The season rolls on for the Nebraska volleyball team, now the unanimous No. 1 team in the AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 1 in the RPI. The Huskers sit at 22-0 overall and 12-0 in the Big Ten, the lone undefeated team in the country — and they’re not letting up any time soon.
“It’s another week in the Big Ten, week seven I believe,” Andi Jackson said. “It’s kind of coming to the point where the season feels a little bit long, and you saw it this weekend — there were so many upsets. It kind of starts to get to teams and this is where the real challenges come in because the level of play only gets higher and you have to become very mentally tough. We were really focused on Wisconsin and Oregon last weekend and now we’re going to turn it around and really focus on Illinois and Minnesota.”
The only other undefeated team left heading into week six was Texas, and the Longhorns went 0-2 over the weekend, losing to Texas A&M in five and Kentucky in three. The Wildcats moved up to No. 2 in the poll, Texas fell to fourth and the Aggies climbed to sixth. Nebraska is the only team with fewer than two losses, but Coach Dani Busboom Kelly said she’s not going to talk much about the upsets happening elsewhere.
“We’re pretty focused on ourselves, and that’s been really impressive, what this team has done, is just being focused on getting better here and there, competing with each other, not taking opponents for granted,” Busboom Kelly said. “I do think there are teams like — Oregon is a good example, they’re much better than their record, and they can play very clean and have some great players. So our players understand how thin the line is this year and every year in volleyball. There are players all over the country that can take over matches and can get hot, and you can find yourself in a pretty tough situation really quick in our sport.”
Jackson and the rest of Nebraska’s upperclassmen were in a similar situation two years ago when the Huskers won their first 27 matches before suffering their first loss in the final week of the regular season. The longer the streak lasts, the heavier the pressure gets, but Jackson said the key to keeping it going is to focus on the process and avoid looking ahead. Busboom Kelly is constantly encouraging the team to “smell the roses” during every match and celebrate every win.
“Obviously there’s a lot of outside noise, especially when you start getting towards the end, towards the tournament, everyone’s eyes are set on the end goal, but it’s taking it one day at a time and just really staying in the present, enjoying it for what it is,” Jackson said. “What we get to do is so cool, being student-athletes at Nebraska, getting to play for Nebraska and represent Nebraska. I keep saying it, but taking it one day at a time, and if there’s any pressure, it’s from the outside. We’re not putting any pressure on ourselves, because we know where our value comes from and we know what we have to offer, so we’re going to work towards that every single day and go out there and just play like we know how to play.”
The streak within the streak makes Nebraska’s play this season even more impressive. The Huskers have swept 13 straight opponents, and they’ve done so while hitting above .300 in each match, a level of efficiency Busboom Kelly isn’t taking for granted.
“I think it’s still really impressive,” the head coach said. “No matter who you are, that’s hard to do sometimes on an open net, and the fact that we’ve been able to do it consistently should give us a ton of confidence. With the talent on this team, the way Bergen [Reilly] is playing, and the way we can get everybody involved and run such a balanced offense, we should expect a hit for a high number, but over .300 is really good this many consecutive matches.”
Nebraska is leading the country and is on pace to set a program record for hitting efficiency at .339. That’s a testament to the level Reilly is playing at, which the Big Ten recognized by naming her Co-Setter of the Week. It’s her third such award of the season and the 12th of her career. Both Nebraska’s primary left-side pins are hitting above .300, both middles are above .400 and the starting opposite is above .250 as Reilly continues to put all her hitters in good positions while hitting .400 herself.
“I think she’s done a great job of following the game plan,” Busboom Kelly said. “So you can see some games we’re setting a certain position a little more. Some days she’s more aggressive attacking. So she’s done a really good job of, again, following a game plan and just being able to excel in that, which I think can be tough. You can get really comfortable doing the same thing over and over, but to switch it from game to game like she’s been, that’s what makes her unpredictable and what makes us unpredictable, because we’re not doing the same thing every single match.”
Rebekah Allick joined Reilly on the Big Ten’s weekly honor list as the Defensive Player of the Week. It’s her second award this season and the fourth of her career after averaging 1.83 blocks per set in Nebraska’s sweeps at No. 11 Wisconsin and against Oregon. The Huskers are second in the country in opponent hitting percentage at .117 and leading the Big Ten in blocking during conference play.
The Huskers will open week seven of Big Ten play at home against Illinois on Thursday night. The Illini got off to a promising start, winning 12 of their first 17 matches and spending five weeks among the others receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll. However, they’ve lost four straight — sweeps against No. 9 Purdue, Michigan and at No. 22 Minnesota and a five-gamer at Iowa.
“Illinois was off to a great start,” Busboom Kelly said. “They actually have a setter that I played against for two years who was at Florida State who I’d kind of define as a baller. She does everything. She’s a little bit small, but she’s great setter, great defender, just a great server. They also have an outside who’s playing great. And then Chris and Jen [Tamas] were obviously here with me as assistants. So I think it’s always fun to play against people you respect and enjoy.”
Illinois head coach Chris Tamas and his wife, Jen, an assistant for the Illini (12-9, 7-5), are in their ninth season in Champaign. Prior to that, Tamas spent four seasons on John Cook’s staff in Lincoln, sharing the bench with Busboom Kelly for three of them.
“He and Jen are just really fun people, and I think they have a way to bring out the best in their players,” Busboom Kelly said. “I think he’s a little bit like myself, going to enjoy the little things and not take for granted how hard it is to win. I think he’s just does a really good job game planning, so I’m sure he’ll have a good scout on us.”
Kenna Phelan, a 5-foot-7 junior, is the setter Busboom Kelly mentioned. She’s averaging 9.7 assists and 2.47 digs per set. The Illini’s top attacker is 6-foot-4 sophomore Taylor de Boer, averaging 3.81 kills per set on .243 hitting.
The Huskers will then hit the road on Saturday, leaving the Devaney Center open for the 2025 NSAA State Championships. Nebraska will travel to Minneapolis to take on the 22nd-ranked Golden Gophers (17-6, 7-5) on Saturday afternoon at Maturi Pavilion. Minnesota has sustained four season-ending injuries, including ones to outside hitter Mckenna Wucherer and libero Zeynep Palabiyik.
“Their kind of story was the injury bug early on, but they’re finding ways to win and stay in the top 25 and have one of the best outsides in the entire country, a really good young setter,” Busboom Kelly said. “I do think they’re going to be a challenging team to play, especially on the road. Everybody knows it’s hard to play at the Pav.”
Senior Julia Hanson is fourth in the Big Ten in kills, averaging 4.1 per set on .303 hitting. Redshirt freshman Stella Swenson is running the offense, averaging 9.66 assists per set.
First serve on Thursday is set for 7 p.m. CT on FS1. Saturday’s match is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start on Peacock.
