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DALLAS -- Nebraska senior setter Fiona Nepo and head coach Terry Pettit were named Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and Coach of the Year Tuesday in a vote of the league head coaches after the Huskers won their second Big 12 Conference title and 20th conference title overall.
The Huskers, currently ranked No. 3 in the USA Today/AVCA Poll, compiled a 19-1 conference mark and are 28-1 overall going into the NCAA Tournament. The team's lone loss was to then-No. 22 Texas A&M. Nebraska is 13-1 against Top 25 teams this year and 2-0 against teams ranked in the Top 10.
Nepo, a native of Honolulu, Hawai'i, is averaging 13.67 assists per game this year and averaged 14.29 assists per game during the conference season. She is a three-time, including this year, All-Big 12 First Team selection and was a second team in 1997 and first team in 1996 AVCA All-American.
Pettit, in his 22nd season at NU, claimed his second Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year honor and ninth overall conference coach of the year award. He also was named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 1996 when Nebraska won its first Big 12 title. This season Pettit nabbed his 700th victory and became just the sixth coach in NCAA Division I history to win 650 matches (all at Nebraska).
Texas' Erin Aldrich was named Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year and is also a member of the All-Big 12 First Team. The 6-2 junior middle blocker transferred from the University of Arizona where she was a former First Team All-Pac 10 selection and 1996 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. Aldrich won two NCAA high jump championships as a sophomore at Texas.
Aldrich is third in the Big 12 in blocks with 1.68 per game and ninth in hitting percentage with a .324. The Dallas, Texas, native is just four block assists shy of the Texas single-season record of 145.
Texas A&M's Jenna Moscovic was named Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year. The 5-11 setter from Stockton, Calif., is sixth in the conference in assists with 12.71 per game. She holds the Aggie records for assists in a season (1,145) and a match (74) by a freshman.
Joining Nepo and Aldrich on the All-Big 12 First Team are: Elisha Polk, Baylor; Kelly Campbell and Tegan Lynch, Colorado; Kim Zschau and Val Wieck, Kansas State; Megan Korver and Nancy Meendering, Nebraska; Demetria Sance, Texas; Stacy Sykora, Texas A&M; and Lisa Hilgers, Texas Tech.
The All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention Team includes: Sarah Lodge and Courtney Owens, Colorado; Amanda Reves, Kansas; Jamie Krondak, Nebraska; Amber Woolsey, Texas A&M; and Sonia Moric, Texas Tech.
The Big 12 Conference will send six of 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament for the third year. Colorado, Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech will begin action in first round matches this weekend.
| 1998 ALL-BIG 12 CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL TEAM | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST TEAM | |||||
| Elisha Polk | Baylor | OH | 5-9 | Jr | Sacramento, Calif. |
| Kelly Campbell | Colorado | S | 6-1 | Jr | Corona Del Mar, Calif. |
| Tegan Lynch | Colorado | OH | 5-10 | Sr | Aptos, Calif. |
| *Kim Zschau | Kansas State | SH | 6-2 | Sr | Dunedin, Fla. |
| Val Wieck | Kansas State | MB | 6-0 | Sr | Grand Island, Neb. |
| Megan Korver | Nebraska | MB | 6-1 | Sr | Panama, Neb. |
| *Nancy Meendering | Nebraska | OH | 6-1 | So | Hull, Iowa |
| *Fiona Nepo | Nebraska | S | 5-9 | Sr | Honolulu, Hawai'i |
| Erin Aldrich | Texas | MB | 6-2 | Jr | Dallas, Texas |
| *Demetria Sance | Texas | OH | 6-0 | Sr | San Antonio, Texas |
| *Stacy Sykora | Texas A&M | OH | 5-10 | Sr | Burleson, Texas |
| Lisa Hilgers | Texas Tech | S | 5-5 | Sr | Victoria, Minn. |
| * Unanimous Selection | |||||
| HONORABLE MENTION | |||||
| Sarah Lodge | Colorado | OH | 5-11 | Sr | Houston, Texas |
| Courtney Owens | Colorado | OH | 5-9 | Sr | Newport Beach, Calif. |
| Amanda Reves | Kansas | MB | 6-0 | Jr | Denver, Colo. |
| Jamie Krondak | Nebraska | OH | 6-0 | Sr | Lincoln, Neb. |
| Amber Woolsey | Texas A&M | MB | 6-3 | Jr | Chaska, Minn. |
| Sonia Moric | Texas Tech | MB | 6-0 | Sr | Tempe, Ariz. |
| Terry Pettit | Nebraska | Coach of the Year | |||
| Fiona Nepo | Nebraska | Player of the Year | |||
| Erin Aldrich | Texas | Newcomer of the Year | |||
| Jenna Moscovic | Texas A&M | S | 5-11 | Fr | Stockton, Calif. |
| Freshman of the Year | |||||