How to Watch No. 1 Nebraska Volleyball in the Players Era Showcase with Previews, Breakdowns, TV Channel

The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team didn't even need to start the regular season to show how dominant it can be this season.

Beginning an almost Globetrotters-like tour to start their 2026 season, the Huskers had a stellar showing Thursday night at the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights in AT&T Stadium in metro Dallas. With a combined $1 million being paid out to the four competing teams, Nebraska showed its muscle. In the two exhibition matches, NU took care of No. 17 Florida 21-19 and 21-18 in the semifinals before stomping No. 11 SMU in the title match 21-12, 21-11.

Now, Nebraska trades in the artificial turf of Jerry's World for the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip as the Huskers official kick off the regular season at the Players Era Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. Here's all you need to know for NU's opening weekend.

How to Follow Along

Game 1

Matchup: No. 1 Nebraska (0-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. UNLV (0-0, 0-0 Mountain West)
When: Saturday, August 29
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Time: 7 p.m. CDT
Watch: FS1
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Game 2

Matchup: No. 1 Nebraska (0-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. No. 2 Texas (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
When: Sunday, August 30
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
Watch: FOX
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

UNLV Scout

Head Coach

Malia Shoji | Entering 4th Season at UNLV & as Head Coach
47-42 (.528) at UNLV & as Head Coach
1x NIVC Appearance
Previous assistant at Utah, USA Volleyball, Western Oregon & Willamette

2025 Finish

Did not qualify for the postseason

2025 Record & Awards

13-15 (7-11 MW, T-8th)
Mountain West Newcomer of the Year
All-Mountain West: 1x First Team

2026 Preseason

Picked 6th of 10 teams in the Mountain West Preseason Poll
UNLV outside hitter Jaida Harris was named Preseason Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team

All-Time Series

First-ever matchup

UNLV's star outside hitter Jaida Harris was named the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year following a breakout 2025. | UNLV Athletics

Key Returners

Jaida Harris | OH | R-Jr. | A transfer from Long Beach State, Harris became the second player in UNLV volleyball history to be named Mountain West Newcomer of the Year following a season where she compiled 439 points, 370 kills, 214 digs, 52 blocks and 38 aces.
Basia Latos | OH | Jr. | Receiving an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention pick in 2024, the Poland native recorded 260.5 points while being one of three players for UNLV to play in all 105 sets.
Rheanna Deen-Jackson | MB | Jr. | Spearheaded the middle attack for the Rebels with a team-high 123 blocks (1.18 per set) while earning 158 kills on a .303 hitting percentage.
Brooklynn Williams | MB | Soph. | Earning starts in 21 of her 27 appearances as a true freshman, the second-year hometown middle blocker hopes to improve upon a season that saw her with 151 kills, 58 blocks and hitting a team-high .319 in 2025.
Kaia Thiele | S | Soph. | One of three setters to see time last year, Thiele paced the team with 503 assists and 5.19 per set during her freshman campaign, which also included six double-doubles and 25 aces.
Logan Lindsay | OPP | Sr. | Returning opposite that enters her senior season with plenty to prove after churning out 63 kills in 66 sets across 21 matches.
Caleigh King | Sr. | L | Recorded her third-straight season with the Rebels where she appeared in over 100 sets and returns as the team's libero after averaging 3.77 digs per set to lead her squad.

Impact Newcomers/Transfers

Cami Christiansen | OPP | Jr. | The 6-foot-3 Utah native comes to Vegas after spending her first two years at Snow College, which peaked in 2025 when she led the team with 271 kills in 115 sets.
Kamryn Scroggins | S | Gr. | Started her college career as the lead setter for New Orleans in 2022 before transferring to North Texas where she was part of a 6-2 offensive system in 20223 and 2024. Redshirted in 2025 and aims to now lead an offense on her own once again.

