At the halfway point of Big Ten play, Nebraska volleyball is sitting alone in first place at 10-0.
The Huskers are also No. 1 in the nation, 20-0 and the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee’s midseason reveal. They boast the best offense in the country by a significant margin (hitting .335) and the second-best defense (.112), behind only Hofstra.
Nebraska has swept 11 straight opponents dating back to the final match of the nonconference and 16 of their 20 overall. The Huskers have only dropped six sets all season. Many opponents haven’t even reached the 20-point mark in a set against Nebraska. It would be easy for a team to get complacent in the middle of such a run, but the Huskers are combatting that by continuing to make practices as or more challenging than the matches.
“We’re 20-0, so that’s definitely a good start, but we talk a lot about not getting complacent, and especially with having so many sweeps in a row, we kind of talk about that, like our practice is the time to get better,” Bergen Reilly said. “… We never really have an A- and a B-side, everyone’s playing against everyone in order to push each other … It’s really just pushing ourselves each and every day and knowing that between our starters and our bench, we have two of the best teams in the country in the same gym.
“I think there’s always room for improvement, and so we’re not letting our record or how many sweeps we have in a row get in the way, but definitely acknowledging how cool it is but still learning from those wins and growing.”
The Huskers certainly won’t need a wake-up call this week with a trip to Wisconsin on the schedule. Two years ago, the Huskers beat the Badgers in the “Match of the Century” to snap a 10-match losing streak. The Badgers got them back in Madison later that season, but Nebraska dominated the rivalry in 2024, sweeping Wisconsin three times, the last meeting in the NCAA Tournament Regional Finals.
Barring another postseason clash, Friday in Madison will be the only meeting between the two teams this season.
“It’s always a fun week, I think, especially just kind of how the season’s been going for both of us, we’re both really excited,” Reilly said. “You can tell we’re hungry to just play some super fun competition, and not that there hasn’t been this other competition, but this is just a rivalry match. We all know that that comes with it, and it’ll be a fun one.”
Friday will be the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit that the Badgers won’t be a top-seven team nationally when the two face off, as Wisconsin (15-3, 8-2 Big Ten) sits at No. 11 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, one spot behind Purdue. They’ve lost two of their last six matches, but they’ve also been without All-American setter Charlie Fuerbringer during that time as she suffered a shoulder injury against Michigan on Oct. 5.
While Wisconsin hasn’t quite been the same team Nebraska is used to seeing on a day-to-day basis, Coach Dani Busboom Kelly believes the Badgers still have the talent to play like a top-five team on any given night.
“They have one of the best players in the country on the left, one of the best middles, I think they’re starting to figure it out with their new setter, and I know they’re definitely going to be motivated to beat us,” Busboom Kelly said. “So I think there’s more than just one thing, I think the whole matchup is challenging.”
Despite Fuerbringer’s absence, Wisconsin is second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally in hitting at .305. Freshman Addy Horner has stepped in at setter and has averaged 10.92 assists per set while guiding the Badgers to a .271 hitting percentage in her past five matches.
The left side hitter Busboom Kelly referred to is Mimi Colyer, a 6-foot-3 senior transfer from Oregon who is averaging 5.2 kills per set on .317 hitting. Busboom Kelly said Colyer’s consistency is what stands out most.
“The numbers she’s putting up, no matter how many attempts she gets, she’s still hitting at a super high efficiency, and then she’s so good out of the back row as well,” Busboom Kelly said. “I think players like that are very challenging, because when they go back to serve, you can’t think like, ‘Oh, thank gosh, she’s out of the front row, we can score some points now.’ No, they’re just as lethal out of the back row as they are the front row, so you really don’t get any break from a player like that.”
The middle blocker Busboom Kelly mentioned is 6-foot-7 senior Carter Booth, one of few returners from last year’s Elite Eight squad. She’s averaging 1.80 kills per set on .399 hitting and 1.36 blocks per set. With Miami transfer Grace Lopez sidelined for the entire season with an injury, Wisconsin’s other top attackers are a pair of redshirt sophomores in Una Vajagic (2.68 kills per set on .221 hitting) and Ohio State transfer Grace Egan (2.49 kills per set on .268 hitting).
Colyer is second in the Big Ten in kills, but Rebekah Allick said the Huskers aren’t overlooking the other Badgers.
“I think as a defense, that’s just something we need to be aware of, and so they’ll likely be on our scouting report, and we need to honor that,” Allick said. “But our biggest thing is not obsessing over it, because typically teams will recognize that, that a team will scout that and they’ll try and just hype someone else up for the rest of the week, and if we’re not taking care of defense just all across the board, it could be something that, instead of working for us on the scouting report, it actually works against us.”
The Badgers also have a Lincoln native on their roster in freshman middle blocker Natalie Wardlow, a Lincoln Southeast alumna. She’s played in all 18 matches with two starts, primarily as a serving specialist with nine aces. However, Coach Kelly Sheffield experimented with the 6-foot-4 Wardlow at opposite hitter for a few rotations against Oregon on Sunday.
Busboom Kelly said she expects Friday’s match at the UW Fieldhouse to include a hostile crowd, something the Huskers haven’t experienced much this season despite the record attendance numbers for their road matches.
“I’m sure it’ll be wild,” Busboom Kelly said. “I know it’s sold out, and I was saying on the radio show, our other road games have been sold out, there have been a lot of Nebraska fans. I don’t feel like Badger fans probably let too many Nebraska fans get tickets, so I think it’ll be mostly Wisconsin fans in there and a really true, true road game.”
According to Allick, the crowd in Madison is “super intense. Some memories I have is it just feels like they’re on top of you,” she said. “Also, with it being close to Halloween, they’re gonna be all in costumes and bring really good energy, so we can count on a really fun environment.”
Friday’s match is set to begin at 8 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. The Huskers will then return to Lincoln to host Oregon on Sunday. The Ducks are 13-7 overall including 4-6 in conference play under first-year head coach Trent Kersten. Oregon has been inconsistent but has wins over Minnesota and UCLA in the past two weeks.
Busboom Kelly said the Ducks’ “heavy arms” stand out on film.
“I think they’re one of the hardest hitting teams in the Big Ten, and they’re playing really well right now,” Busboom Kelly said. “They had a lot of changes, obviously — only one returning player, a new coach, so it’s going to take a minute to jell. It feels like they’re hitting their stride. That game, at the beginning of the year, you didn’t think it would be quite as challenging, and now you’re looking at it like that’s going to be huge challenge coming off a night game on the road and turning around and playing an Oregon team who’s playing very well and looking confident.”
Freshman opposite Alanah Clemente is leading the attack at 3.54 kills per set on .300 hitting plus 32 service aces, tied for third in the Big Ten. Michigan transfer Valentina Vaulet isn’t far behind at 3.36 kills per set on .290 hitting plus 31 aces. LMU transfer pin Sophia Meyers is coming off a 17-kill performance in the four-set loss to Wisconsin and is averaging 2.34 kills per set on .245 hitting. Eight of the 15 players on the roster are true freshmen.
First serve on Sunday at the Devaney Center is set for 1 p.m., also on Big Ten Network.
