LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Nebraska volleyball team was back in a familiar place on Wednesday. That refers to both the physical location — the KFC Yum! Center — and this stage of the season — volleyball’s final four.
The Huskers are 2-0 in Louisville this season, beating Kentucky 3-1 in the AVCA First Serve Showcase on Aug. 27 and sweeping Louisville on Sept. 22. Nebraska is also back in the national semifinals for the second straight year, and the seventh in the last 10 seasons.
“Our goal was to get here for the third time,” Coach John Cook said. “It’s changed a little bit since the last time we were here, so we’re excited. It’s a great place to play volleyball, this arena, and I hear it’s sold out, so it should be fun.”
The Huskers returned 10 players from last year’s national runner-up, most of whom played in the final four for the first time in Tampa. The second trip brings with it an added sense of comfort for the Huskers, who are seeking their sixth national championship.
“It’s just a little more comfort knowing that I’ve been through it before, and obviously this is a huge stage, and this is what we work for all year,” Bergen Reilly said. “I don’t know if you can necessarily ever say that you’re fully comfortable, but just having another year of experience, having it under my belt has helped a lot just confidence-wise and comfort-wise, I guess. We’re really excited to be back and hopefully get it done this year.”
Cook said the Huskers are in a “whole different place” than they were last year when they showed up with a bunch of freshmen in their lineup. In addition to the competition against the best of the best, a final four appearance includes a busy couple of days including extra media obligations and more, which tests the athletes’ ability to focus and handle pressure.
“Last year we were happy to be here, wow, this is great,” Cook said. “But today the amount of things going on and the distractions, it’s unreal. Then parents coming in — the whole goal is you’ve got to remember why you’re here is to try to win a volleyball match tomorrow, and you can get so distracted very easily. We only have three players that haven’t been through this right now, so I think they understand why we’re here and what needs to happen and how we’ve got to focus. It’s a challenge.”
This year’s national semifinals feature a pair of conference rivalries including all four No. 1 seeds. Pittsburgh, who the Huskers defeated in last year’s national semifinals, takes on another No. 1 seed in Louisville in the first match. The Huskers will then get a rematch with Penn State, who beat the Huskers 3-1 in University Park on Nov. 29 to earn a share of the Big Ten title.
“I think it’s awesome for us,” Merritt Beason said. “We get another chance. Obviously we didn’t come out on top the first time that we played Penn State, so I think we’re really excited to just have another chance.
“But I think the way we’re trying to go about it this year is we get another day, and only four teams are in that position right now. So I think we’re just trying to take it day by day. One of our mottos has been it’s not us versus Penn State or it wasn’t us versus Wisconsin or whoever we played, it’s us in the Final Four. And no matter who’s on the other side of the net, we’re going to focus on our side and do whatever it takes to get the job done.”
Two of the faces that will appear on the other side of the net Thursday night were in Nebraska’s locker room a year ago when the Huskers made their run — middle blocker Maggie Mendelson and opposite hitter Caroline Jurevicius. The duo transferred to Penn State after last season and emerged as starters for the Nittany Lions.
“Obviously they both had a great year, and we had great plans for them,” Cook said. “We knew they were good. Maggie, once she went full-time volleyball, we knew she would really make a jump. We also had a great plan for Caroline. But again, for whatever reason, those guys chose to leave, and they obviously went to another great program, and it’s worked out really well for them.
“But we miss them. A year ago they were right there in our locker room. It’s kind of bizarre when you think about it. I’m seeing the pictures and stuff from last year; they’re in all the pictures, Big Ten Championship stuff. Here we are playing them to try to get to the National Championship.”
While it’s strange for the Huskers to see their former teammates as opponents, Andi Jackson said that all goes away once the whistle blows and the volleyball begins.
“I think that’s part of sports,” Jackson said. “I love Caroline and Maggie to death, especially Carol; she’s my best friend. But you obviously forget when you’re in the game in a sense because you’re so zoned in, it’s hard to remember. But I see her across the net, I’m happy for her. It’s always fun to play them. It was really fun the first time and to see them do well is super exciting. I thought it would be a little bit harder, but when you’re in the moment, you don’t really remember.”
Jurevicius was Penn State’s most effective attacker in the regular season meeting, totaling a career-high 18 kills on .414 hitting. The key to keeping her in check in round two is simply executing the game plan at a higher level, according to the head coach.
“We’ve got to stick with our game plan,” Cook said. “We have to play a lot better than we did at Penn State. Our team knows that.”
While Jurevicius stole the show, Nebraska did a good job keeping first-team All-America outside hitter Jess Mruzik in check. She hit .000 in the match but is averaging 4.21 kills per set on .253 hitting overall this season. Honorable mention All-America outside hitter Camryn Hannah is averaging 3.59 kills per set on .292 hitting. Setter Izzy Starck, the AVCA National Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-American, runs the offense, averaging 10.89 assists per as Penn State hit .285 on the year, equal to Nebraska and just outside the top 10 nationally.
While Penn State’s right side made a big difference in the previous meeting, Nebraska’s struggled as Beason hit negative for just the second time in her Husker career. She finished below zero in the regional semifinal win over Dayton as well. In all, Beason is averaging 2.2 kills per set on .162 hitting over her past 12 matches, well below her season numbers and even more so below what she posted last year as a first-team All-American. Nebraska will need more from Beason to secure two wins in Louisville, but Cook isn’t worried about his senior captain.
“It’s a tough game, but she’ll be fine,” Cook said.
Both Jackson and Rebekah Allick said the key to victory on Thursday will be keeping things simple and staying within themselves.
“I think that we just do the same thing: we play Nebraska volleyball,” Jackson said. “I think obviously what we did with Wisconsin was we didn’t try to switch things up too much. We just knew that if we played our game and went out there and kept it the same as we did the previous times then we would come out on top. I think for Penn State, it’s the same thing. Obviously, we didn’t win the first time, but not trying to do anything extra. Out good is good enough, so doing Nebraska volleyball.”
Nebraska’s race for the roses in the home of the Kentucky Derby continues on Thursday night. The Panthers and Cardinals will face off at 5:30 p.m. CT, with the Huskers and Nittany Lions to follow 30 minutes after the first match’s conclusion.
Both matches will be on ESPN with Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George and Madison Fitzpatrick on the call.
