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2027 Libero Pulelehua Laikona Commits to Nebraska Volleyball

The Huskers have made another addition to the 2027 recruiting class out of Arizona.
Kaleb Henry|
2027 libero Pulelehua "Hua" Laikona has committed to Nebraska volleyball.
2027 libero Pulelehua "Hua" Laikona has committed to Nebraska volleyball. | @pulelehualaikonavolleyball/Instagra

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Nebraska volleyball's 2027 recruiting class continues to grow.

Pulelehua "Hua" Laikona has committed to the Huskers. She made the announcement on social media Tuesday.

"Mahalo Ke Akua! Thank you God you have been so good to me," Laikona said. "I’m deeply blessed, truly humbled, and extremely grateful to announce my verbal commitment to the University of Nebraska."

The 5-foot-8 libero is ranked No. 59 overall by PrepVolleyball and No. 103 by PrepDig. She plays for the same club team, Arizona Storm, as fellow Husker commit Kendall Omoruyi and Nebraska freshmen Teraya Sigler and Kenna Cogill.

While she will be a libero at the next level, Laikona is an outside hitter for Mesa High School. As a sophomore, she averaged 3.3 kills per set on .289 hitting.

Nebraska has been a libero and defensive specialist factory of late. Lexi Rodriguez just graduated and is currently playing professionally after breaking Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes' all-time digs record. The cupboard is far from bare, though, as new coach Dani Busboom Kelly has walked into an impressive room of "littles".

"It's one of the deepest groups of liberos I've ever coached," Busboom Kelly said after the Husker Games match against Kansas.

Besides the battle between Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch for the libero spot this season, Nebraska also has senior Maisie Boesiger and freshman Keri Leimbach. No liberos are committed for the 2026 class.

Laikona is the third known commitment for Nebraska's 2027 class. She is joined by middle blocker Omoruyi and setter Malorie Boesiger.

Nebraska is coming off of a 33-3 season in which the Huskers finished as co-Big Ten Champions and made the national semifinals. Just a few months ago, head coach John Cook retired and was promptly replaced by former Husker Dani Busboom Kelly.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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