Volleyball season is here in Nebraska. The Big Ten preseason favorite Huskers will head into the season ranked second nationally in the AVCA Coaches Poll, but first they’ll give the fans an early look at this year’s squad in Saturday’s Red-White Scrimmage.
To get Husker fans ready for the 2024 season, we’re previewing the team, position by position. Up first is the only group who didn’t see any additions or departures: setter.
Roster:
>> No. 2 Bergen Reilly, Sophomore (2023: 10.51 APS, 2.64 DPS, 0. 52 BPS, 0.21 SAPS)
>> No. 9 Kennedi Orr, Senior (2023: 39 digs, 7 aces, 3 assists)
Big Ten All-Freshman Team, All-Big Ten First team, Big Ten Setter of the Year, AVCA All-America Second Team — Bergen Reilly earned all of those honors and more in her first season of college volleyball. The top-ranked setter in the 2024 class and three-time Gatorade Player of the Year in South Dakota earned the starting job from day one last season and ran with it, leading the Huskers all the way to the national championship match.
Reilly started every match and recorded 15 double-doubles with season-highs of 54 assists (against Purdue), 17 digs (against Wisconsin), five blocks (against Northwestern) and four aces (against Missouri). She quarterbacked the second-best offense in the Big Ten in 2023 as Nebraska hit .273 as a team, a significant leap forward from the 2022 season, and she’s looking to elevate the Husker offense even more in 2024.
“She’s in her second year, so she’s just way more calm, composed, knows what she needs to do,” Coach John Cook said. “The thing about Bergen is when she makes a mistake, she just tells you before you even say anything. That’s pretty cool. It’s almost like a golfer, they’re telling you on the swing, ‘I didn’t do that right.’ That’s where she’s at, that’s really in tune with what she needs to do. We’re trying to open things up for her and let her be a little more free-flowing, and I think she’s really good at that.”
Reilly said this preseason has been much easier now that she knows what to expect every day with a year in the program under her belt. The preseason All-Big Ten selection spoke about the strong connections she’s developed with her teammates and how that’s helped her settle into a better rhythm. The next step for her is taking more ownership of the offense.
“[It’s] just kind of learning more to run my offense,” Reilly said. “I think coming in as a freshman, you don’t want to change too much, or you kind of just go with what the coaches say. And I think during the off season, they kind of let me have a little freedom, and said, ‘You go run your offense.’ And so just kind of ironing things out with that, getting everyone on the same page and just working really hard on the fundamentals to nail that down.”
With Reilly entrenched as the starter, many wondered if Kennedi Orr would choose to go elsewhere for her final season. Once ranked as the top player in the 2021 recruiting class, a knee injury during her senior season at Eagan (Minn.) High School disrupted her college career before it even began and she’s never been able to lock down a consistent starting role during her time in Lincoln. However, instead of entering the transfer portal to explore her options, Orr chose to finish her career where it began.
“I’m just grateful and honored for everything that volleyball has given me,” Orr said at Big Ten Media Days. “I love the sport and specifically Nebraska volleyball, the program. Every day I’m excited to get into practice and be with my girls and learn under our coaches. I think that this is such a unique opportunity, and I would never even dream of walking away from it. I’m just so excited to have every moment of my senior year, and I can’t wait for what the season brings.”
After bouncing in and out of the rotation as a setter in 2022, Orr contributed as a serving specialist last season while also serving as the team’s second setter in practice. She provides experienced depth at an important position.
Additionally, the setters continue to work daily with one of the best to ever play the position at Nebraska as Kelly Hunter returns as assistant coach. Reilly said Hunter has been a valuable asset for her as she’s navigated life as the starting setter at Nebraska.
“It’s super freeing just being under Kelly because she’s been through it, she knows how Coach likes things,” Reilly said. “She’s done it all, and so just getting to learn from her every day. She has two national championships, and hopefully I can get a couple in the next couple years too. It’s freeing because she was a setter, so it’s different from hearing it from Coach who’s never probably been a setter in super competitive settings.
“She does a really good job of just focusing on certain things, and she never overwhelms us or anything, because it can be easy to overwhelm setters, and I think that she does a really good job of just focusing on one thing at a time, and everyone else can work through it too.”
