No. 1 Nebraska volleyball is performing at a high level as the 15-0 Huskers roll into what could be their most challenging week of the regular season.
Nebraska ranks among the top 10 nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.090, first), hitting percentage (.323, second), service aces (2.06 per set, tied for eighth) and blocks (2.90 per set, 10th), and Coach Dani Busboom Kelly is excited about the growth of her team.
“It’s a pretty natural progression, right?” Busboom Kelly said. Most teams are figuring some things out in the preseason and maybe working on some lineup things or trying new things, and we should be getting better and better, and we should be looking crisper. I feel like it’s a natural progression, but the thing that I notice more is just the mentality. I feel like we’re learning to play with a little more grit, and it’s great, but it’s also joy and enjoying the moment, so I think it’s a great combo of both.”
Saturday is shaping up to be Nebraska’s biggest match of the season with No. 6 Wisconsin (10-4, 4-0 Big Ten) visiting the Devaney Center, but the Huskers first have to take care of business on a challenging road trip to No. 15 Indiana (10-3, 3-1) on Thursday.
“We talked about this earlier is that we can’t overlook teams,” Teraya Sigler said. “Wisconsin’s a huge game, a rival and also, it’s a historic match, and to be able to play in Bob is so cool. But also, we have a job to do on Thursday, and we have preparation for Thursday, that we aren’t complacent, we aren’t just overlooking it, because it’s something to celebrate, obviously, on Saturday, but it’s something to celebrate also on Thursday. That we can go in the gym, get better every day for our opponent, respect them as they’re a ranked team, but also be prepared.
“This is going to be a really exciting week for us to be able just to compete. And so, I guess not overlooking any team, and also just each game, game by game, practice by practice, getting better every single day.”
Andi Jackson (15) readies to block a shot against the Indiana Hoosiers during a college volleyball game on Nov 16, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Photo by Logan Hock.
The Hoosiers finished 15-15 two seasons ago under Coach Steve Aird, but the arrival of a talented recruiting class spurred a breakout season as Indiana went 25-8 and reached the Sweet 16 before falling to Texas. This year, they’ve played their way into the top 15 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and their three losses are all to teams currently ranked in the top 10 (Louisville, Tennessee and Wisconsin). Their best win came against reigning national champion Texas A&M (currently ranked 12th) and they pushed the Badgers to five sets in Madison last Thursday.
“It just it feels like they’ve got some confidence and some swag, and they believe they can be great,” Busboom Kelly said. “When you have a nice team, once you catch a little bit of fire, that can take you a long way. It’s just that attitude and that belief. So to me, it’s just a team that believes they’re good, and they probably already had a lot of the pieces but just couldn’t quite get over that hump. And once they did, it’ll be hard to put them back in a box … because I think it’s out now that they’re a good program.”
Indiana runs a fast offense with a pair of sophomores spearheading the attack. Setter Teodora Kričković is averaging 10.77 assists per set this year after earning first-team All-Big Ten honors as a freshman. Outside hitter Jaidyn Jager is fifth in the Big Ten in points scored and is averaging 3.81 kills per set on .234 hitting. Additionally, fifth-year opposite hitter Avry Tatum provides a bit more experience and firepower, averaging 3.17 kills per set on .302 hitting.
“It’s kind of nice because we prepped Maryland, and they went really fast, so playing two of probably the faster teams in the conference in close proximity is a little bit of advantage because we just prepped a fast offense last week,” Busboom Kelly said. “Obviously, they’re very different teams, but I think the biggest thing is just getting those hands over early. As a blocker, in your brain, you think ‘I’ve got to be big and touch this ball and kind of create a shadow,’ when that’s not the case against a fast offense. You’ve just got to be over and match their speed, and the longer you take on the ground, then they’re going to out-quick you, so we can’t spend much time on the ground.”
The Huskers and Hoosiers are set for an early start on Thursday with first serve scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network with Chris Vosters and Mac Podraza on the call.
The Huskers will then get Friday to prep for the Badgers, who have faced a ranked opponent in 11 of their 14 matches thus far with a trip to No. 24 Illinois on Thursday. They’ve fallen to Kentucky, Stanford, Pittsburgh and Stanford but also have wins against Louisville, Florida, Texas A&M, Oregon, Purdue, Indiana and Minnesota. With the toughest schedule in the conference thus far, the Badgers currently rank 17th in the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage at .223.
However, the Badgers have the conference leader in assists running the show in junior Charlie Fuerbringer, who earned third-team AVCA All-America and first-team All-Big Ten accolades last season and is averaging 11.0 assists per set this year.
Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray (27) spikes the ball against Wisconsin setter Charlie Fuerbringer (24) in the first set during a college volleyball match Saturday, November 23, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Photo by John S. Peterson.
“I think Charlie is like a floor general, and you can tell that she’s the leader of that team,” Busboom Kelly said. “She can make average passes look great and get the ball to anybody, so I just think she’s just really well-rounded setter, and on top of that, you can tell she’s got a lot of leadership skills.”
With veteran Grace Egan sidelined most of the season with an injury, freshman Audrey Flanagan has led the Badger attack with 3.20 kills per set on .233 hitting. However, it’s another freshman who has garnered the headlines recently. Decelise Champion, a 6-foot-6 opposite hitter from Puerto Rico, was a late arrival to campus but has made a big difference, averaging 3.12 kills per set on .299 hitting in the eight matches she’s played in, including six starts.
“I think her physicality, being 17 years old and how high she contacts the ball, and then she hits with a lot of range, and she’s pretty terminal from either pin,” Busboom Kelly said of Champion. “I think those are probably the three or four biggest things. She’s a very terminal player and just well beyond her years as far as the way she acts and presents herself on the court.”
Champion set foot on campus at 16 years old and only recently turned 17. She also had a good excuse for missing the start of the season as she was playing with the Puerto Rico Senior National Team in the NORCECA Continental Championship. She made her senior national team debut at just 14 years and also left home to play for an elite youth club in Italy, bringing a wealth of international experience with her to Madison despite her age.
“We obviously recruited her, along with a lot of teams,” Busboom Kelly said. “I think her story is very unique where she’s playing on the national team, and Puerto Rico has a legit chance to make the Olympics, maybe a better chance than they’ve ever had, and she’s a big piece of that team. Then she’s playing overseas in Rome and training there, living away from home, and now she’s going to college as a 16-, 17-year-old.
“There are a lot of unique things about her story, but she’s just super mature, and just from my conversations with her, a very mature person, and definitely somebody who’s had those worldly experiences to be able to handle college at a young age.”
Champion and the rest of the Huskers will visit Lincoln on Saturday, which is shaping up to be a big day for Husker fans with Nebraska football hosting No. 7 Indiana for an 11 a.m. kickoff.
“I’m really excited for our fans,” Andi Jackson said. “I think it’ll be a super fun weekend for them. I know basketball plays [St. Louis in an exhibition] on Friday too, so they’ve got a lot of Husker sports lined up, and it really excites me for them because they’re so loyal and they deserve really fun weekends and they deserve to have cool events like this, like the blackout or FOX coming for Big Noon. So it’s exciting for them, and game days in Lincoln are so fun, and the atmosphere is just so different than other weekends. It’s always great, but just on game days, it is so special, and you just cannot replicate it on any weekend.
“It makes me really happy for our fans that they can experience that, and for our team too. It’s really fun, and we love watching the football game and getting ready, and just also experiencing that atmosphere and having a fun vibe to play in, so it’ll be really fun.”
First serve on Saturday is set for 7 p.m. on FOX with Kelsie Kasper, Emily Ehman and Anna Connelly on the call.
