Nebraska Volleyball’s Lexi Rodriguez was named a finalist for the AVCA Player of the Year award

Nebraska libero Lexi Rodriguez’s weekend just got busier.

The Huskers play Penn State in the national semifinals on Thursday. A win catapults the team into the national championship on Sunday. Regardless of the outcome, Rodriguez will attend the AVCA All-America awards banquet on Friday to see if she will be named Player of the Year.

Rodriguez is one of four finalists for the award. She will be joined by right winger Olivia Babcock of Pittsburgh, outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye of Kentucky and outside hitter Sarah Franklin of Wisconsin.

Last week, Rodriguez became the first libero ever to be named AVCA Region Player of the Year. She is a three-time Big Ten Defensive Player and Libero of the Year and will attempt to become the third player in program history to be selected as a four-time All-American when postseason honors are announced Wednesday.

A four-year starter and three-year team captain, Rodriguez has climbed to second in school history in career scoring with 1,882 points and needed just nine more to break Justine Wong-Orantes’ school record of 1,890.

Rodriguez and the Huskers will face No. 2 Penn State in the NCAA semifinals on Thursday night on ESPN. The game begins 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first semifinal between No. 1 Pittsburgh and No. 4 Louisville at 5:30 p.m. CST.

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