Allie Sczech said on Friday that the B-side for No. 1 Nebraska volleyball goes toe to toe with the A-side in practice on a daily basis, and the fans got more than a glimpse of that on Saturday as Coach Dani Busboom Kelly decided to start many of her reserves in a sweep against Grand Canyon.
With Harper Murray and Andi Jackson watching from the bench and with Bergen Reilly playing only a handful of rallies as a serving sub, the Huskers beat Grand Canyon 25-12, 25-23, 25-18 to close out the Husker Invitational and improve to 8-0.
Freshman Campbell Flynn started at setter, freshman Manaia Ogbechie started at middle blocker, sophomore Olivia Mauch made her first start at libero and senior Maisie Boesiger started at defensive specialist, playing in the back row for redshirt freshman Skyler Pierce.
“That was literally a gut feeling,” Busboom Kelly said. “Last night, we talked about it as a staff, and I was like, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ and then this morning, I woke up and I was like, ‘Let’s do it,’ so we stuck with it. We’re just working to get every player ready for when their name is called, and there might be a stretch where we aren’t making any subs here coming up, so I thought this was a great opportunity to get more people involved and see what they can do and get them comfortable for when they’re needed, because there are going to be big moments that I believe we’re going to need a good handful of players that aren’t starters.”
Busboom Kelly said it both gives confidence to the reserves and puts the onus on them to perform to give them the start rather than bringing them off the bench with the match already in control.
“I think that’s a way different vibe coming off the bench,” Busboom Kelly said. “This is more like it’s on them to get it done and perform, and they’re not leaning on the starters to get a big lead, and then they can just coast it. I thought it was good too. Grand Canyon played well, and we had to work through a few things, and they did.”
Flynn totaled 37 assists, nine digs and five kills (on six attacks) in her first start, setting Nebraska to a .364 hitting percentage. The Huskers held the Lopes to .105 hitting.
Freshman Teraya Sigler played all six rotations throughout the match, recording her first double-double with season highs in kills (14 on a .267 clip) and digs (11).
“She did a really nice job,” Busboom Kelly said. “I really challenged her to mix up her shots. She’s a power hitter, so she thinks she can power through everybody, so she’s got to learn to get her feet there and hit deep, hit line, mix up her depth, which when she does that, she gets kills. When she’s trying to power through the block, that’s when she actually gets blocked.”
Ogbechie showed out as well with 10 kills on .529 hitting. The freshman has hit above .300 in all three of the matches she’s played in this season, including two starts. Freshman Virginia Adriano added eight kills on .312 hitting while Pierce chipped in five kills on .308.
Boesiger contributed four digs and an ace in her first start.
“I was really excited,” Boesiger said of hearing the lineup. “I know that Dani likes to switch it up and just build confidence in our team, and she always tells us a lot that we have a great, deep team and everyone can play. I was excited for a chance to compete, and also for everyone else who got to compete again today, too.”
Boesiger and Ogbechie made their presence felt from the start as Nebraska opened with a 4-0 run. The Lopes pulled within two at 8-6 before the Huskers fired back with a 7-0 run featuring Boesiger at the service line. She scored her first ace of the season during the run and also forced an overpass that Rebekah Allick put away.
“It was awesome,” Boesiger said of the start. “I think that everyone was super excited to get going, and obviously super hungry. This team competes every day in practice, and it’s a great competition no matter what, so I think that everyone was just fired up.”
Adriano extended the lead with a 6-0 serving run including her own ace, pushing it to 13 at 22-9. A handful of points later, Mauch closed it out with another ace.
Nebraska hit .533 with 19 kills while holding Grand Canyon to .148. Sigler led the way with five kills on .444 hitting while Adriano and Ogbechie each added four kills on five swings. Flynn had a team-high four digs while dishing out 14 assists and terminating both of her attacks.
Grand Canyon kept it much closer in the second set, which saw 10 ties and three lead changes. Sigler took over late in the set, scoring four kills in a six-rally span to put the Huskers ahead for good.
“It felt good,” Sigler said of her connection with Flynn. “I’ve been, obviously, playing with Campbell before college, but, it felt really good. I think she’s one of the hardest workers, I think both of our setters are. I think they work really hard to put us hitters in great positions, and so I give all kudos to the team for passing and for Campbell putting me in a great spot.”
Nebraska used one timeout late, at 23-21, and the Lopes managed to cut it down to one at 24-23. However, Busboom Kelly sat on her last timeout and let her team play through the struggles as Flynn and Ogbechie teamed up for a block to score the final point.
“It was really good, and I was pretty worried that we might drop that set, which I did not want to do,” Busboom Kelly said. “But I wanted that group to work through it and feel what a little pressure feels like where somebody has to make a play in a big moment or of that match. I thought it was a great job. Campbell, I know she had some miscues, but just the look in her eyes is always a look of confidence. When we came out of that huddle, I knew we were going to win and she was going to make a play, so it was a really good moment for her.”
Nebraska out-hit Grand Canyon .314 to .200 behind five kills from Sigler. Flynn added three kills on four swings to go with her block.
The third set looked much like the second, with nine ties and three lead changes in the first 28 rallies. However, Nebraska used a 5-1 run including two kills apiece from Sigler and Pierce and one from Allick to jump in front for good at 19-15. Sigler added another kill and a block assist to extend the lead to six and the Huskers closed out the match three rallies later.
Nebraska hit .265 in the third with a balanced attack and held Grand Canyon to minus-.030.
Throughout the night, there were moments where Nebraska had all underclassmen on the court, and the Huskers didn’t miss a beat.
“This happened two years ago, right?” Sigler said. “They had four freshmen, five freshmen, that were playing, and they went to the national championship. So I feel like this is nothing new for Nebraska. Obviously, there’s a sense of pride that those are my roommates and my classmates that I get to see every day, and I bet our group chat is going to be bumping at the end of this, but it’s just a sense of we all work hard to be here, no matter the age. We’re pushing each other every day; freshman to senior, we’re all just working to get better for each other.”
The rest Busboom Kelly gave her veterans could pay off with the quick turnaround as Nebraska will travel to Omaha on Tuesday to take on No. 18 Creighton at CHI Health Center Omaha.
