Three Huskers Named First Team All-Big 12

Dallas ? A total of three players from Nebraska’s 2004 Big 12 championship volleyball team were selected to the All-Big 12 team released Sunday evening by the conference office.

The Huskers placed three selections on the 13-member first team, middle blocker Melissa Elmer (Fort Wayne, Ind.), right side hitter Sarah Pavan (Kitchener, Ontario) and outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua (National City, Calif.).

NU, which went a perfect 20-0 in conference play and won the league title by four matches, also claimed two of the conference postseason awards. Saleaumua shared the league’s co-Defensive Player of the Year with Texas A&M middle blocker Melissa Munsch, while Pavan was tabbed as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Husker freshman to win the award since Greichaly Cepero in 1999.

The honorees are led by Elmer, who was a first-team honoree for the second straight season. The 6-foot-2 junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., leads the nation in blocks at 1.93 per game while also ranking among the conference leaders with a .354 hitting percentage. She upped her numbers in conference play, averaging 2.98 kills and 2.00 blocks per game while hitting .363 against league foes. Elmer had 10 or more blocks four times, including a season-high 12 blocks and 18 kills in a win over Oklahoma that clinched the Big 12 title.

Pavan capped a remarkable freshman season, as she was selected as the conference’s top rookie. The 6-foot-5 right side hitter averages a team-best 4.50 kills per game and also ranks among the team leaders in hitting percentage (.326, second) and blocks (1.22, third), as she ranks among the Big 12 leaders in all three categories. Pavan has six 20-kill matches this season, including a 20-kill effort on .529 hitting in the win at No. 18 Texas A&M last evening. Pavan is the second freshman to be named first-team All-Big 12 under Coach John Cook, joining Saleaumua in 2002.

Saleaumua rounds out the Huskers’ first-team trio, as she garners first-team accolades for the third straight season. The 5-foot-11 outside hitter is second on the team in both kills (3.07 per game) and digs (3.76 per game). She leads all Big 12 outside hitters in digs and became the first Husker to reach 1,000 career digs before her senior year. Saleaumua enjoyed her best match of the season in the win at No. 10 Texas, when she tied her career high with 19 kills on .450 hitting.

Texas’ Mira Topic was chosen as the league’s player of the year, while Jerritt Elliott was named the league’s coach of the year.

The second-ranked Huskers are 27-1 overall and completed a 20-0 record in conference play, wrapping up the school’s seventh Big 12 title in nine years and the 26th Big Eight/Big 12 title in 29 seasons of competition. Nebraska will host the first and second rounds of the 2004 NCAA Tournament beginning Friday, Dec. 3.

2004 All-Big 12 Volleyball First Team
Name, School
Melissa Elmer, Nebraska
Allie Griffin, Colorado
Gabby Guerre, Kansas State
Valeria Hejjas, Kansas State
Bethany Howden, Texas
Lindsey Hunter, Missouri
Laura Jones, Texas A&M
Josiane Lima, Kansas
Melissa Munsch, Texas A&M
Sarah Pavan, Nebraska
Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska
Mira Topic, Texas
Jessica Vander Kooi, Missouri
*Team of 13 due to a tie in voting.

Honorable-Mention
Shen Danru, Missouri
Desiree Guilliard-Young, Baylor
Kelly Johnson, Texas Tech
Brandy Magee, Texas
Lisa Martin, Kansas State
Michelle Moriarty, Texas
Ashley Nu’u, Colorado

Coach of the Year: Jerritt Elliott, Texas
Player of the Year: Mira Topic, Texas
Freshman of the Year: Sarah Pavan, Nebraska
Defensive Players of the Year: Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska and Melissa Munsch, Texas A&M
Newcomer of the Year: Dariam Acevedo, Texas
Libero of the Year: Angie Lastra, Kansas State