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Sczech Lands in Dream Scenario After Getting Drafted by Supernovas

Fellow Husker Landfair selected by Indy Ignite in MLV's draft on Monday.
Lincoln Arneal|
Nebraska senior Allie Sczech was drafted by the Omaha Supernovas in the fourth round of the MLV Draft on Monday.
Nebraska senior Allie Sczech was drafted by the Omaha Supernovas in the fourth round of the MLV Draft on Monday. | Nebraska Athletics

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Almost a year later, Allie Sczech will finally get to play for John Cook. 

Sczech committed to play for Cook at Nebraska in January after transferring from Baylor for her final college season. However, a week later, the legendary coach announced his retirement. 

On Monday, Cook called Sczech to tell her that the Omaha Supernovas had drafted her in the fourth round of the Major League Volleyball Draft. Sczech was selected one pick after teammate Taylor Landfair, whom the Indy Ignite picked with the 28th overall selection. 

Sczech said the day was an emotional roller coaster. She prayed a lot about the draft and was fine however the day played out. She had talked with Cook, Supernovas' president Diane Mendenhall and coach Luka Slabe leading up to Monday, but wasn’t sure how the draft was going to go. When she finally got a text confirmation that she was headed to Omaha, the tears started flowing. 

“It’s a dream,” Sczech said. “Those are three notable people that have wanted me. I think that says a lot. I think that’s truly a blessing. Literally all the stars aligned. It’s a full circle moment.”

Indy Ignite coach Lauren Bertolacci said she is excited to add Landfair’s physicality at the pin to a team that finished as league runner-up last season.

Landfair grew up in Plainfield, Ill., about 3 hours from Indianapolis. She said she enjoyed talking with Bertolacci during the predraft process. She is averaging 2.11 kills per set with a .322 hitting percentage in her second season with the Huskers. In 2022, the 6-foot-5 outside hitter was the Big Ten Player of the Year and an All-American. 

“I’m just happy everything worked out the way that it did. Thank the Lord,” she said. 

Sczech didn’t have to wait long to feel the love from her new team. She went up to Omaha for the Supernovas draft party and was welcomed by several hundred fans who got to hear from the franchise’s newest players.

“Sometimes we’ll forget for 10 minutes that I play volleyball in Nebraska, and then I’ll be reminded as soon as I come to anything that has to do with volleyball in Nebraska. I love it,” Sczech said. “I still forget the fact that they already know who I am before I get here. The love and support behind Nebraska volleyball, you don’t get this anywhere else. It’s so cool. I love it, to be able to have an opportunity and a platform, and to be able to do it here at Nebraska, and then to be able to continue to do it at the pro level — the best, freaking best state ever.”

During the event, Cook said he was most nervous waiting to see if Sczech was going to be available for the Supernovas’ final draft pick. Early in the fourth round, Cook texted Sczech to see what she thought about joining the team. She replied, “Yes, exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point. Like a trillion exclamation points.”

Two picks before Omaha was on the clock, the Columbus Fury selected opposite Avry Tatum from Indiana. Cook said he was relieved when Sczech was on the board. 

“I love her personality, and that was one of the bummers about me not coaching this year. I really was looking forward to coaching Allie,” he said. “She’s just awesome. She’s a lot of fun. She goes hard. She’s got a wicked left arm.”

The Supernovas used their other draft picks on Creighton middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt (8th overall pick), Pittsburgh setter Brooke Mosher (15th pick) and Iowa setter Claire Ammeraal (24th). 

With the Supernovas, she will join former Huskers Merritt Beason and Layla Blackwell, who both transferred to Nebraska to finish their careers. 

“When they came for the alumni match, I told a few of my teammates, I was like, dang, I wish I would have been here when they were here, because they’re awesome,” Sczech said.

Before coming to Nebraska, Sczech was a two-time All-Big 12 selection at Baylor. The 6-foot-4 opposite has appeared in 26 sets during 15 matches and is 1.65 kills with a .394 hitting percentage.

Even though her playing time has been limited this season, Sczech said she’s grown a lot from her time with the Huskers. The intense practices have prepared her for life in a professional gym with a team-first attitude and nonstop competition. 

“I know that coming to Nebraska is something bigger than Allie Sczech, and that’s why I came here,” she said. “I’m willing to do whatever I need to do in order to be a part of the team and to contribute and to support whatever that may look like, whether that’s coming in for a few points, whether that’s playing a few sets, whether that’s not playing at all. A lot of us have that same mentality, and I truly think our starters would even take that mentality because of how much we care about this team.”

Nebraska opposite hitter Allie Sczech scores the winning point of the first set with this kill.
Nebraska opposite hitter Allie Sczech scores the winning point of the first set against Stanford. Even though her playing time has been limited this season, Sczech has learned a lot for the year with the Huskers. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

When she arrived at practice on Monday, Sczech celebrated with fellow senior Rebekah Allick about their future playing professional volleyball. Now that she’s been drafted, having an opportunity to play professionally is a “huge sigh of relief.” 

Sczech will finish up her master’s degree in journalism next summer, but for now, she is enjoying the ride. She knows that her playing days won’t go on forever, but she is prepared for all possibilities for post-college life. 

She’s had several opportunities at Nebraska to dabble in media, helping with radio shows and interviewing her teammates. However, now that she has a path to continue playing with the Supernovas, journalism will have to wait. 

“While these other things are something I’m pushing for, I’m going to continue to push for them on the side in hopes of pursuing them later on in life,” Sczech said. “But right now, I got an opportunity (to play professionally), and so that’s something that I’m completely bought into pursuing at the highest level.”

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Lincoln Arneal
LINCOLN ARNEAL

Lincoln Arneal covers Nebraska volleyball for HuskerMax and posts on social media about the Big Ten and national volleyball stories. He previously covered the program for Huskers Illustrated and the Omaha World-Herald and is a frequent guest on local and national sports talk shows and podcasts. Lincoln hosts the Volleyball State Podcast with Jeff Sheldon.

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