Sczech, Lednicky Reunite As Opponents in Regional Finals

On the court, when Allie Sczech and Logan Lednicky meet, it will be Huskers versus Aggies, but in their heart, they are both Longhorns.

George Ranch Longhorns, that is.

The two left-handed opposites grew up blocks apart in Sugar Land, Texas, a southwest suburb of Houston. They were classmates starting in elementary school and later teammates all four years in high school.

Even though they met twice in exhibitions while Sczech was at Baylor, the former high school teammates will play their first official college match against each other on Sunday when Nebraska and Texas A&M meet in the regional final.

“We grew up down the street from each other as kids, and to be able to watch her grow up and excel is just something that makes me proud,” Sczech said after Nebraska defeated Kansas on Friday night. “It’s really cool to see that kind of full circle moment.”

The pair got their start in the sport together, bumping a volleyball back and forth in their backyards. When they were freshmen, they both made varsity and spent a lot of time together, running around and doing the fun, silly things teenage girls do.

By the time their senior year rolled around, they had developed into elite players, earned their share of recognition locally and nationally, and committed to in-state college programs.

Final stop on Wednesday: George Ranch. The 'Horns had 7 athletes sign to play D-I sports: Reese Beheler (AZ State), Seleste Compian (New Mexico), Shane Garder (Penn), Dylan Hoskins (Texas Tech), Logan Lednicky (Texas A&M), Allie Sczech (Balyor) and Avery Shimaitis (Pepperdine) pic.twitter.com/xG74HaMJuH
— Ryan Dunsmore (@Duns_more) November 11, 2021

The pair weren’t the only Division I players on the Longhorns’ roster. Outside hitter Avery Shimaitis played her first two years at Pepperdine before transferring to Houston for her final two seasons. (Freshman middle blocker Sydney Bryant redshirted this year at Vanderbilt.)

During their senior year, Shimaitis and Sczech were named first-team high school All-Americans, while Lednicky was an honorable mention. They were also all Top 100 prospects according to PrepVolleyball.

Yet for all that talent, George Ranch finished with a 28-14 record in their senior season in 2021 and were district runner-up. The Longhorns lost their setter from the team that went 20-5 the previous year and had to get more creative on offense.

George Ranch coach Cheyanne Forshee switched to a 6-2 system with both lefties serving as setters. Sczech led the Longhorns with 523 assists, while Lednicky added 300 assists, and her younger sister, Addison, recorded 330 assists.

Nebraska opposite hitter Allie Sczech passes the ball against LIU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Lednicky had never played the position, but had the attitude of being willing to try anything to help the team out. Sczech had spent some time training as a setter when she was 13, but never got much use out of it until her senior year.

“It just kind of fell in my lap, but it was super fun,” Sczech said. “It was definitely a different experience, and it makes you appreciate the game from a different perspective.”

Shimaitis led the offense with 5.8 kills per set, while Sczech and Lednicky averaged more than 2 kills per set in their dual roles. In the season opener, Lednicky was not in the lineup, so Sczech fed Shimaitis as much as possible. She ended up with 36 kills, while Sczech tallied 36 assists in the match.

With Nebraska’s backup Campbell Flynn out with an injury, Sczech tapped back into her setting skills this past week in practice and impressed her teammates.

“Harper (Murray) was like, ‘Wait, Allie dishes,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah!’” she said.

Texas A&M opposite hitter Logan Lednicky attacks against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals in Lincoln. — Texas A&M opposite hitter Logan Lednicky attacks against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals in Lincoln. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Because of the busy schedules and family commitments, Sczech and Lednicky haven’t had much time to catch up this week. The families are still close and connect whenever they can. Sczech’s younger sister, Lillie, is a swimmer at Texas A&M. Whenever they run into each other in the cafeteria, Lednicky always checks in on Lillie to see how she’s doing.

Lednicky isn’t the only former teammate of Sczech on the Aggies’ roster. She played at Houston Skyline with Texas A&M libero Ava Underwood and middle blocker Morgan Perkins. She was teammates in 2023 at Baylor with outside hitter Kyndal Stowers, who sat out the 2024 season before transferring to Texas A&M. Stowers called Sczech one of her best friends when they were together at Baylor.

Sczech said she takes great pride in the relationships she has created with other volleyball players from her hometown and in the growth of volleyball in Houston. Lednicky and Sczech followed in the footsteps of others like Madi Skinner and Reagan Rutherford, who both won a national championship with Kentucky for the 2020 season, and have helped create their own legacy.

“The evolution of volleyball in the city of Houston is huge,” Sczech said. “Obviously, there’s a professional team now, but there are so many things going on there. It’s really cool to see the ways that it’s evolved, and the ways that our class in particular was the start of that.”

While their teams face off on Sunday, Sczech and Lednicky will see a familiar face on the other side of the net. They will both want to win, but will be there to celebrate and comfort each other, no matter what happens.

“We’re both seniors, coming towards the close of our career, and getting to meet up in an Elite Eight match is really cool,” Lednicky said. “Those little girls as freshmen on varsity never, ever would have dreamed about being in this situation now, and especially not meeting on opposite sides of the net. So it’s super, super cool.”

More From Nebraska On SI

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.