Four Huskers Named to AVCA All-North Region Team

Four Nebraska volleyball players were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-North Region Team on Tuesday, the AVCA announced. Nicklin Hames, Madi Kubik, Lauren Stivrins and Lexi Sun were the Huskers’ four honorees for the second year in a row. Stivrins and Sun earned their third career all-region honors.

Stivrins is a two-time AVCA All-American and a three-time All-Big Ten First-Team selection. She posted 3.23 kills per set, 1.09 blocks per set and a team-best .468 hitting percentage during the regular season. Stivrins’ hitting percentage was the best in the Big Ten and ranked No. 4 in the nation. The middle blocker from Scottsdale, Ariz., had double-digit kills in 10 of 16 matches and hit .400 or better in 13 of 16 matches. Stivrins holds a career hitting percentage of .384, which is fourth-best average in school history and the No. 1 mark in the rally scoring era, which began in 2001. She led the Huskers to a .272 season hitting average and .157 opponent hitting percentage, both of which ranked second in the conference. Stivrins was a unanimous selection for the third year in a row.

Sun earned All-Big Ten First-Team honors for the second straight year last week after leading the Huskers in kills with 3.82 per set. She also added 2.13 digs per set with 39 blocks and 19 aces on the season and recorded five double-doubles. Sun, who hit .247 for the season, was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Week during the 11-week regular season. An AVCA third-team All-American in 2019, Sun reached double-digit kills in 14 of 16 regular-season matches. She ranked fifth among all Big Ten Players in kills per set and was a unanimous choice to the All-Big Ten First Team. In addition to AVCA All-North Region honors in 2019, Sun was an AVCA All-Southwest Region selection while at Texas in 2017.

Hames also garnered AVCA All-North Region and All-Big Ten First-Team accolades for the second straight season. The junior setter led the Big Ten in assists at 10.93 per set and ranked 17th nationally. The Maryville, Tenn., native posted eight double-doubles in 16 matches, and she served 12 aces. Hames set the Huskers to a .272 regular-season hitting percentage, the second-best mark in the Big Ten.

Kubik, a sophomore, made the AVCA All-North Region for the second time in as many seasons. She was the AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year in 2019, and this year she put up 2.70 kills and 2.52 digs per set with 19 blocks and 12 aces. A six-rotation hitter for the Big Red, Kubik posted double-doubles in six matches and had nine matches with at least 10 kills. 

The four Huskers will be eligible for AVCA All-America honors, which will be announced next Wednesday, April 21.