Larson, Cooper, Anderson Honored by Big 12 Coaches

The Nebraska volleyball team finds itself in a position it has not been for 12 years ? the runner-up choice of the Big 12 coaches in the league’s preseason poll.

The Huskers, who have won the last four Big 12 titles and 10 of 12 since the league’s inception in 1996, were tabbed for second in balloting by the league’s coaches on Thursday. The Huskers received 88 total points, trailing only Texas in the preseason poll. The Longhorns received 100 points and 10 of the 11 first-place votes, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Texas was also the coaches’ choice in 1996, the year the Huskers won their first Big 12 title. Nebraska had been the league’s choice in each of the last 11 polls.

Kansas State, Texas A&M and Missouri rounded out the top five with Kansas State receiving the final first-place vote. Iowa State was sixth, while Colorado checked in at No. 7.  Baylor and Oklahoma were tied for eighth place with Kansas and Texas Tech filling the final two spots, respectively

Individually, senior Jordan Larson and junior Kori Cooper were selected to the preseason All-Big 12 team, with Larson sharing league preseason player-of-the-year honors with Texas’ Juilanne Faucette. Larson, a two-time AVCA All-American begins her senior year with 1,137 career kills and is on NU’s top 10 list in both digs and service aces. Last year, she posted 3.45 kills, 3.18 digs and a Big 12-best 0.51 service aces per set, while pacing the Huskers with 11 double-doubles. Larson is currently one of only three players in school history with 1,000 kills and digs. 

Cooper received preseason all-conference recognition for the first time after averaging 2.31 kills and 1.01 blocks per set in 2007. She was seventh in the conference with a .356 hitting percentage. Cooper reached double figures in kills seven times, including a career-high 14 kills against Missouri.

Sydney Anderson rounds out Nebraska’s preseason honors, as she was tabbed the league’s preseason newcomer of the year. Anderson comes to Nebraska following a stint with the U.S. National Team in Colorado Springs. Two years ago, Anderson was the starting setter at Utah, leading the Utes to a 28-4 record as she averaged 12.45 assists and 2.77 digs per set. The AVCA West Regional Freshman of the Year in 2006, she posted nine double-doubles that season, including a 64-assist, 19-dig effort against Wyoming. She also notched six matches with at least 50 assists.

Big 12 teams open the season the weekend of Aug. 29, while conference action is slated to begin on Sept. 17. The Huskers will open the 2008 season at the Runza/AVCA Showcase in Omaha. Tickets for the event, which also includes Texas, Stanford and USC, are available through Ticketmaster locations across the state and through Ticketmaster.com.

2008 BIG 12 PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL POLL & AWARDS
PRESEASON COACHES POLL

Rank Team (First Place Votes) Points1 Texas (10) 1002 Nebraska 883 Kansas State (1) 844 Texas A&M 715 Missouri 626 Iowa State 557 Colorado 388 Baylor 37 Oklahoma 3710  Kansas 2311 Texas Tech 10

Ten points were awarded for first-place votes, nine for second, etc.  Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. 

Preseason Co-Players of the Year:   Jordan Larson, Nebraska, OH, Sr. , 6-2, Hooper, Neb./Logan View
                                                         Juliann Faucette, Texas, OH, So., 6-2, San Diego, Calif./Westview
Preseason Newcomer of the Year:     Sydney Anderson, Nebraska, So., S, 6-0, Salt Lake City, Utah/Utah
Preseason Freshman of the Year:       Rachael Adams, Texas, MB, Fr., 6-2, Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame

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PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 TEAM

Name, School

Pos.

Cl.

Ht.

Hometown/Previous School

Taylor Barnes, Baylor

S

Jr.

5-11

Arlington, <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Texas/Martin

Anna Breyfogle, Baylor

MB

Jr.

6-0

Buda, Texas/Hays

Kaylee Manns, Iowa State

S

Jr.

5-10

Topeka, Kan./Washburn Rural

Natalie Uhart, Kansas

MB

Sr.

6-2

Lansing, Kan./Lansing

Megan Farr, Kansas State

MB

Sr.

5-10

Manhattan, Kan./Manhattan 

Rita Liliom, KansasState

OH

Sr.

6-0

Budapest, Hungary/Csik Ferenc 

Nataly Korobkova, KansasState

OH

Sr.

6-3

Krasnoyarsk, Russia/State Siberian Technological

Weiwen Wang, Missouri

MB

So.

6-0

Nanjing, China/Jiangsu Education Institute

Kori Cooper, Nebraska

MB

Jr.

6-2

Amarillo, Texas/Amarillo

Jordan Larson, Nebraska

OH

Sr.

6-2

Hooper, Neb./Logan View

Francie Ekwerekwu, Oklahoma

MB

So.

5-11

Arlington, Texas/Arlington

Ashley Engle, Texas

S/RS

Jr.

6-3

Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza

Juliann Faucette, Texas

OH

So..

6-2

San Diego, Calif./Westview

Destinee Hooker, Texas

OH

Jr.

6-4

San Antonio, Texas/Southwest

Lauren Paolini, Texas

MB

Sr.

6-5

Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline

Sarah Ammerman, Texas A&M

OH

Jr.

6-2

Parker, Colo./Chaparral

Mary Batis, Texas A&M

OH

Jr.

6-0

San Antonio, Texas/Clark

Fourteen players are named to the preseason all-conference team -- a tie occurred in voting to result in 17 members.