Big Ten Conference women's volleyball
Collegiate volleyball event
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Big Ten Conference women's volleyball is made up of the women's volleyball programs from the Big Ten Conference's 18 member universities. Through 2024, the Big Ten has earned a combined 40 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 eight overall, including a record four consecutive titles from 2007 to 2010. The Big Ten conference claims eleven women's volleyball national championships overall with Penn State having won eight, Nebraska having won two, and Wisconsin having won one. Penn State (eleven times), Nebraska (four times), Wisconsin (four times), Minnesota (one time), and Illinois (one time) have each made national championship game appearances as members of the Big Ten.
| |
| Conference | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 18 |
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,[1] 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.[2]
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) |
14 (1993, 1994, 1997–99, 2007–10, 2012–14, 2017, 2024) | Champions (1999, 2007–10, 2013, 2014, 2024) |
| Nebraska | Dani Busboom Kelly | 6
(2011, 2016, 2017, 2023-2025) |
18 (1986*, 1989*, 1990*, 1995*, 1996*, 1998*, 2000*, 2001*, 2005*, 2006*, 2008*, 2015–18, 2021, 2023-24) | 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, 2025) | ||
| Maryland | Adam Hughes | Second Round (1996) | ||
| Rutgers | Caitlin Schweihofer | Qualifying round (1982) | ||
| Oregon | Trent Kersten | 1 (2012^) | Runner-up (2012^) | |
| UCLA | Alfredo Reft | 12 (1981^, 1983^, 1984^, 1985^, 1988^, 1989^, 1990^, 1991^, 1992^, 1994^, 2006^, 2011^) | Champions (1984^, 1990^, 1991^, 2011^) | |
| USC | Brad Keller | 10 (1981^, 1982^, 1985^, 2000^, 2002^, 2003^, 2004^, 2007^, 2010^, 2011^) | Champions (1981^, 2002^, 2003^) | |
| Washington | Leslie Gabriel | 5 (2004^, 2005^, 2006^, 2013^, 2020^) | Champions (2005^) | |
† Since 1985, when double round-robin play was introduced
* As a member of the Big 12
^ As a member of the Pac-12
Conference awards
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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. Since 2025, they also recognized positional national player of the year awards. 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
Positional Awards
In 2025, the AVCA announced they will begin awarding positional awards in addition to the historical National Freshman, Coach, and Player of the Year Awards.[4] The following players have received these awards from the Big Ten Conference:
Outside Hitter of the Year
- 2025 – Mimi Coyler, Wisconsin
Setter of the Year
- 2025 – Bergen Reilly, Nebraska
Middle Blocker of the Year
- 2025 – Andi Jackson, Nebraska