Sczech Thrives in New Role Off the Bench

When Allie Sczech hears her name from Nebraska’s coaching staff, it’s go time.

The senior opposite has started just two matches, so most of the time she enters a match from the bench, often on the spur of the moment.

She will sometimes enter in a double substitution with freshman setter Campbell Flynn, but other times, like Sunday against No. 12 Purdue, it will be in the middle of the action. Sczech entered the match against the Boilermakers with NU leading 20-16 in the second set.

Sczech recorded a kill on the third rally, her only attack of the frame, as the Huskers finished the set with a 6-0 run. The Sugarland, Texas, native finished her day with five kills on eight swings as NU earned a sweep at Purdue.

After earning All-Big 12 second-team honors twice during her three years at Baylor, Sczech has embraced a new role with the top-ranked Huskers as a difference maker off the bench, even when she doesn’t have a lot of warning.

“It’s more like, 'Allie, go,' and I’m like, ‘Oh, okay,’ and I’m on the sideline warming up my shoulder,” Sczech said on Tuesday. “It’s a little bit of quick notice. Sometimes, I know a little bit further in advance, but you gotta always be ready.”

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said Sczech has started to thrive in practice once she figured out her role on the team.

Allie Sczech runs out to the court for her first start as a Husker. — Allie Sczech runs out to the court for her first start as a Husker against Stanford. The senior opposite has started just two matches for Nebraska this season. | Amarillo Mullen

Since Sczech and Adriano are typically different players (Sczech is left-handed and Adriano is a righty), Busboom Kelly can switch up the opposite position when the Huskers need to change their lineup to spark a change.

“Opportunities are gonna find her,” Busboom Kelly said. “I kept telling her that if she’s practicing great, it’s going to be easy to put her in, for long stretches of time, for short stretches of time. Her swing was more powerful, and she just had this way about her on the court. I think that just elevated our play.”

Sczech’s two starts both came in August during the Huskers’ first four matches of the season. She put up 12 kills on a .400 hitting percentage against Stanford during the First Serve Showcase. However, she struggled against Kentucky with just two kills on 10 attacks and was eventually replaced by freshman Virginia Adriano.

As Adriano, a native of Turin, Italy, has settled in, she’s started the rest of the Huskers’ matches and earned most of the playing time at opposite. Sczech has only appeared in 20 of NU’s 54 sets this season.

As a result, Szech, who played in more than 100 sets during each season at Baylor, has had to adjust her approach. The situation has forced her to analyze her circumstances and consider how she reacts when she gets chances to play, as well as be humble enough to handle it when she stays on the sidelines.

Sczech recently talked to former NU All-American and assistant coach Jordan Larson about her new role and how to approach the opportunity.

“You have a lot more respect for people that come off the bench and play well, because it’s not an easy role to have at all,” she said. “It makes you a more mature player. You have a lot more maturity for when you do get your opportunities – really embracing them and going out there and playing with no regrets.”

Nebraska had a similar situation last season, when middle blocker Leyla Blackwell transferred in from San Diego for her last year of eligibility and received limited playing time behind Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick, despite averaging 2.348 on a .417 hitting percentage in 23 sets.

Sczech please! 🧾@AllieSczech calls match for us! HUSKERS WIN! #GBR pic.twitter.com/ezKLuIxMET
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) October 12, 2025

Harper Murray hosted Sczech during her visit to Nebraska in January, and they connected during the visit. When she committed to NU later that month, Murray was the first person she called.

Murray said she is proud of Sczech for adopting the mindset of being a game changer, which is a mantra the Huskers developed last season, where everyone is ready to contribute when they come off the bench.

“It’s just really cool seeing not only Allie, but a lot of the other girls that aren’t necessarily starters, come off the bench and perform for us,” Murray said. “Coming to a school like Nebraska is not easy. Everyone has dreams of being on the court, and that’s not going to be the case for everyone all the time and for every game, but that’s something all the girls on our team are doing really well, embracing their role and being cheerleaders for us on the sideline whenever they can.”

In addition, Sczech has also found ways to contribute to developing team chemistry through her off-court interests. She is working on her graduate degree in broadcast and has worked with the Huskers Radio Network to interview a few of her teammates after connecting with Jessica Coody.

Although she experienced a recording mishap with one interview, they aired her conversation with Flynn during a pre-match radio show. Sczech said the experiences built at Baylor, where she interned for a Fox affiliate in Waco, Texas, allowed her to develop new connections with teammates and have fun with them.

While the season might have gone differently than she imagined, Sczech is enjoying the opportunities with a new mindset.

“God, put me here for a bigger reason than just volleyball, too,” she said. “It’s like, how can I continue to pour into my teammates and be that light for them, regardless of what my role may look like? Everyone has a role, and how do you play it to the best of your ability in order to ensure that the team is successful?”

Murray Earns Big Ten Honor

Nebraska volleyball outside hitter Harper Murray at 2025 Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. | Ryan Kuttler

After a nearly perfect weekend, Harper Murray was named the Big Ten co-Player of the Week with Penn State’s Kennedy Martin. The award was her first POW honor after she was named the top freshman three times in 2023.

The junior outside hitter amassed 28 kills on 52 swings with just one hitting error in sweeps of Washington and No. 12 Purdue. She also chipped in three aces, five blocks and averaged two digs per set while passing a 2.82 (out of 3) and 91 good pass percentage.

Murray said she appreciates how the league recognizes players from all across various teams in their awards and was thankful for the honor this week.

“I don’t know that Tate McRae concert (on Thursday) must have fired something up in me, for sure,” she said. “I’m just grateful, and I’m really glad that they recognize that. I feel like we’ve all been putting in the work, so I feel like eventually it’s all going to show through for everyone, and I hope everyone can get honored the same way.”

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