After a mostly quiet offseason, Nebraska volleyball dipped into the transfer portal on Sunday with a commitment from former Baylor opposite hitter Allie Sczech.
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The 6-foot-4 opposite hitter from Sugarland, Texas, and George Ranch High School played in 92 matches and 333 sets over the past three seasons at Baylor, averaging 2.26 kills per set on .246 hitting for her career. She was a second-team All-Big Ten selection during the 2022 and 2024 seasons and has one season of eligibility remaining.
Sczech was second on the team in kills per set as a junior for a 23-8 Baylor team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling at home in five sets to Dayton. She averaged 2.44 kills per set on .273 hitting with 12 double-digit-kill matches. She posted a career-high 21 kills on .463 hitting and a season-high six blocks in her final match as a Bear.
Sczech also made the Big 12 All-Rookie Team as a freshman after averaging 2.11 kills per set on .263 hitting.
She played her club volleyball for Houston Skyline and was the 32nd-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class. Sczech earned AVCA First-Team All-America honors as a senior in 2021.
Nebraska did not lose a single player to the transfer portal following the 2024 season. John Cook signed a five-player 2025 recruiting class to replace departing seniors Lexi Rodriguez, Merritt Beason, Lindsay Krause, Kennedi Orr and Leyla Blackwell. Szcech pushes the roster total to 14, matching last year’s. The new maximum roster size for Division I teams moving forward is 18, though Cook is unlikely to reach it.
Nebraska has returning starters at outside hitter, setter and middle blocker and promising candidates for the libero jersey with extensive playing time under their belts. The biggest question mark heading into the 2025 season is opposite hitter, with incoming freshman Ryan Hunter the only natural right side on the team. Hunter missed her senior season with a knee injury but was recently cleared for full activity.
Szcech provides a more experienced option at that spot to compete with Hunter and any other pins Cook may choose to cross-train on the right side, as well as a veteran from whom the freshman can learn. Her presence gives Cook the flexibility to consider a redshirt for Hunter depending on her progress as well.
Sczech will graduate from Baylor in May with dual degrees in corporate communication and journalism and join Nebraska this summer. Four of the five freshmen have already arrived on campus, giving the staff a 12-player roster for the spring beach and indoor training season. Beach volleyball starts in late February for the Huskers.
