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Report: Nebraska Volleyball Adding 6-5 Italian Opposite Hitter

An opposite with experience in Italy's top pro league is reportedly set to join the Huskers.

Kaleb Henry

Italian opposite hitter Virginia Adriano is reportedly set to become a Husker.
Italian opposite hitter Virginia Adriano is reportedly set to become a Husker. / @virginiaaadriano on Instagram

Nebraska volleyball just got more dangerous for the inaugural season under Dani Busboom Kelly.

According to Italian website Volleyball.it, the Huskers are set to add Italian opposite hitter Virginia Adriano. The 6-5 prospect has competed with the Italian youth national teams and recently finished the club season in A1 with Bergamo. A1 is the top league in Italy, which is one of the best leagues in the world.

The story indicates Adriano will be "the highest paid foreign athlete in American collegiate volleyball."

Adriano, who will be 21 years old when the season begins, adds size and experience to a position of need for the Huskers. All-American Merritt Beason took her experience with her to the Pro Volleyball Federation as the first overall pick in last year's draft. The Big Red recently signed two-time All-Big 12 selection Allie Sczech from Baylor.

After Sczech, freshman Ryan Hunter is next in line at opposite. Despite success this spring that saw her as one of the dominant forces, especially against Kansas, she has yet to appear in a collegiate match for a team that has national championship aspirations.

Adriano also becomes one of the tallest players on the roster for the Big Red. Taylor Landfair is the only other player listed at 6-5, with Rebekah Allick and Sczech at 6-4, and the trio of Andi Jackson, Teraya Sigler and Campbell Flynn at 6-3.

Should the Adriano addition become official, that creates a stunning three-way race for the position between her, Sczech and Hunter. Outside of the libero battle, Nebraska appears to be set at the other positions with returning starters in Bergen Reilly (setter), Harper Murray (outside hitter), Allick (middle blocker), and Jackson (middle blocker), with Sigler likely to take the second outside hitter spot.

Nebraska opens the season with the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Lincoln at Pinnacle Bank Arena The Huskers face Pittsburgh on Aug. 22 and Stanford on Aug. 24.

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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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