Penn State snuffed out Nebraska volleyball’s NCAA title ambition, ending their 2024 season. However, for fourth-year Lexi Rodriguez, it was the final chance to get her hands on the national title. The four-time All-American was left shattered after the loss, breaking down in tears during the press conference. Now, the final silver lining of her college football career is gone as well.

Despite losing in the semifinal, Rodriguez broke the school record for the most digs. The historic achievement of scoring 1897 digs put her on the top of the mountain in Nebraska, surpassing the previous record of 1,890 digs, set by U.S. Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes. It was on the back of this record-setting performance that many fans hoped would boost the 21-year-old to become the National Player of the Year. However, the results said otherwise.

“Olivia Babcock of @Pitt_VB won the 2024 AVCA Division I Player of the Year Award, presented by Nike,” the official AVCA page posted on X. However, fans immediately voiced their opinions on why they didn’t agree with the AVCA. “Liberos robbed again,” commented a fan, as the 2024 Libero of the Year, Lexi Rodriguez, didn’t make the final cut.

The fan made such a comment that Liberos rarely gets the limelight. While they form the defensive backbone of almost every volleyball team, most of their contributions often go overlooked. In fact, a Libero has never won the Division 1 Player of the Year award in its nearly four-decade history. Another fan agreed with this sentiment in their comment.

“Olivia is great, nothing against her. But Liberos hardly ever gets nominated for this award. We all know that any Libero to do justice to this was Lexi!” argued the fan. That’s because, in her four years at Nebraska, the 21-year-old changed the perception of how casual fans view Liberos. And it’s not just the fans; even her mother and coach, John Cook, think the same.

“She took a position that was very undervalued and somehow found a way to make that valuable,” said Rodriguez’s mother before the semifinal match with Penn State. John Cook, who himself had a different perception of Liberos, confessed to the senior having a nationwide impact. “There’s all these young girls now that want to be liberos. That’s pretty cool,” said the coach. And it was this question of who had more impact that fans continued to argue over.

The debate surrounding the Lexi Rodriguez snub raged on

One fan raised an interesting point, alleging the real value may not have even mattered in the final decision. “Babcock is a fine front-row player, however… Best and most valuable player year after year, Lexi Rodriguez was robbed. ‘Presented by Nike’ meant it never had a chance of going to a player at a non-Nike school,” argued the fan in an eyebrow-raising comment.

It’s indeed true that Nike works closely with Pittsburgh Athletics, while Adidas does the same with Nebraska. However, at the end of the day, there’s little tangible evidence to back such a claim. After all, the AVCA didn’t hide the fact that the sports footwear giant is one of the sponsors of the NPOTY awards. However, not everyone was convinced that Lexi Rodriguez deserved the award.

“Olivia DESERVED this award. Yes, Elena is amazing, Lexi is great, but Olivia typically plays ALL SIX rotations, which require her to defend and attack. She put the team on her back and was acknowledged for doing so,” argued a volleyball enthusiast who believed Babcock made more of an impact where it mattered; the volleyball court.

Olivia Babcock achieved massive numbers in the stat sheet during the 2024 season. She scored 538 Kills, had 4.75 K/S, and a 0.323 hitting %. Meanwhile, Rodriguez scored 473 digs and 127 assists. Rodriguez also won her fourth All-American honor, became Libero of the Year, and was the first-ever Libero to win Regional Player of the Year.

Finally, some fans were so displeased that they resorted to sarcasm as a rebuttal to the AVCA’s decision. “My guess is the voters believe you can find another Lexi Rodriguez just right around the corner or maybe down the street at furthest,” commented one fan, indicating that those who made the decision robbed a once-in-a-generation player. Yet, who do you think deserved the award, Babcock or Rodriguez? Wrote your views in the comments.