Nebraska Prepares for Adversity with Intense Practices

The Huskers prepare for another split weekend, provide a self-scout and dress up for Halloween.

Taylor Landfair celebrates a block with Rebekah Allick. The Huskers have won 34 straight sets, including all 30 in Big Ten play. | Amarillo Mullen

If there is a downside to winning 11 straight matches in a row by sweep, Nebraska hasn’t faced much adversity in the past month. 

The top-ranked Huskers have dominated all their Big Ten matches during the first five weeks, as opponents have reached 20 points four times in league play. Only once (the second set against Maryland) has a team forced extra points.

The Huskers have only dropped six sets in total this season. One in the opener against current No. 4 Pitt, the first two during a reverse sweep against No. 3 Kentucky on Aug. 31, one against Utah on Sept. 12 and two more at Creighton on Sept. 16. 

More challenges will come at some point, and Nebraska will likely drop a set at some points. The Huskers face their toughest test in weeks on Friday against No. 11 Wisconsin in Madison. 

Senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick said if a team takes a set off Nebraska, they need to be mature about it and focus on what they can control. 

“When it comes down to sets, if we drop a set, okay, they probably earned it, or we weren’t playing very well,” she said. “We don’t really pay attention to that stuff. We’re not really doing it for the flash factor. We just want to play high-level volleyball, execute the things that we should be executing, but also have a lot of fun.”

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said, even though most matches have been lopsided, the players are being pushed in practice. The coaches mix up lineups and try to put the players in challenging situations. Busboom Kelly said the Huskers’ Monday practice was one of their most competitive practices in a while, which she took as a good sign for the end of October. 

Allick said Nebraska's practices are hyper competitive and they push each other when they scrimmage, so they are ready for whatever happens during a match.

The Huskers’ goal is not to be fixated on outcomes, rankings, or other accolades. Allick said she learned from former coach John Cook that if you think you win matches just because you’re ranked No. 1, then you’re in trouble. 

“It’s nothing more than an Instagram post,” she said. “It doesn’t decide if you won the National Championship or a conference title or anything.”

Andi Jackson, left, and Taylor Landfair go up for a block on a Northwestern kill. | Amarillo Mullen

Playing Sevens 

During the Northwestern match on Saturday, senior setter Bergen Reilly was talking with the up official during a rally when the Wildcats had seven players on the court. 

Reilly was one of the few players who clocked the abnormality from the start. She said her initial reaction was confusion as to what was going on. After a few back-and-forth attacks, she ended the rally with a kill on the second touch. 

Reilly spoke with the official after the point ended, but because Nebraska won the point, there was not much the official could do to penalize Northwestern other than issue a verbal warning. 

“They said it was before the serve, and so that’s why it was just a warning,” Reilly said. “I said it wasn’t before the serve, but that’s besides the point. We won the point, and it’s not a huge deal, but it was kind of funny.”

Teraya Sigler, left, celebrates with Manaia Ogbechie after a block. Ogbechie has started at the middle blocker several matches to provide the starters a night off. | Amarillo Mullen

Staying Fresh

The schedule makers have a new twist for Nebraska this weekend. After traveling to Wisconsin for a match on Friday, the Huskers will return home to face Oregon on Sunday. 

It’s just NU’s second of four split weekends this season. However, every other time they played at home before going on the road for the second match. 

The occasion happened when the Huskers hosted Washington on Oct. 10 before going to Purdue for a match two days later. They will do the same on Thursday, Nov. 6, when Illinois comes to Lincoln and then NU travels to Minnesota on Saturday. After a home match against Iowa on Nov. 20, the Huskers play their final road match of the regular season at Indiana two days later. 

Allick said all the travel takes a toll on the body, with getting up at different times and being stuck in a small plane. 

“A lot of it just comes down to recovery and accepting that it’s part of the grind,” she said. “We don’t really have much say in our schedule. You just kind of roll with the punches. It’s just one of those things that you sign up for.”

Even with all the road matches, Busboom Kelly said they are physically in a good spot. Only two players have missed any time with injury — redshirt freshman outside hitter Skyler Pierce dealt with a rolled ankle, and freshman defensive specialist Keri Leimbach suffered a concussion. 

The Huskers aren’t showing any signs of a long season, as they’ve used the bench often and given other players occasional nights off. 

“We have a great strength program that our players take very seriously,” she said. “It feels like we’re in a really good spot physically for the end of October.”

Harper Murray passes the ball as Rebekah Allick watches on. The Huskers have a balanced attack and use a lot of players, which can make it difficult for them to be scouted. | Amarillo Mullen

Self Scout

Every week, Nebraska learns about an opponent as they prepare for the match, studying their personnel, tendencies, and what the Huskers could exploit in their upcoming matchup. 

Allick and Reilly were asked to turn the tables and imagine what a scouting report on Nebraska would say. 

Allick didn’t want to give too much away, but said the Huskers were strong up the middle, had great outside hitters, a really good right side and a strong, scrappy defense. 

Reilly agreed that they didn’t have any weak positions, and their goal is to be tough to prepare for. 

“We pride ourselves on that no one can focus on one person for us,” she said. “Everyone’s noticed that this year our depth is insane. It makes it tough to scout us, and I hope that we can keep that up.”

Halloween Special

Nebraska players will dress up in costumes for its annual Halloween practice on Wednesday. It’s not like they gave Busboom Kelly much of a choice. 

“They kind of told me, ‘We’re doing that,’” she said. “They have to get their TikToks in their posts.” 

Busboom Kelly said she would be wearing a costume as well, but didn’t think hers was “too great.” 

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