All-Big 12 Volleyball Postseason Awards Announced
November 29, 2010
For the first time in league history, the coaches have honored two of their peers -- John Cook (Nebraska) and Jerritt Elliott (Texas) are Co-Coaches of the Year. Cook's daughter and player, Lauren, has also been recognized as Newcomer of the Year. Hannah Werth (Nebraska) and Sallie McLaurin (Oklahoma) round out the postseason selections, earning the Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year accolades, respectively.
The All-Big 12 awards are chosen by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
Faucette ended the season where she started as the Player of the Year. The San Diego-native averaged 4.82 points (second) and 4.23 kills (third) in Big 12 action, which ranked among the league's leaders in those categories and paces the nationally sixth-ranked Longhorns. Faucette has registered six kill/dig double-doubles this season. She is the only four-time All-Big 12 first-team honoree on the squad and was a unanimous selection in 2010. Faucette earned three conference weekly awards (Sept. 27, Nov. 15 and 22) and the first national player of the week accolade of her career on Nov. 23. Faucette has received AVCA All-America recognition twice (2007 - first team; '09 - third team). During her rookie campaign she was tabbed the national and conference freshman of the year.
In 2010, Mass became the Big 12's all-time digs leader on Oct. 16 after posting 21 in ISU's four-set win over Texas A&M. She has tallied 2,259 digs to date. The Muskego-senior also holds the Conference's record for the most weekly awards with 15, after adding three this season. Mass posted 5.33 digs per contest in Big 12 matches to rank second in the league and first on her team. She earns the second straight All-Big 12 First Team honor of her career. The three-time Libero of Year also was an honorable mention selection in 2008 and a member of the inaugural All-Freshman Team in '07.
Lauren Cook transferred from UCLA after being named the 2009 American Volleyball Coaches Association National Freshman of the Year. She led Big 12 champion Nebraska in assists (414) and service aces (18) in conference play. The Lincoln, Neb.-sophomore setter ranked fourth in service aces (0.28 per set) and 10th in assists (6.37) among Big 12 leaders. She help guide the Huskers to .284 hitting percentage and to conference-highs averages in kills (15.40) and assists (14.43) en route to winning the title, while splitting time at the setter position with All-American Sydney Anderson. NU also is fourth in the nation in overall assists with a 14.12 average this season.
McLaurin was the highest-ranked freshman in hitting percentage and blocks per set in Big 12 contests. She hit at a .323 clip and averaged 1.18 blocks finishing the league race in fifth place in both. McLaurin ended the season with 85 blocks in conference matches, which was the most by a freshman since 2004 and ranked fourth during the rally-scoring era (2001-present). The Midwest City, Okla.-product was honored as Big 12 Rookie of the Week three times during 2010. Nationally, McLaurin has compiled the fourth-best block average by a freshman at 1.24 and is No. 34 in the latest NCAA statistical rankings.
Werth averaged 3.11 digs and 0.60 blocks from the outside hitter position in league action. She helped the third-ranked Huskers hold Big 12 opponents to a .150 hitting percentage in 2010. Werth leads the team with nine double-doubles (kills and digs), including six in Big 12 play. The sophomore who hails from Springfield, Ill. receives All-Big 12 First Team honors for the first time in her career. Werth was tabbed honorable mention while earning All-Freshman team recognition a year ago.
John Cook led his team to its Big 12-leading 12th league title (1996, '98-2002, '04-'08 and 2010), after the Huskers posted a 19-l record. It marked NU's 31st overall conference championship. Nebraska has been ranked in the AVCA Top 10 all season and has six victories over top 25 teams, while producing a 27-2 overall mark. The Huskers earned the No. 2 national seed in the 2010 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship on Sunday. Cook is honored for the fourth time in his career.
Elliott's squad carries a 15-match win streak into the postseason. The Longhorns had victories over No. 2 Nebraska, No. 9/16 Iowa State (twice) and No. 23 Long Beach State. UT finished in second-place with an 18-2 Big 12 record. Elliott, who has been named Coach of the Year three times, guided the Longhorns to the NCAA Championship's ninth seed in 2010 after a national runner-up finish in '09.
