Brown, McClendon, Wilson, D’Errico, Balza and Rose Cop Big Ten Honors
Penn State capped off a tough, but successful Big Ten season — in which the Nittany LIoins captured their eighth-consecutive Big Ten Championship — by taking home three of the four Big Ten annual awards (6-5 Sr. Opp. Blair Brown – Big Ten Player of the Year; 6-1 Fr. OH Deja McClendon — Big Ten Freshman of the Year; and Head Coach Russ Rose — Big Ten Coach of the Year), placing three players on the All-Big Ten 1st Team (Blair Brown, Arielle Wilson, Deja McClendon ), with Alyssa D’Errico earning Honorable Mention All Big Ten. Minnesota junior Jessica Granquist was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Brown is the sixth consecutive Penn State player to win Big Ten Player of the Year honors (a Nittany Lion has won the award 12 times). McClendon becomes the eighth Penn State player to win the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award in the last nine seasons.
For Rose , this was his fourth consecutive Big Ten Coach of the Year award (he has won it 10 times).
The Big Ten also honored 11 players as Sportsmanship Award winners. According to the Big Ten press release, these award-winners are student-athletes individuals “who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports competition setting.” 6-3 Sr. MH Fatima Balza was the winner for Penn State, capping off a fine two years at Penn State for this truly outstanding player and person. Well done, Fatima! (See below for the complete list).
Granquist is the sixth Minnesota player to receive Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors in the 10-year history of the award.
Oh, and we understand the ultimate measure of the season will be how the team performs in the NCAA Tournament. But we’re taking a moment to enjoy the moment.
All-Big Ten Team
The table below shows selected statistics (as of November 26, 2010) for the All-Big Ten 1st Team and Honorable Mention honorees. The statistics are for Conference matches only.
The players are listed in the following order: 1st Team OH; 1st Team MH/MB; 1st team Opp/RS; 1st Team S; 1st Team L; Honorable Mention OH; Honorable Mention MH/MB; Honorable Mention L. Within the 1st Team categories, unanimous selections are listed first (alphabetically — ALL CAPS), followed by the other 1st Team selections (also alphabetically).
The table is sortable — you can reorder it by clicking on the arrow at the top of a column.
All Big Ten - 2010 (Unanimous Choices - ALL CAPS)
| All Big Ten Award (# Years - All-Big Ten 1st Team) | Name | Team | Class | Position | Height | Kills Per Set | Attack Percentage | Service Aces Per Set | Blocks Per Set | Digs Per Set | Assists Per Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Team (1) | ALEX HUNT | Michigan | Jr. | OH | 6-0 | 4.46 | .216 | 0.29 | 0.41 | 2.10 | n/a |
| 1st Team (2) | Katie Dull | Ohio State | Sr. | OH | 5-10 | 3.43 | .222 | 0.17 | 0.57 | 1.71 | n/a |
| 1st Team (1) | Deja McClendon | Penn State | Fr. | OH | 6-1 | 3.42 | .307 | 0.14 | 0.58 | 1.95 | n/a |
| 1st Team (1) | Colleen Ward | Illinois | Jr. | OH | 6-2 | 3.59 | .209 | 0.13 | 0.56 | 2.44 | n/a |
| 1st Team (3) | ASHLEY BENSON | Indiana | Sr. | MB | 6-3 | 3.32 | .351 | 0.16 | 1.41 | n/a | n/a |
| 1st Team (3) | LAUREN GIBBEMEYER | Minnesota | Sr. | MH | 6-2 | 3.18 | .372 | 0.06 | 1.38 | n/a | n/a |
