Northwestern University Athletics
Three Wildcats Garner All-Big Ten Accolades
11/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 30, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference has announced its year-end honors, with three Wildcats being tabbed among the conference's best, voted on by the Big Ten coaches. Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) was a unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten team, while her middle blocking counterpart Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) was an honorable mention selection with Stephanie Holthus (Burlington, Ill./Central) being named to the All-Freshman Team.
"We're extremely proud of Sabel, Naomi and Stephanie as each of them are extremely deserving of this honor," said head coach Keylor Chan. "Each of them has played a major role in helping our team achieve the success we've had this season and reaching the postseason. They have really embraced the roles they've been asked to play this year and have truly embodied the concept of making this team a family."
Moffett becomes the first Wildcat since Erika Lange in 2002 and 2003, and the second all-time, to earn back-to-back All-Big Ten first team honors, as she was one of nine players listed on every ballot. Moffett leads Northwestern in kills (338), hitting percentage (.340) and blocks (163) on the year, ranking third in the Big Ten in blocks per set (1.39) while leading the conference in both solo blocks (27) and total blocks (163). This past weekend, Moffett became the fourth player in program history to surpass 500 career blocks, ranks 16th all-time with 1,108 career kills and is the program's leader in career hitting percentage (.312).
Johnson has compiled her best season as a Wildcat in her senior campaign, ranking second on the team in kills (330), hitting percentage (.310), service aces (30) and blocks (120), setting career-bests in each category. The other half of arguably the Big Ten's top middle blocking tandem, Johnson's career .250 hitting percentage ranks 10th all-time in program history while her 283 career block assists is ninth in the Wildcat record books. Johnson has also made her mark on the serve, ranking 10th in the Big Ten in service aces per set at 0.26.
Holthus has provided an immediate spark in her freshman campaign for Northwestern, recording 306 kills, 303 digs, 17 service aces and 66 blocks while starting every set for the Wildcats this season. She became just the 11th player in program history to record 300 kills in their freshman campaign and was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week on Oct. 11. Holthus has recorded double-digit kill totals in 16 matches this season while notching a team-best 11 double-doubles.
The three All-Big Ten selections from Northwestern is the most for the program since four Wildcats were honored following the 1984 season. NU has now had 18 players receive 23 conference postseason honors with Moffett being the sixth Wildcat to be named first team All-Big Ten and Holthus becoming the first to be named to the All-Freshman Team. Additionally, Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) was tabbed as Northwestern's Sportsmanship Honoree.
Northwestern is preparing for the team's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2005, getting set to face 20th-ranked Arizona in the first round Friday, December 3, at the McLeod Center on the campus of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Should NU win the battle of the Wildcats, it will face the Northern Iowa-Missouri winner on Saturday, December 4.
2010 Big Ten Conference Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Blair Brown - Penn State
Defensive Player of the Year: Jessica Granquist - Minnesota
Freshman of the Year: Deja McClendon - Penn State
Coach of the Year: Russ Rose - Penn State
All-Big Ten Team
Michelle Bartsch - Illinois
Ashley Benson - Indiana *
Blair Brown - Penn State *
Katie Dull - Ohio State
Lauren Gibbemeyer - Minnesota *
Jessica Granquist - Minnesota
Hillary Haen - Illinois
Jaclyn Hart - Purdue *
Alex Hunt - Michigan *
Deja McClendon - Penn State
Sabel Moffett - Northwestern *
Jenilee Rathje - Michigan State *
Colleen Ward - Illinois
Arielle Wilson - Penn State *
Lexi Zimmerman - Michigan *
All-Big Ten Honorable Mention
Kelli Barhorst - Ohio State
Alyssa D'Errico - Penn State
Tori Dixon - Minnesota
Jordan Haverly - Indiana
Naomi Johnson - Northwestern
Alexis Mitchell - Wisconsin
All-Freshman Team
Jennifer Bonilla - Illinois
Jennifer Cross - Michigan *
Tori Dixon - Minnesota *
Stephanie Holthus - Northwestern
Deja McClendon - Penn State *
Catherine Rebarchak - Purdue
Ashley Wittman - Minnesota *
* - unanimous selection
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