Coach Dani Busboom Kelly said she had a feeling before No. 1 Nebraska volleyball’s sweep at No. 12 Purdue that reserve opposite hitter Allie Sczech could have a big day, and she was right.
Sczech had five kills on eight errorless swings off the bench, checking in late in the second set and providing a spark in the sweep. The former second-team All-Big 12 performer has only started two matches since transferring to Nebraska, but she’s played in nine others off the bench.
“She’s been playing really well in practice,” Busboom Kelly said. “I think once our roles started settling in, and she figured out what her role could be, I think that’s when she really started to excel in practice. Opportunities are going to find her, and I kept telling her that’s for sure; if she’s practicing great, it’s going to be easy to put her in — for long stretches of time, for short stretches of time.
“I just thought her swing was more powerful, and she just had this way about her on the court, I think, that just elevated our play. She was talking the whole time, and I just really appreciate what she was able to do, and again, it gives us more confidence to do that in the future.”
Busboom Kelly said Sczech and Virginia Adriano, the regular starter on the right side, bring different skill sets to the team, and whose number she calls isn’t always going to be based on their individual play.
“Sometimes with those opposites, which I know is hard as a player, it might not be because somebody’s playing poorly; it’s like, maybe we just need to switch things up, and that’s a good position to do it, because they’re both so talented, and they both can get kills, and they both are physical,” Busboom Kelly said. “There’s a big difference between them in one’s right-handed and one’s left-handed, which could throw off the opponent, but for our team, it doesn’t disrupt our rhythm or change things.
“So again, that’s tough for them, but think they’re both figuring that out and realize that we’re going need them both to accomplish our goals this year.”
Sczech said sometimes she knows ahead of time when she’s going to play and others, she hears her name called and has to quickly get loose. Busboom Kelly said it’s difficult making the decision between letting starters play through struggles and turning to her talented options off the bench to provide a spark.
“Sometimes it’s a gut thing, sometimes you want to see players get through it, other times you want to give players experience,” Busboom Kelly said. “You just kind of try to have a balance of that and pick the right opponents. We have a little bit of a plan as a staff going in like, this could be a good opponent for so-and-so, if we feel like there needs to be a change, or if we feel like there’s an opportunity for one, but a lot of times it’s gut.”
Sczech said the adjustment to coming off the bench hasn’t been easy, but she’s found that giving her all in practice in whatever role Busboom Kelly asks her to play translates directly to the matches when she gets her opportunity.
“It’s kind of funny,” Sczech said. “I talked to Jordan Larson about this the other day, but you have a lot more respect for people that come off the bench and play well, because it’s not an easy role to have at all. I would say it makes you a more mature player. You have a lot more maturity for when you do get your opportunities, really embracing them and going out there and playing with no regrets.
“I feel like that’s something that I’ve really tried to focus on, is regardless of when I go in, it’s like, am I going to walk out, whether I play well or whether I don’t, being regretful? And I think I haven’t been recently, so that’s something I’m really proud of.”
Busboom Kelly said Sczech’s approach has improved significantly as she’s grown more comfortable and found what works for her in Lincoln. She’s hitting .405 with 35 kills and only five errors in 20 sets this season.
“Every day, she’s really consistent, and I think she’s becoming a leader in her own way, even though she’s not starting, which I don’t know if early on, she would have thought she could do that, but I think she’s becoming a really good leader, and somebody our team really looks to, especially in times of stress,” Busboom Kelly said. “And then I just think just her overall play has improved a ton. I think she’s putting more pace on the ball on her attacks, and then her blocking has improved quite a bit.”
Harper Murray hosted Sczech during her recruiting visit, and she was the first person the former Baylor Bear called after deciding to commit to Nebraska. Murray said their relationship has continued to grow over the past few months, and the way Sczech and the other reserves have embraced their roles has impressed the reigning Big Ten co-Player of the Week.
Allie Sczech (3) and Harper Murray (27) head to the locker room after the second set against the Utah Utes. Photo by John S. Peterson.
“I’m really proud of her,” Murray said. “I know that she wants to continue to play volleyball after college, and she’s going to get those opportunities, but it’s just really cool seeing not only Allie, but a lot of the other girls that aren’t necessarily starters come off the bench and perform for us. I know we like to call them game changers, and I feel like that’s exactly what they’re all doing. And like Allie said, it gives you a different perspective on what type of player and what type of teammate you grow and aspire to be, and I feel like they’re all really embracing that and doing an amazing job.
“Coming to a school like Nebraska is not easy, and everyone has the dreams of being on the court, and that’s not going to be the case for everyone all the time and for every game, but I feel like that’s something all the girls on our team are doing really well, embracing their role and being cheerleaders for us on the sideline whenever they can.”
While she may not be a full-time starter, Sczech is grateful to be a part of a program that is winning at such a high level. Being the cheerleader Murray mentioned is something she thinks about every day.
“How can I continue to pour into my teammates and be that light for them, regardless of what my role may look like?” Sczech said. “I think everyone has a role, and it’s like how do you play to the best of your ability in order to ensure that the team is successful? That’s something I’ve really had to continue to just check myself with, is, how am I doing every day at that?”
Sczech is one of a handful of players in that “game-changer” role for the No. 1 team in the nation. Busboom Kelly has gone deep into her bench in multiple matches, using up to 14 different players (everyone but the three redshirting freshmen), and all of them have started at least one match (if you include the liberos as well as Taylor Landfair and Skyler Pierce, who play in the front row for back-row starter Teraya Sigler). Busboom Kelly has been consistent in how much she values her team’s depth and wants everybody ready to contribute.
“I think it shows that Dani’s true to her word, but that also regardless of your situation, you have to be working hard wherever you’re at, because at some point when your opportunity does come, are you going to embrace it, or are you going to let it pass you up?” Sczech said. “I think that’s something that I’ve really had to work on off the court, is when I get my chance, how am I going to react, and even when I don’t get my chance, how am I going to react?
“I think, like I said, that all goes back to the maturity piece of it takes a lot of maturity to go in and play well, but it also takes a lot of maturity to kind of wear humility and stand on the side but know that it’s for a greater reason. So I think that’s something that I’m trying to do really well right now, is be very humble about where I’m at and just kind of wearing humility proud.”
Sczech has begun to settle in off the court as well. She’s working toward her master’s degree in journalism at Nebraska as she wants to go into broadcasting whenever her playing days come to an end, and she’s begun producing interview content for the Huskers Radio Network.
“I’ve been trying to just build as many connections in that as I can,” Sczech said. “I was talking to Jessica [Coody] and I was like, ‘Hey, y’all have any internship opportunities?’, and she was like, ‘Yeah, you’re welcome to do stuff for radio.’ So I’ve been doing it, and it’s been really fun, and it adds like a fun little culture piece to it, of I get to connect with my teammates and ask them fun questions.”
Busboom Kelly said Sczech’s buy-in and experience will continue to play a big part in the team’s success as Nebraska marches through Big Ten play, regardless of how much or little she may play on any given night.
“She’s a really great person,” Busboom Kelly said. “I think she connects with everybody from all walks of life, and so I think it’s just somebody easy that they can look to. She’s been through a lot. She’s truly doing everything she’s doing for the team, and I think they also trust her when she goes in, she’s going to deliver. That just bodes to leadership, if you can be trusted.
“Off the court and on the court in big moments, they’re going to look to her for help.”
