Nebraska Ready for New Challenge at Penn State

After playing all their matches in September in Nebraska, the Huskers are ready for their first road trip since August

Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson and setter Bergen Reilly defend an attack from Creighton's Kiara Reinhardt. The Huskers will leave the state for the first time since August this weekend. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

LINCOLN—Dani Busboom Kelly is looking forward to getting some good sleep this weekend.

After spending the entire month of September in Nebraska, the Huskers kick off October with their first real road trip since playing Kentucky in Nashville on Aug. 31. NU’s only road match during the past month was at Creighton up the road in Omaha. 

Busboom Kelly likes away matches because they allow the coaches to interact with the players more as they share more meal time and hang out in the hotel. However, unlike the trip to Tennessee in August, Busboom will be unaccompanied by the rest of the family to Penn State and Rutgers, as her toddler and newborn will be staying at home with their father.

“I'm personally looking forward to some sleep,” Busboom Kelly said. “Normally, I'd be sad to be away from my kids, but this might be the first one where I'm like, ‘Oh, I'll catch up on some sleep this one.’”

John Cook and Dani Busboom Kelly saw both of their teams eliminated by Penn State last season. Now, DBK has taken over for Cook and has the Huskers 12-0 ahead of a date with the Nittany Lions. | Nebraska Athletics

​​For Rebekah Allick, she enjoys road trips even though they can be a grind as they balance school, life and fatigue from training and travel. However, the senior middle blocker said that’s where memories are made. 

When you're all stuck in the hotel, you don't know what to do for an hour or two, that's when fun stories are shared,” Allick said. “I actually get to know the girls because we're all in it together.”

The road trip this weekend poses another challenge because the Huskers will be playing at Rec Hall, one of the toughest venues in the nation. The stands will be full of fans rooting for the opponent. The dimensions are odd as the gym has spacious areas behind the end line. The student section is rowdy and right next to the court. 

While the upper​​class has played at Rec Hall, Nebraska’s eight newcomers haven’t experienced the environment before. Allick said she tells stories about past matches there to help give the freshmen an idea of what to expect. 

Rebekah Allick is having her best offensive season as a Husker. | Amarillo Mullen

Junior setter Bergen Reilly said she is used to playing in front of big crowds. It’s part of what she signed up for playing for Nebraska. Even though Penn State has a few more losses than last year, they expect a great atmosphere. 

"It's going to be louder, there's going to be more energy, it's going to be a super cool environment,” Reilly said.”We're all really excited, and we know that Penn State gets rowdy, so it's going to be fun.”

Busboom Kelly took her Louisville team to Penn State last year and got swept 25-15, 25-19, 25-13. Despite preparing for the atmosphere, nothing helps until you experience it. 

“We talked about it a lot, and then we got there and we got blown out,” she said. “I don't know if talking about it really prepares you for it. 

Ace Absentia 

The Huskers enter this week averaging just one ace per set, which is tied for last place among all 334 Division I teams. Only four teams have recorded fewer aces than NU’s 42. They match the average of Davidson (5-7), Princeton (6-3) and Purdue Fort Wayne (2-11). 

However, Bubsoom Kelly isn’t worried about the lack of production from the service line, as their primary goal is to get the other team out of system. NU’s opponents have just a 44.8 good pass percentage on their serves. 

Harper Murray leads Nebraska with 10 aces this season. | Amarillo Mullen

Toledo, which leads the nation with 2.42 aces per set, has a 41.0 opponents good passing percentage on its serve, while Miami, which is tied for second at 2.34, is at a 39.4 good pass percentage. 

NU’s ace count is also hurt by its lack of a top-spin jump server. Despite the low number of aces, the Huskers are still No. 1 in the nation by allowing opponents to hit .119 on the season. 

“We measure a lot of serving on three-point runs. Can players go on runs? That's what will bust a game open,” Busboom Kelly said. “One ace is great, but if you can score three in a row, that's huge, so we're gonna continue to focus on that more than just aces per set.”

Passing on a Point

On the other end, Nebraska struggled to pass at times against Maryland on Saturday. The Terps’ nine aces were the most allowed by the Huskers since giving up 12 to Texas in the 2023 national championship match. 

One of those aces was attributed to a rotation error in the second set, but the rest were a mix of a shanked pass or choosing to let the ball go and it landing inside the end line.

While Busboom Kelly doesn’t like giving up the nine aces, she isn’t overly worried because the Huskers’ offense is still hitting .317, which is fourth in the nation. She also doesn’t place the blame on individual players because serve receive is a group effort. Instead, she views it as a communication and confidence issue. In addition, opponents are serving more aggressively, trying to get NU out of system. 

“When your passers aren't confident, then they don't want to take those tough serves,” Busboom Kelly said. “It’s working on just getting more confidence with them and making sure they understand that they're not being evaluated on one single passing stat. That's not how I'm going to write a passing lineup so they shouldn't be scared to have a bad pass.”

For Reilly, she is not overly worried about bad passes. She has full confidence in her back-row defense and they will get her the ball in a position where she can run the offense. 

“We have a lot of great passers back there, and it can be hard to want to be a perfectionist and I know that they want to give me perfect passes every time,” she said. “It's a reminder of if you get it high in the middle of the court, like we can work with that.”

Road Warriors

Reilly experienced her first NASCAR race on Sunday as she attended the Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway on Sunday with teammate Maisie Boesigner, boyfriend Cale Jacobson and her parents. 

She toured the garages, got to watch several pit stops and talk to the drivers, who are also sponsored by Red Bull. While the racing was impressive, Reilly said she was amazed that the drivers and crews travel for 38 weeks each year and were so relaxed before the race. 

“They were just kind of hanging out, super chill. I was like, ‘Wow, how are you guys so chill? You have to go 200 miles an hour for the next three hours,’” she said. “It's definitely a different world but it was cool to just see how the professionals do it, even though it's a completely different sport, just sticking to their routine.”

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