North Texas transfer Kamryn Scroggins joins UNLV for her last season in hopes of locking down the starting setter spot. | North Texas Athletics

Key Departures

Alondra Alarcon | OH | Graduated | Tallied a career-high 2.97 kills per set, over 200 digs and 35 aces to highlight her final college season and second with the Rebels.
Agata Makowska | S | Transfer | Another Poland native, Makowska racked up the second-most assists on the team with 4.68 per set while making starts in eight of her 25 matches played. After seeing her playing dip below Thiele's, she took her talents to UTRGV.

Outlook

Following a standout stint as associate head coach at Utah, Malia Shoji earned the head coaching duties at UNLV and kicked off her tenure with a very positive 2023 season. The Rebels ended their year 19-13 and earning a bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

Unfortunately for UNLV, that's been the highlight across Shoji's three completed seasons as the Rebels followed up with campaigns of 15-14 in 2024 and 13-15 in 2025. While not a powerhouse, former head coach Dawn Sullivan — now at Missouri — cooked up two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2020 and 2022, so there's a track of record success within the program. From an outsider's perspective, 2026 appears to be a pivotal year for Shoji, but she's got a solid foundation.

Coming over from Long Beach State, Jaida Harris shined in her first season at UNLV, earning Mountain West Newcomer of the Year honors after posting 439 points and 370 kills. Outside hitter Basia Latos joines Harris and returning libero Caleigh King (3.77 D/S in 2025) as the lone three to appear in all of the team's 105 sets last year.

In addition, both starting middle blockers are back as Rheanna Deen-Jackson led the Rebel's with 123 blocks while Brooklynn Williams compiled a team-leading .319 hitting percentage as a true freshman. Kaia Thiele was one of three players to see time at setter last year and ended up posting a team-high 503 assists, but she'll be challenged by incoming North Texas transfer Kamryn Scroggins. She opened up her college career as the starter at New Orleans before joining the Mean Green where she was a part of a two-setter system for two years. She redshirted in 2025 and arrives in Vegas with a decent shot of becoming the starting setter for the Rebels.

UNLV has a solid Group of 6 roster, but they're only projected sixth of the 10-team Mountain West. Davis provides pop in a lineup full of veterans, but the Rebels need a ceiling riser at setter in either Scroggins or Thiele. Expect a Nebraska sweep in this one.

No. 2 Texas Scout

Head Coach

Jerritt Elliott | Entering 28th Season at Texas; 30th as Head Coach
636-126 (.835) at Texas; 686-138 (.833) as Head Coach
3x NCAA National Champion (2012, 2022, 2023)
26x NCAA Tournament Apps, 4x National Runner-Up, 12x Final Fours
15x Big 12 titles, 1x Pac-10 title
1x AVCA National Coach of the Year (2012), 7x AVCA Southwest Region Coach OTY, 9x Big 12 Coach OTY
Previous head coach at USC
Previous assistant at USA Volleyball, USC and Cal State Northridge

2025 Finish

L, 3-1 to No. 10 Wisconsin in NCAA Regional Final

2025 Record & Awards

26-4 (13-2 SEC, 3rd)
AVCA All-Americans: 1x First Team, 1x Third Team, 1x Honorable Mention
All-SEC: 2x First Team, 1x Second Team, 2x Freshman Team.

All-Time Series

Nebraska leads 33-25
Dec. 17, 2023, NCAA National Championship last matchup; 3-0 Texas

Texas outside hitter Torrey Stafford enters her senior season as one of the top attackers in the country. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Key Returners