| 1st Team (2) | SABEL MOFFETT | Northwestern | Sr. (Gr.) | MB | 6-0 | 2.82 | .325 | 0.00 | 1.26 | n/a | n/a |
| 1st Team (1) | JENILEE RATHJE | Michigan State | Jr. (RS) | MB | 5-11 | 2.96 | .322 | 0.10 | 0.71 | 0.89 | n/a |
| 1st Team (3) | ARIELLE WILSON | Penn State | Sr. | MH | 6-3 | 2.78 | .416 | 0.18 | 1.02 | n/a | n/a |
| 1st Team (2) | BLAIR BROWN | Penn State | Sr. | Opp/RS | 6-5 | 4.40 | .315 | 0.14 | 0.88 | 2.32 | n/a |
| 1st Team (1) | Michelle Bartsch | Illinois | Jr. | Opp/RS | 6-3 | 3.69 | .197 | 0.17 | 0.81 | 2.15 | n/a |
| 1st Team (3) | LEXI ZIMMERMAN | Michigan | Sr. | S | 5-10 | 1.46 | .255 | 0.13 | 0.42 | 2.86 | 10.88 |
| 1st Team (1) | JACLYN HART | Purdue | Sr. | S | 6-1 | 1.43 | .392 | 0.01 | 0.76 | 1.76 | 10.41 |
| 1st Team (2) | Hillary Haen | Illinois | Sr. | S | 5-10 | 0.39 | .288 | 0.12 | 0.47 | 2.19 | 10.79 |
| 1st Team (1) | Jessica Granquist | Minnesota | Jr. | L | 5-8 | n/a | n/a | 0.07 | n/a | 5.25 | n/a |
| Honorable Mention | Tori Dixon | Minnesota | Fr. | OH/MH | 6-3 | 2.47 | .276 | 0.10 | 0.68 | 0.90 | n/a |
| Honorable Mention | Jordan Haverly | Indiana | So. | OH | 6-1 | 3.86 | .188 | 0.14 | 0.41 | 1.95 | n/a |
| Honorable Mention | Kelli Barhorst | Ohio State | Jr. | MH | 6-2 | 2.14 | .280 | 0.03 | 0.97 | n/a | n/a |
| Honorable Mention | Naomi Johnson | Northwestern | Sr. | MB | 6-3 | 2.64 | .260 | 0.22 | 1.07 | n/a | n/a |
| Honorable Mention | Alexis Mitchell | Wisconsin | So. | MH | 6-0 | 2.25 | .247 | 0.07 | 0.60 | n/a | n/a |
| Honorable Mention | Alyssa D'Errico | Penn State | Sr. | L | 5-9 | n/a | n/a | 0.23 | n/a | 4.13 | n/a |
Big Ten All-Freshman Team
The table below shows selected statistics (as of November 26, 2010) for the Big Ten All Freshman Team honorees. The statistics are for conference matches only.
The table is sortable — you can reorder it by clicking on the arrow at the top of a column.
Big Ten 2010 All-Freshman Team (Unanimous Choices - ALL CAPS)
| Name | Team | Position | Height | Kills Per Set | Attack Percentage | Service Aces Per Set | Blocks Per Set | Digs Per Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEJA McCLENDON | Penn State | OH | 6-1 | 3.42 | .307 | 0.14 | 0.58 | 1.95 |
| TORI DIXON | Minnesota | OH/MH | 6-3 | 2.47 | .276 | 0.10 | 0.68 | 0.90 |
| ASHLEY WITTMAN | Minnesota | OH | 6-0 | 3.14 | .183 | 0.15 | 0.74 | 2.75 |
| Stephanie Holthus | Northwestern | OH | 5-11 | 2.71 | .160 | 0.12 | 0.51 | 2.58 |
| JENNIFER CROSS | Michigan | MB | 6-4 | 2.39 | .321 | 0.11 | 0.84 | 0.37 |
| Catherine Rebarchak | Purdue | Opp/RS | 6-2 | 2.17 | .187 | 0.09 | 0.78 | 0.83 |
| Jennifer Bonilla | Illinois | L | 5-9 | n/a | n/a | 0.22 | n/a | 5.03 |
2010 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Winners
The Big Ten also honored 11 players as Sportsmanship Award winners. According to the Big Ten press release, these award-winners are student-athletes individuals “who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports competition setting.”
This year’s winners are:
6-1 Sr. MB/OH Nicole Kump, Illinois
6-1 Sr. MB/RS Taylor Wittmer, Indiana
6-0 Jr. MB Mallory Husz, Iowa
5-7 Sr. DS/L Maggie Busch, Michigan
5-11 Jr. (RS) OH/MB Jenilee Rathje, Michigan State
6-2 So. S Mia Tabberson, Minnesota
6-1 Sr. S Elyse Glab, Northwestern
5-5 Jr. L/DS Sara Mignin, Ohio State
6-3 Sr. MH Fatima Balza, Penn State
6-1 Sr. S Jaclyn Hart, Purdue
6-1 Jr. S Janelle Gabrielsen, Wisconsin