round (1982) |
| Oregon | Matt Ulmer | | | |
| UCLA | Alfredo Reft | | | |
| USC | Brad Keller | | | |
| Washington | Leslie Gabriel | | | |
† Since 1985, when double round-robin play was introduced * As a member of the Big 12

## Big Ten Award History

| Year | Coach of the Year (media) | School |
| 1988 | Mike Hebert | Illinois |
| 1989 | Jim Stone | Ohio State |
| 1990 | Steve Lowe | Wisconsin |
| 1991 | Jim Stone | Ohio State |
| 1992 1993 | Russ Rose | Penn State |
| 1994 | Jim Stone | Ohio State |
| 1995 | Chuck Erbe | Michigan State |
| 1996 | Russ Rose | Penn State |
| 1997 | John Cook Russ Rose | Wisconsin Penn State |
| 1998 | Russ Rose | Penn State |
| 1999 | Mike Hebert | Minnesota |
| 2000 2001 | Pete Waite | Wisconsin |
| 2002 | Mike Hebert | Minnesota |
| 2003 | Don Hardin Russ Rose | Illinois Penn State |
| 2004 | Jim Stone | Ohio State |
| 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 | Russ Rose | Penn State |
| 2011 | Dave Shondell | Purdue |
| 2012 2013 | Russ Rose | Penn State |
| 2014 | Kelly Sheffield | Wisconsin |
| 2015 | Hugh McCutcheon | Minnesota |
| 2016 | John Cook | Nebraska |
| 2017 | John Cook Russ Rose | Nebraska Penn State |
| 2018 | Hugh McCutcheon | Minnesota |
| 2019 | Russ Rose | Penn State |
| 2020 | Jen Flynn Oldenburg | Ohio State |
| 2021 | Dave Shondell | Purdue |
| 2022 | Kelly Sheffield | Wisconsin |
| 2023 | John Cook | Nebraska |
| 2024 | Katie Schumacher-Cawley | Penn State |
| Year | Player of the Year | School |
| 1983 | Martie Larsen | Minnesota |
| 1984 1985 | Marianne Smith | Purdue |
| 1986 | Mary Eggers | Illinois |
| 1987 | Mary Eggers Nancy Brookhart | Illinois Illinois |
| 1988 | Mary Eggers | Illinois |
| 1989 | Holly O'Leary | Ohio State |
| 1990 | Lisa Boyd | Wisconsin |
| 1991 | Lelsa Wissler | Ohio State |
| 1992 | Leanne Kling | Penn State |
| 1993 | Salima Davidson | Penn State |
| 1994 | Laura Davis | Ohio State |
| 1995 | Terri Zemaitis | Penn State |
| 1996 | Vanessa Wouters | Ohio State |
| 1997 1998 | Bonnie Bremner | Penn State |
| 1999 | Lauren Cacciamani | Penn State |
| 2000 | Nicole Branagh Sherisa Livingston | Minnesota Wisconsin |
| 2001 | Lizzy Fitzgerald | Wisconsin |
| 2002 | Stacey Gordon | Ohio State |
| 2003 | Cassie Busse | Minnesota |
| 2004 | Stacey Gordon | Ohio State |
| 2005 | Sam Tortorello | Penn State |
| 2006 | Megan Hodge | Penn State |
| 2007 | Christa Harmotto | Penn State |
| 2008 | Nicole Fawcett | Penn State |
| 2009 | Megan Hodge | Penn State |
| 2010 | Blair Brown | Penn State |
| 2011 | Ariel Turner | Purdue |
| 2012 | Ariel Scott | Penn State |
| 2013 | Kelsey Robinson | Nebraska |
| 2014 | Lauren Carlini | Wisconsin |
| 2015 | Daly Santana | Minnesota |
| 2016 | Sarah Wilhite | Minnesota |
| 2017 | Simone Lee | Penn State |
| 2018 | Samantha Seliger-Swenson | Minnesota |
| 2019 | Dana Rettke | Wisconsin |
| 2020 2021 | Stephanie Samedy | Minnesota |
| 2022 | Taylor Landfair | Minnesota |
| 2023 2024 | Sarah Franklin | Wisconsin |
| Year | Freshman of the Year | School |
| 1983 | Kathy Greishelm | Iowa |
| 1984 | Karen Dunham | Indiana |
| 1985 | Mary Eggers | Illinois |
| 1986 | Debbie McDonald | Purdue |
| 1987 | Dawn Thompson | Minnesota |
| 1988 | Lelsa Wissler | Ohio State |
| 1989 | Sheri Stout | Indiana |
| 1990 | Kristin Henriksen | Illinois |
| 1991 | Laura Davis | Ohio State |
| 1992 | Jenny Jackson | Ohio State |
| 1993 | Katrien DeDecker | Minnesota |
| 1994 | Erin Borske | Illinois |
| 1995 | Jenna Wrobel | Michigan State |
| 1996 | Bonnie Bremner | Penn State |
| 1997 | Dana Stearns | Ohio State |
| 1998 | Sherisa Livingston | Wisconsin |
| 1999 | Katie Virtue | Ohio State |
| 2000 | Claudia Rodriguez | Wisconsin |
| 2001 | Stacey Gordon | Ohio State |
| 2002 | Sam Tortorello | Penn State |
| 2003 | Cassy Salyer | Penn State |
| 2004 | Kate Price | Penn State |
| 2005 | Nicole Fawcett | Penn State |
| 2006 | Megan Hodge | Penn State |
| 2007 | Arielle Wilson | Penn State |
| 2008 | Michelle Bartsch | Illinois |
| 2009 | Darcy Dorton | Penn State |
| 2010 | Deja McClendon | Penn State |
| 2011 | Micha Hancock | Penn State |
| 2012 | Megan Courtney | Penn State |
| 2013 | Lauren Carlini | Wisconsin |
| 2014 | Haleigh Washington | Penn State |
| 2015 | Samantha Seliger-Swenson | Minnesota |
| 2016 | Molly Haggerty | Wisconsin |
| 2017 | Dana Rettke | Wisconsin |
| 2018 | Jonni Parker | Penn State |
| 2019 | Madi Kubik | Nebraska |
| 2020 | Emily Londot | Ohio State |
| 2021 | Julia Orzol | Wisconsin |
| 2022 | Eva Hudson | Purdue |
| 2023 | Harper Murray | Nebraska |
| 2024 | Izzy Starck | Penn State |
| Year | Setter of the Year | School |
| 2012 2013 | Micha Hancock | Penn State |
| 2014 2015 | Lauren Carlini | Wisconsin |
| 2016 | Samantha Seliger-Swenson | Minnesota |
| 2017 | Kelly Hunter | Nebraska |
| 2018 | Jordyn Poulter Samantha Seliger-Swenson | Illinois Minnesota |
| 2019 2020 2021 | Sydney Hilley | Wisconsin |
| 2022 | Mac Podraza | Ohio State |
| 2023 2024 | Bergen Reilly | Nebraska |
| Year | Defensive Player of the Year | School |
| 2001 | Shaddia Haddad | Illinois |
| 2002 2003 2004 | Paula Gentil | Minnesota |
| 2005 | Kaleena Walters | Penn State |
| 2006 | Malama Peniata | Minnesota |
| 2007 | Stesha Selsky | Michigan |
| 2008 | Christine Tan | Minnesota |
| 2009 | Kate Nobilio | Northwestern |
| 2010 | Jessica Granquist | Minnesota |
| 2011 | Katie Slay | Penn State |
| 2012 2013 | Kori Moster | Michigan State |
| 2014 | Taylor Morey | Wisconsin |
| 2015 2016 | Justine Wong-Orantes | Nebraska |
| 2017 | Haleigh Washington | Penn State |
| 2018 2019 | Kendall White | Penn State |
| 2020 | Jena Otec | Purdue |
| 2021 | Lexi Rodriguez | Nebraska |
| 2022 | Kylie Murr | Ohio State |
| 2023 2024 | Lexi Rodriguez | Nebraska |

