By Lincoln Arneal
After playing the past three years at the San Diego of the Big Ten, Anni Evans will spend her final two seasons of eligibility at actual San Diego.
The 5-foot-9 setter announced on her Instagram Friday that she would join the Toreros after she earns her undergraduate degree in May.
Gabby Blossom, who transferred from Penn State, guided the Toreros to their most successful season in program history. USD went 31-2, reaching the national semifinals before falling to eventual national champion Texas.
San Diego returns 5-foot-6 senior Alex Hoglund and 6-foot redshirt senior Isadora Tercariol. Hoglund played in 33 matches last season, primarily as a serving specialist and only recorded 2 assists. Tercariol did not appear in a game in 2022.
Evans played in 27 matches as a junior for Nebraska, which used a 6-2 system for most of the season. She averaged 4.37 assists per set as the Huskers’ second setter. The Waverly graduate also added 158 digs.
Her best match came in the second match of the year as she tallied 36 assists against Tulsa, running the offense solo in an NU sweep. Her next best performance came against Creighton with 25 assists. She recorded at least 20 assists in two of the three postseason matches.
As a sophomore, Evans was used as a serving specialist appearing in 23 matches and recording 10 aces. She played 15 sets over nine matches during her freshman campaign.
Evans earned the NCAA Elite 90 award at the 2021 Final Four as the student-athlete with the highest GPA. In addition, she was named to the Academic Big Ten list twice for indoor volleyball and was on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2021.