Torrey Stafford | OH | Sr. | Heralded transfer from Pittsburgh that earned AVCA All-American First Team honors during her first year in Austin after leading the Longhorns with 580.5 points and 516 kills (4.69 per set) while adding 261 digs, 52 blocks and 33 aces.
Cari Spears | OH | Soph. | One of the top prospects in the country out of high school, Spears lived up to that billing by earning a spot on the AVCA All-American Third Team in her freshman season.
Abby Vander Wal | OH | Soph. | Another top recruit that saw major playing time as a freshman, the Illinois native posted 280 kills and 34 blocks in all 30 matches while being named to the 2026 SEC All-Freshman Team.
Ella Swindle | S | Sr. | Led Texas to the second of back-to-back national championships as a freshman in 2023 before taking a back seat for 2024. She came out of fall camp as the starting setter for the Longhorns in 2025, but she has once again been relegated to the bench to start 2026.
Nya Bunton | MB | R-Jr. | Appeared in 23 matches and 72 sets last season, but has stepped up to take a bigger role in 2026 following the transfer of Ayden Ames; leads Texas with 16 blocks through their first two matches of the season.
Ramsey Gary | L | Sr. | Posted back-to-back all-conference seasons at Indiana to start her collegiate career before transferring to Texas ahead of the 2025 season; steps in as the starting libero after the graduation of Halter.
Rella Binney | S | Jr. | The Hawaii native was stuck behind Swindle in 2025, but has earned the majority of starting reps to begin 2026 and has averaged over six assists per set in two matches.

Impact Newcomers/Transfers

Henley Anderson | OH | Fr. | Two-time AVCA high school All-American that's started in the Longhorn's first two matches where she's recorded 16 points on 12 kills and eight blocks.
Genevieve Harris | S | Fr. | A true freshman that was part of the USA Women's U21 National Team over the summer, Harris has split time as part of a 6-2 offensive system with Binney.

Texas outside hitter Cari Spears (arned All-American honors after a standout true freshman season with the Longhorns. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Key Departures

Ayden Ames | MB | Transfer | The top middle blocker of the 2025 recruiting class, Ames started in 28 of 30 matches last year as a true freshman and led the Longhorns with 109 total blocks, but she's now in Omaha with Creighton for her sophomore campaign.
Emma Halter | L | Graduated | Named an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and All-SEC Second Team pick in her senior campaign after leading Texas with 396 digs and 3.60 per set.

Outlook

A premier college volleyball program in all faucets, Texas has enjoyed immense success under head coach Jerritt Elliott since he took over in 2001. Under his tenure the Longhorns have won three national championships — including back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 — alongside 16 conference championships and 11 National Semifinal appearances.

Following their strong of two-straight titles, Texas has yet to make it back to the Final Four, losing to Creighton in a Regional Semifinal in 2024 and dropping a 3-1 contest to Wisconsin in last year's Regional Final. However, the 2026 squad that Elliott has assembled has the best chance of making it back to the National Semis than the previous two.

That all starts with returning outside hitter Torrey Stafford. A heralded transfer from Pittsburgh — where she helped the Panthers reach consecutive Final Fours — Stafford lived up to her hype by earning her second career AVCA All-American First Team nomination. She has a quality running mate in sophomore Cari Spears. The 6-foot-3 Texas native was one of the country's top prospects coming out of high school and she followed that with AVCA All-American Third Team honors as a true freshman. Plus, fellow sophomore Abby Vander Wal has all the potential in the world to improve on her 2025 season that saw her produce 280 kills.

Texas setter Ella Swindle has yet to appear in a match this season despite being the starter from 2025 and 2023. | Texas Athletics

The Longhorns did lose starting middle blocker Ayden Ames to Creighton, but they return Nya Bunton who's led the team with 16 blocks in only the first two contests of 2026. 6-foot-3 true freshman attacker Henley Anderson has stepped up to produce right away with 16 points in two matches while former Indiana transfer and All-Big Ten pick Ramsey Gary steps in as the starting libero after Emma Halter graduated.

The big concern for Texas is at setter where there is once again controversy. Returning senior Ella Swindle broke out as a freshman in 2023, leading the Longhorns to the national title, but she was relegated to a backup role in 2024. She came back to retake the starting job in2025 with a team-high 955 assists, but she did not appear in any of the team's first two matches. The setting duties have fallen on junior Rella Binney and freshman Genevieve Harris, who are both sharing time on the court.

The setter situation, and other combined factors, has seen the Longhorns came out sloppy with a four-set loss to Arizona State before barely escaping with a five-set victory over Marquette. Texas feels like a team that will get itself figured out by the end of the season, which makes it ideal timing for Nebraksa to face its long-time rival. Give me the Huskers to roll in this one and deliver some payback from the 2023 national championship loss.

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