## Big Ten volleyball in the AVCA

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) annually awards National Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year. The following lists coaches and players from the Big Ten who have received these awards.

### National Coach of the Year

* 1985 – Mike Hebert, Illinois
* 1990 – Russ Rose, Penn State
* 1995 – Chuck Erbe, Michigan State
* 1997 – Russ Rose, Penn State
* 2007 – Russ Rose, Penn State
* 2008 – Russ Rose, Penn State
* 2013 – Russ Rose, Penn State
* 2015 – Hugh McCutcheon, Minnesota
* 2023 – John Cook, Nebraska

### National Player of the Year

* 1994 – Laura Davis, Ohio State
* 1999 – Lauren Cacciamani, Penn State
* 2004 – Stacey Gordon, Ohio State
* 2008 – Nicole Fawcett, Penn State
* 2009 – Megan Hodge, Penn State
* 2014 – Micha Hancock, Penn State
* 2016 – Sarah Wilhite, Minnesota
* 2021 – Dana Rettke, Wisconsin
* 2023 – Sarah Franklin, Wisconsin

### National Freshman of the Year

* 2001 – Stacey Gordon, Ohio State
* 2005 – Nicole Fawcett, Penn State
* 2006 – Megan Hodge, Penn State
* 2010 – Deja McClendon, Penn State
* 2014 – Ali Frantti, Penn State
* 2017 – Dana Rettke, Wisconsin
* 2020 – Emily Londot, Ohio State
* 2021 – Lexi Rodriguez, Nebraska
* 2024 – Izzy Starck, Penn State