Nebraska and Texas placed a conference-leading four student-athletes each on the All-Big 12 teams. Victoria Henson (Iowa State) and Paola Ampudia (Missouri) join Faucette and Mass ending their careers with multiple first-team honors. This marks the third-first team award for Henson and second for Ampudia. Nebraska's Brooke Delano, a junior, has also made the first team for the second straight year.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Player of the Year: Juliann Faucette, Texas, OH, Sr., 6-2, San Diego, Calif./Westview
Newcomer of the Year: Lauren Cook, Nebraska, S, So., 5-8, Lincoln, Neb./UCLA
Freshman of the Year: Sallie McLaurin, Oklahoma, MB, Fr., 6-2, Midwest City, Okla./Carl Albert
Defensive Player of the Year: Hannah Werth, Nebraska, OH, So., 6-1, Springfield, Ill./Glenwood
Libero of the Year: Ashley Mass, Iowa State, DS/L, Sr., 5-8, Muskego, Wis./Muskego
Co-Coaches of the Year: John Cook, Nebraska; Jerritt Elliott, Texas
| ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM | ||||
| Name, School | Pos. | Cl. | Ht. | Hometown/Previous School |
| Elizabeth Graham, Baylor | MB | Sr. | 6-2 | Leander, Texas/Texas |
| Victoria Henson, Iowa State^ | OH | Sr. | 5-11 | Leavenworth, Kan./Leavenworth |
| Ashley Mass, Iowa State | DS/L | Sr. | 5-8 | Muskego, Wis./Muskego |
| Jamie Straube, Iowa State | MB | So. | 6-2 | Tecumseh, Neb./Johnson County Central |
| Paola Ampudia, Missouri^ | OH/RS | Sr. | 6-1 | Cali, Colombia/Miami Dade College |
| Brooke Delano, Nebraska^ | MB | Jr. | 6-4 | Bellevue, Neb./Bellevue West |
| Lindsey Licht, Nebraska | RS | Sr. | 6-5 | Aurora, Colo./Grandview |
| Hannah Werth, Nebraska | OH | So. | 6-1 | Springfield, Ill./Glenwood |
| Brianne Barker, Oklahoma | S | Jr. | 5-9 | Amarillo, Texas/Amarillo |
| Suzy Boulavsky, Oklahoma^ | RS/OH | Jr. | 6-1 | Houston, Texas/Clear Brook |
| Rachael Adams, Texas^ | MB | Jr. | 6-2 | Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame |
| Juliann Faucette, Texas^ | OH | Sr. | 6-2 | San Diego, Calif./Westview |
| Kelsey Black, Texas A&M | OH | Jr. | 5-11 | Amarillo, Texas/Amarillo |
| Amanda Dowdy, Texas Tech | MB/OH | Jr. | 6-3 | Lexington, Texas/Lexington |
| ALL-BIG 12 HONORABLE MENTION | ||||
| Karina Garlington, Kansas | OH | Sr. | 6-0 | Denver, Colo./Grandview |
| Molly Kreklow, Missouri | S | Fr. | 6-0 | Delano, Minn. /Delano |
| Kayla Banwarth, Nebraska | L | Sr. | 5-11 | Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic |
| Jennifer Doris, Texas | MB | Sr. | 6-5 | Houston, Texas/Cypress Falls |
| Amber Roberson, Texas | OH | Jr. | 6-2 | San Antonio, Texas/Wagner |
| Allie Sawatzky, Texas A&M | S | Fr. | 6-2 | St. Andrews, Manitoba, Canada/Lord Selkirk |
| ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM | ||||
| Kaitlynn Pelger, Kansas State | MB | Fr. | 6-2 | Overland Park, Kan./Olathe South |
| Lisa Henning, Missouri | OH | Fr. | 6-0 | Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs |
| Molly Kreklow, Missouri | S | Fr. | 6-0 | Delano, Minn./Delano |
| Morgan Broekhuis, Nebraska | RS | Fr. | 6-5 | Colorado Springs, Colo./Colorado Springs Christian |
| Sallie McLaurin, Oklahoma | MB | Fr. | 6-2 | Midwest City, Okla./Carl Albert |
| Allie Sawatzky, Texas A&M | S | Fr. | 6-2 | St. Andrews, Manitoba, Canada/Lord Selkirk |
^ - Unanimous Selection; Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
