No. 1 Nebraska volleyball made quick work of Iowa on Saturday night then put the spotlight on Bergen Reilly, Laney Choboy, Andi Jackson and Harper Murray for a special Senior Day ceremony.
The Huskers needed just 75 minutes to sweep the Hawkeyes (25-12, 25-15, 25-17) and improve to 27-0 (16-0 Big Ten).
Most of the soldout crowd stuck around inside John Cook Arena to watch video messages from each of the seniors and to shower them and their families with applause, showing their appreciation for what the quartet has done for the program and the sport over the past four years.
In the post-match press conference, Murray returned the appreciation for the fans and the part they’ve played in growing the sport of volleyball.
“I don’t think, when I came into college, that was something I imagined being a part of, but I’m so lucky that I came to a school that cared so much about our sport, and we wouldn’t have been able to grow it without our fans and them traveling everywhere with us … them coming to every single game and supporting us. It wouldn’t have been that way if it wasn’t for them, so, I think giving all the credit to our fans is so important because yes, we might be the ones out there playing and they’re watching us, but if we didn’t have the support from them, it wouldn’t have been that way.
“However the sport continues to grow, I’m so happy and proud of us for being a part of that, and I can’t imagine any other way. And just Nebraska as a whole, in general, the support that we have from every single person in our staff, in our university, all the fans, I don’t think anyone else can say that they have what we do, and we’re so lucky that we get to be a part of it and we’ve been able to grow the game the way that we have.”
Bergen Reilly shows love to the fans during Nebraska volleyball’s senior day ceremony. Photo by John S. Peterson.
While none of the four has announced a decision regarding returning for a fifth season of eligibility, the program wanted to honor them as a group — and the tears flowed freely from everyone involved throughout the ceremony. “Just super proud” is how Coach Dani Busboom Kelly described her emotions after the match.
“It’s amazing what those four have done for the sport, for Nebraska, and it’s very rare when you have a class where it’s each position, one in each position, they’ve all four started for four years, they’ve made amazing impacts on the court, but just everything — again, we’ve talked about it all year, what they’ve done for Nebraska, the sport of volleyball,” the head coach said. “I truly do not believe the sport would be where it is without those four. I think a lot of people across the country would agree with me.
“Just the impact they’ve made, and it kind of started at the stadium match, but then they did their jobs of being great ambassadors for Nebraska, for volleyball, giving so many players more opportunities and showing the world that this sport is special, and there are very special people that are playing it.”
Though they still have one more regular season match plus whatever postseason matches they host left at the Devaney Center this season, the emotions weighed heavily on the seniors heading into the match on Saturday — though it didn’t show in their performance.
“Personally, I didn’t really think about it throughout the match,” Murray said. “I did at the beginning, and then I kind of forgot throughout the game, but it was hard. We had to remind ourselves to get through that, and then we were able to celebrate after. But for me personally, I wasn’t really thinking about it, so I’m kind of proud of myself for that because it’s not easy to stay focused on the game when you know you have so many things after that coming.”
Choboy described her emotions as “high” after the match, while fighting through tears. She said the crying began last week but really ramped up over the few days leading into Saturday.
“I thought about it the whole game,” Choboy said. “I would catch myself just looking up in the crowd and taking it all in, knowing that, obviously, this is not our last home game, but just really soaking it in, how many people that we play in front of, and how many supporters we have. I was thinking about it the whole game.”
Jackson terminated on nine of her 12 swings, without an error, in two sets of work. Murray matched her with nine kills on .353 hitting. Reilly dished out 35 assists while chipping in three blocks and three kills. Choboy tallied a match-high 10 digs.
Harper Murray prepares to walk out with her family for Nebraska volleyball’s senior day celebration. Photo by John S. Peterson.
“I thought they were, all four, great,” Busboom Kelly said. “We had said in the locker room and on the court that it’s OK to be a little more emotional tonight; we’ve just got to use that to play with more joy and really enjoy the moment. I thought they really exemplified that throughout the whole match.”
