Wong-Orantes Leads Huskers' All-Big Ten Selections

Nebraska libero Justine Wong-Orantes was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, highlighting the Big Ten champion Nebraska volleyball team's four selections to the All-Big Ten team on Tuesday.

Nebraska Head Coach John Cook was selected the Big Ten Coach of the Year by both the coaches and media, marking his sixth career conference coach-of-the-year honor but first while leading the Huskers in the Big Ten era. 

Wong-Orantes and Kadie Rolfzen were unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten team, while Amber Rolfzen and Kelly Hunter were also voted to the 18-member team by the league's head coaches. Mikaela Foecke and Briana Holman received honorable mention, and Brooke Smith was Nebraska's Sportsmanship Award winner. The Huskers' four All-Big Ten selections were the most for any Big Ten team and are Nebraska's most since 2008 in the Big 12. 

Although Wong-Orantes was voted the conference's best defensive player for the second time, this marks her first career selection to the All-Big Ten team. The libero out of Cypress, California became Nebraska's all-time career digs leader this season and set a single-match school record with 35 digs against Minnesota in October. Wong-Orantes, a third-team AVCA All-American last season, averaged 4.14 digs per set this season and became the first Husker in school history to surpass 1,800 career digs. 

Kadie Rolfzen earned her fourth career selection to the All-Big Ten team, becoming the third Husker all-time to garner four first-team all-conference selections (Sarah Pavan, 2004-07; Greichaly Cepero, 1999-2002). A first-team AVCA All-American last season, Rolfzen leads the Huskers with 3.14 kills per set and adds 2.51 digs per set, establishing her as one of the top six-rotation players in the conference. The Papillion, Nebraska native hit a career-best .293 in the regular season and served a career-high 22 aces. An NCAA Senior CLASS Award finalist, Rolfzen joined Jordan Larson as the only Huskers to rank in the top seven in school history in career kills and digs, as she sits seventh in both entering the postseason. 

Amber Rolfzen was a repeat selection to the All-Big Ten team, making the squad in both of her seasons as a middle blocker. Rolfzen averaged 1.94 kills and a team-high 1.43 blocks per set while hitting .326 this season. She ranked third in the Big Ten in blocks and had an average of 1.51 blocks per set in conference play. The Papillion, Nebraska native has cracked the career block assists chart (No. 6) and total blocks chart (No. 9) in just two seasons as a middle blocker. A second-team AVCA All-American last season, Rolfzen was named the espnW and AVCA National Player of the Week after 16 kills in both wins over Wisconsin and Minnesota in October, and she was also named Big Ten Player of the Week and a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week this season.

Hunter, the Huskers' junior setter and captain, earned her first All-Big Ten selection after leading the Huskers with 11.24 assists per set this season, which ranked third in the Big Ten. The Papillion, Nebraska native is the first Husker setter to receive first-team all-conference honors since Lauren Cook in 2012. Hunter led Nebraska with eight double-doubles in the regular season and was a four-time Big Ten Setter of the Week. She set a career high with 61 assists at Penn State on November 4. 

Foecke, the most outstanding player of the 2015 NCAA Championship as a freshman, posted 2.89 kills per set with an impressive .306 hitting percentage as a sophomore, which ranked among the top outside hitters in the Big Ten. The West Point, Iowa product served 16 aces and chipped in 42 blocks, and she played pivotal roles in big matches, including 20 kills against Minnesota on October 23, 19 at Penn State on November 4 and 18 against Michigan in the Big Ten title-clinching win. 

Holman, a junior middle blocker from DeSoto, Texas, received honorable mention (at least two votes from the 13 other Big Ten coaches) in her first season playing for the Huskers. Holman ranks eighth in the Big Ten with a .346 hitting percentage and is averaging 1.20 blocks per set and 2.41 kills per set this season. She was the espnW National Player of the Week in the first week of the season after leading the Huskers to wins over No. 10 Florida and No. 2 Texas. 

In his 17th season as head coach at Nebraska, Cook led the Huskers to their second Big Ten title and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, as the Huskers spent 12 of 15 weeks atop the AVCA Coaches Poll. Cook is a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, also winning the award in 1997 at Wisconsin, and was a four-time Big 12 Coach of the Year before the Huskers' move to the Big Ten in 2011. His Husker teams have won 11 conference titles in his 17 seasons, and he holds the nation's best winning percentage (.886) since 2000. 

ALL-BIG TEN
Ali Bastianelli, So., MB, ILL
Jordyn Poulter, So., S, ILL
ABBY COLE, Sr., MB, MICH
Alyssa Garvelink, Jr., MB, MSU
SARAH WILHITE, Sr., OH MINN
SAMANTHA SELIGER-SWENSON, So., S, MINN
Hannah Tapp, Sr., MB, MINN
Kelly Hunter, Jr., S, NEB
Amber Rolfzen, Sr., MB, NEB
KADIE ROLFZEN, Sr., OH, NEB
JUSTINE WONG-ORANTES, Sr., L, NEB
TAYLOR SANDBOTHE, Sr., MB, OSU
SIMONE LEE, Jr., OH, PSU
HALEIGH WASHINGTON, Jr., MB, PSU
DANIELLE CUTTINO, Jr., OH, PUR
LAUREN CARLINI, Sr., S, WIS
Haleigh Nelson, Sr., MB WIS
Tionna Williams, So., MB, WIS

HONORABLE MENTION
Brandi Donnelly, Jr., L, ILL
Jazzmine McDonald, Sr., MB, IND
Loxley Keala, Sr., S, IOWA
Gia Milana, Fr., OH, MD
MacKenzi Welsh, Fr., S, MICH
Autumn Bailey, Jr., OH, MSU
Rachel Minarick, Jr., S, MSU
Molly Lohman, Jr., MB, MINN
Mikaela Foecke, So., OH, NEB
Briana Holman, Jr., MB, NEB
Symone Abbott, Jr., OH, NU
Taylor Hughes, So., S, OSU
Faye Adelaja, Sr., MB, PUR
Molly Haggerty, Fr., OH, WIS

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jacqueline Quade, OH, ILL
GIA MILANA, OH, MD
MacKenzi Welsh, S, MICH
Alexis Hart, OH, MINN
Tori Gorrell, MB, PSU
Kendall White, L, PSU
MOLLY HAGGERTY, OH, WIS

Unanimous selections in CAPS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sarah Wilhite, MINN 

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Justine Wong-Orantes, NEB 

SETTER OF THE YEAR
Samantha Seliger-Swenson, MINN 

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Molly Haggerty, WIS 

COACH OF THE YEAR (COACHES AND MEDIA)
John Cook, NEB 

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES
Katie Stadick, ILL
Jessica Leish, IND
Ashley Mariana, IOWA
Samantha Higginbothem, MD
Kelly Murphy, MICH
Alyssah Fitterer, MSU
Paige Tapp, MINN
Brooke Smith, NEB
Caleigh Ryan, NU
Kylie Randall, OSU
Faye Adelaja, PUR
Laura Broerman, PSU
Mikaela Matthews, RU
Tori Blake, WIS 

ALL CAPS denotes unanimous selection