No. 1 Nebraska volleyball (14-0, 4-0 Big Ten) rolls into week three of conference play firing on all cylinders, regardless of who sets foot on the court.
Coach Dani Busboom Kelly continues to keep her reserves involved, changing up her lineup on the second night of a back-to-back against Rutgers Saturday. Freshman Manaia Ogbechie made her third start at middle blocker, Laney Choboy wore the libero jersey and redshirt freshman Skyler Pierce played three rotations in the front row all match. Freshman setter Campbell Flynn and opposite hitter Allie Sczech also came off the bench to play the last set and a half.
Busboom Kelly said the lineup change was a post-Penn State decision more than something she always had planned.
“I think Manaia would probably start at 99% of the programs out there,” Busboom Kelly said. “She’s really good, so getting her more playing time is the important for our team’s growth. And then Skyler has been doing great in practice, and she really deserved a whole game where she could work through some things if she needed to, and she didn’t even need to work through anything. She played great.
“So just again, continuing to build our depth and make sure players are comfortable and ready if they’re called on, no matter what moment it is, whether it’s just a Big Ten game, whether it’s in the tournament. We don’t know when we’re going to need everybody.”
The Rutgers match was the best showing of Pierce’s young career as the 6-foot-2 outside hitter finished with 6 kills on .417 hitting, one block assist and two digs (all at least tying her season high, with the hitting percentage a new season-best). She’s seen much of her playing time this season rotating in for a certain rotation to help the Huskers side out, but she made the most of her extended run on Saturday.
“I love Sky,” freshman Teraya Sigler said. “I think she’s one of the hardest workers ever. I think that’s such a team player. I feel like she’s someone that always checks in with everyone, and she’s there to make the team better. She and I come on our off days to get extra reps. I feel like with Sky, we are really close, just because we’re able to grow together and look up to Taylor [Landfair] and look up to Harper {Murray] and just expand our range, because, yes, it is about this year, but we’re underclassmen, we’re the future of Nebraska …
“We are getting better every day with each other, and she’s just such a light. Something I really admire about her is her faith, that she’s going back and she’s just trusting the Lord’s plan for her, and that feeds off into our team, so she’s a super impact player.”
Busboom Kelly said this year’s team is uniquely equipped to handle the regular lineup changes because of the depth of talent, the belief the players have in each other and their willingness to make whatever sacrifices Busboom Kelly deems necessary in search of a national championship.
“I think they see each other do it in practice every day, and so it’s not shocking when it’s like, ‘OK, we’re going to start Skyler,’ and it’s like, ‘Oh, OK, that makes sense,’” Busboom Kelly said. “I don’t think there’s anybody on our team that’s thinking like, ‘Why?’, or ‘That’s weird.’ I think they expect it and they understand why, because not only are we telling them why, but they can see it every single day.”
While Nebraska has remained healthy through the first seven weeks of the season, others around the conference have not been so lucky. No. 14 Minnesota suffered its fourth season-ending injury over the weekend, and No. 7 Wisconsin also lost starting setter Charlie Fuerbringer to an apparent shoulder injury for an undetermined amount of time.
“You see those happen, and you think, ‘Wow, thankfully, we do have depth, and we’ve had players that have played and played in some big moments,’ so that, I think, helps ease your mind as a coach, but you never want to see injuries happen to your own team or any other great players around the country,” Busboom Kelly said. “It’s just a bummer for the sport.”
Despite rotating up to 14 players in any given match, Nebraska has maintained a high level of play. The Huskers are currently first in the country in opponent hitting percentage (.102) and third in hitting (.327). Busboom Kelly said she’s been proud of the team’s consistency and growth.
“I feel like, offensively, sometimes you come out hot and on fire, and then as the season goes on, people get worn down, or there’s some misconnection, so then the trust starts to break,” Busboom Kelly said. “But this team’s continuing to get better and better offensively, and the way we set our middles, we’ve continued to just have a really balanced offense, I think that’s a great sign of a good team. We’re not relying on just a couple people. It’s literally everybody, every game, has similar attempts, which is huge midway through the year.”
The Huskers won’t have to deal with a back-to-back this week, though they will face a new challenge, playing against Washington at home on Friday before heading to No. 12 Purdue to play on Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve never experienced this type of a turnaround, so I think it’ll be new, but we’ll do our normal routine here and then practice at Purdue on Saturday, because we play early on Sunday,” Busboom Kelly said. “So that’s maybe a little bit different. I’d rather practice here and then go somewhere, but we need a chance to get in their gym.”
After a weekend spent out east, Sigler said she’s grateful for the chance to return home for a match before hitting the road again to play in another of the conference’s toughest venues.
“It’s really cool that we get to play at home this weekend and then get to go travel to again, another great atmosphere to play at,” Sigler said. “Purdue is a lot like Penn State. It’s a volleyball school, it’s a school that has just a great environment, so I think we’re just learning to work hard. What can we get better from last weekend, and what can we bring into this weekend to really up our game even more?”
Washington will visit Lincoln with a .500 record overall and in conference (7-7, 2-2). The Huskies are 15th in the conference in opponent hitting (.223) and 12th in hitting (.253), but they’re also fourth in aces (1.7 per set).
Junior outside hitter Kierstyn Barton is eighth in the Big Ten at 3.9 kills per set on .250 hitting. Senior libero Zoria Heard is fourth in digs at 3.66 per set and junior middle blocker Katy Wessels is sixth in blocks at 1.3 per set.
First serve at the Devaney Center against Washington is set for 8 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network with Larry Punteney and Meredith Nelson-Uram on the call. Nebraska is promoting the match as a Stripe-Out inside John Cook Arena, encouraging fans to wear either red or white based on the section they’re sitting in.
The Boilermakers lost two of the most prolific pins in the Big Ten to the transfer portal in Eva Hudson and Chloe Chocoine, but they’ve hardly missed a beat at 12-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play, with a trip to Ohio State on Thursday before returning to West Lafayette to host the Huskers. Purdue is 4-1 against ranked teams so far, fifth in the Big Ten in hitting (.284) and 10th in opponent hitting (.204)
“Purdue’s playing great,” Busboom Kelly said. “Kenna Wollard, their outside, was just the National Player of the Week, which is a really prestigious award, and they have a lefty, the lefty from Nebraska, who’s having a nice year. They’re just really good. I think a lot of people thought they’d be down with the loss of Eva and Chloe, and then they graduated some of their main players, but they look really good. They’ve got great chemistry, at least on film, so that will be a huge challenge for us, especially going there and playing in their gym.”
Wollard, a 6-foot-1 junior pin, is third in the Big Ten in kills at 4.75 per set on .258 hitting. Opposite hitter Gracey Heaney, an Elkhorn North alumna, has developed into a key piece for the Boilermakers as a redshirt sophomore, averaging 3.02 kills per set on .320 hitting. Sophomore libero Ryan McAleer is fifth in the Big Ten in digs at 3.6 per set.
First serve at Holloway Gymnasium is set for 12 p.m. Sunday, and the match will stream on Big Ten Plus.