Busboom Kelly opted to give Teraya Sigler the night off, rolling with the combination of Skyler Pierce and Keri Leimbach in that spot. Pierce finished with six kills on .357 hitting, four blocks and three digs while Leimbach added a pair of digs and an ace.
Sigler was the only Huskers who didn’t see the floor as Busboom Kelly rotated everyone else in at one point or another throughout the match.
The Huskers held Iowa to a season-low .026 hitting and just 22 kills, less than half Nebraska’s total of 47. Despite lineup changes throughout the match, the Cornhuskers hit .457, their fourth straight match of .400 or better.
“I just think everybody’s really confident,” Busboom Kelly said. “We don’t play starters versus non-starters very often. Of course, we do some in practice, but everybody plays with everybody. They get really comfortable playing with each other, and there’s a really high belief in each other. When you see somebody new each day have a great practice or lead in kills in practice, you feel pretty good about them being able to do it in a match. I just think the confidence they have in each other really showed tonight.”
First Set
Busboom Kelly opted to open the game in rotation four, which means Choboy made her first start of the season and took the first serve. Her first offering induced an overpass that Murray put away to set the tone. Then on the next two rallies, Reilly set Jackson for a pair of thunderous kills.
Laney Choboy prepares to serve against Iowa. Photo by John S. Peterson.
That made a 3-0 start for Nebraska’s four seniors on senior night — and the Huskers rolled the rest of the set.
“I actually thought about that, weirdly enough,” Murray said of the all-senior start. “I know Laney’s been working on her serve a little bit, so thanks for that easy kill, but it’s just so special to be out on the court with the three of them all the time, and it’s not something that I take lightly, just because I feel like there hasn’t been a class like ours come through college volleyball in a long time, and I think we really take pride in that and how much that we’ve been able to grow the game and grow volleyball.”
Choboy served a 5-0 run in the middle of the frame, and the Huskers dominated their serve overall as the Hawkeyes only managed three first-serve sideouts the whole set, cruising to an easy win while siding out at an 83.3% rate.
They hit a blistering .682 with only one attack error behind identical 4-0-6 attack lines from Jackson and Murray plus three kills apiece from Pierce and Virginia Adriano on a combined seven swings. The Huskers held the Hawkeyes to six kills on a .050 clip.
Second Set
Busboom Kelly turned to her bench even more in the second set, running a 6-2 to get Campbell Flynn and Ryan Hunter on the court.
The Hawkeyes won three of the first four rallies, but Murray served a 6-0 run to put the Huskers in front for good as they steadily extended the lead throughout the set to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Huskers hit .400 in the game behind five more kills on six swings for Jackson. Nebraska held the Hawkeyes to .071 hitting.
Third Set
Busboom Kelly made even more changes to start the third set, swapping both middles out to get Kenna Cogill and Keoni Williams on the floor.
Andi Jackson walks out onto the court with her family during Nebraska volleyball’s senior day ceremony. Photo by John S. Peterson.
The Huskers got off to an even slower start than in game two, falling behind 7-4, but once again a 6-0 Murray serving run turned the game around and put the Huskers in front for good.
The Huskers pushed the lead to double figures before a late 5-0 Iowa run to shrink the final margin a bit. Nebraska then won the last three rallies to complete the sweep. Freshmen Jayden Robinson and Gabby DiVita checked in during the third set and both terminated, giving the Huskers 11 different players with kills in the match.
“Super proud, and everybody was aggressive too when they go in,” Busboom Kelly said. “A lot of times, when players go in that have been on the bench, they’ll tip or roll shot. I thought everybody came in there with a really aggressive mindset.”
Nebraska’s hitting percentage slipped to .345 in the third, but the Huskers held the Hawkeyes to minus-.034 on the other side of the net. Cogill and Williams tallied three kills and a block apiece.
Up Next
Nebraska will close out the Big Ten regular season slate at home on Tuesday against No. 19 Minnesota (17-7, 11-5 Big Ten. The Golden Gophers swept Michigan State on Saturday night behind 12 kills from McKenna Wucherer.
Later in the week, Nebraska will head to Fishers, Ind., as the No. 1 seed for the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament.
