Week No.7 of Big Ten Volleyball should be exciting

by | Nov 5, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

BIG TEN WEEKLY VOLLEYBALL RELEASE – NOV. 4

 

  • Week seven of conference play begins Thursday with a Top 25 Big Ten Network doubleheader, as No. 11 Minnesota travels to seventh-ranked Ohio State (7 p.m. ET) and No. 9 Nebraska, which is now tied for first place in the Big Ten standings with Wisconsin, visits 25th-ranked Illinois (9 p.m. ET). Both matches will also be televised live on the FOX Sports app. Heading into this week’s schedule, just two matches separate the top seven places in the Big Ten standings, including a four-way tie for fourth place at 8-4.
  • The Big Ten has a season-high (and national-best) seven teams in the Top 25 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with the arrival of Illinois at No. 25 this week. For the past six weeks and eight of 11 weeks this season, the Big Ten has led the nation with eight teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll. Wisconsin paces the conference contingent this week at No. 4, joined by No. 7 Ohio State, No. 8 Purdue, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 11 Minnesota, No. 15 Penn State and the No. 25 Fighting Illini, with Michigan also receiving votes.
  • Monday’s latest NCAA RPI report also has a strong Big Ten flavor to it, with six conference teams among the top 20 and no fewer than eight in the top 35. Wisconsin leads the way at No. 4, followed by No. 9 Ohio State, No. 10 Purdue, No. 16 Nebraska, No. 17 Minnesota, No. 20 Penn State, No. 27 Illinois and No. 31 Michigan, with Maryland continuing its steady and persistent climb up the RPI ladder, currently at No. 63.
  • Minnesota graduate opposite Stephanie Samedy was named both the Big Ten Player of the Week and the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week earlier in the week after averaging 4.75 kills and 3.88 digs per set in the Golden Gophers’ wins over then-No. 6 Nebraska and Indiana last week. Samedy is the first Big Ten player chosen for national honors this season.
  • Maryland senior middle blocker Rainelle Jones and Nebraska graduate middle blocker Lauren Stivrins both recorded their 500th career blocks last weekend. The pair are the 52nd and 53rd Big Ten players in conference history to reach the 500-block milestone, and are among three active in the Big Ten this season (Wisconsin’s Dana Rettke is seventh in the conference record books with 670 blocks and needs 12 to move into the top five in Big Ten history).
  • Penn State will hold its annual “Silent Set” match Saturday when it plays host to Michigan State at Rec Hall. Fans will remain silent from the opening serve until the Nittany Lions score their ninth point in the first set. The event is held in support of International Week of the Deaf, and specifically to honor senior right-side hitter Jonni Parker, who wears the No. 9 (hence, the silence through the ninth point), has moderate hearing loss and wears hearing aids on the court when she competes.
  • Three Big Ten standouts are among the 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, it was announced Wednesday. Wisconsin setter Sydney Hilley and middle blocker Dana Rettke, along with Penn State right side Jonni Parker are in contention for the honor, which goes to a graduating senior who has notable achievements in the award’s four areas of excellence: community, classroom, chracter and competition. Nationwide fan voting is now underway at seniorclassaward.com, with those votes tallied through Dec. 6 and combined with those from media and head coaches to determine the winner, who will be announced during the NCAA Tournament in December. Big Ten student-athletes have earned six of the 10 Senior CLASS Awards in the sport of volleyball since it was first presented in 2010, with Nebraska’s Mikaela Foecke the most recent recipient in 2019.
  • The Big Ten continues to stand as the national leader in attendance, with a staggering 12 teams among the top 30 in Thursday’s attendance rankings, with the next closest conference not having even half that many  (Pac-12 has five through matches of Nov. 2). Nebraska is the NCAA attendance leader this week at 8,190 fans per match, followed by No. 2 Wisconsin (7,540) and third-place Minnesota (5,120). Penn State is sixth (2,761), Michigan State is eighth (2,525), Purdue is No. 11 (2,350), Illinois is No. 12 (2,330) and Ohio State is No. 14 (2,122). Michigan is next at No. 20 (1,768), with Indiana 24th (1,410), Iowa 28th (1,159) and Maryland 30th (1,112).
  • Each of the 25 highest-attended NCAA volleyball matches this year have involved a Big Ten school (24 played on a conference court at either Nebraska or Wisconsin). Extended it further, the NCAA lists its 49 highest-attended matches in 2021 and more than 85 percent of them (42) featured a Big Ten team. That includes the nation’s highest-attended match this season, Nebraska’s Sept. 8 sweep of Creighton at the CHI Health Center Omaha in front of 11,279 fans.
  • The Big Ten has the most robust volleyball television package in its history with a record-setting 53 matches scheduled for linear television coverage (47 on Big Ten Network, six on ESPN2/ESPNU), with the possibility of further broadcasts to be announced at a later date. In addition, all conference contests and many non-conference matches not scheduled for linear coverage will be broadcast live on B1G+, the Big Ten Network’s subscription streaming service (bigtenplus.com).
  • Nine Big Ten alums played a vital role in the United States winning the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Illinois’ Michelle Bartsch-Hackley and Jordyn Poulter (plus Erin Virtue, who was an assistant coach for Team USA), Nebraska’s Jordan Larson, Kelsey Robinson and Justine Wong-Orantes, Penn State’s Micha Hancock and Haleigh Washington and Purdue’s Annie helped the U.S. earn its first-ever Olympic gold medal. Five other Big Ten alums served as alternates for Team USA — Minnesota’s Tori Dixon, Sarah Wilhite Parsons and Hannah Tapp, Penn State’s Megan Courtney and Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini.
  • For the 15th consecutive season, Big Ten volleyball honored more than 70 Academic All-Big Ten standouts in 2020-21, as a record-setting 136 volleyball student-athletes were recognized, including a trio of Academic All-America selections in first-team honorees Lauren Swartz (Michigan State) and Sydney Hilley (Wisconsin), as well as second-team choice Lexi Sun (Nebraska).