Sheldon: 3 Quick Sideouts from Nebraska’s Comeback Over Kentucky

Harper Murray’s greatness was on display. Can the Huskers get her some help?

Nebraska middle blocker Rebekah Allick and opposite hitter Virginia Adriano celebrate during a five-set win over No. 7 Kentucky in Nashville. | Nebraska Athletics

Harper Murray was Queen of the Court

While Nebraska’s first match in Nashville was a showcase of the team’s depth - the Huskers played 14 of the 17 players on the roster against Lipscomb - Sunday’s comeback win over Kentucky showed that when it comes to crunch time, this is Harper Murray’s team.

The junior outside hitter had a career-high 23 kills and added 15 digs in NU’s first reverse-sweep victory since doing it at Penn State in November 2023.

Murray’s total came on 47 swings, 20 more attempts than the next highest Husker total.

Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray finds an unguarded net and scores an easy kill during the first set of the AVCA First Serve. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The thing is, Nebraska needs to figure out how to get one of its other pin hitters going. The Husker middles came to play Sunday, like they usually do, combining for 20 kills between Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick. 

But Dani Busboom Kelly spun the dial and gave five other pin hitters a chance in the nationally televised match. There are still no apparent answers after the five - outsides Taylor Landfair,  Teraya Sigler, and Skyler Pierce, plus opposites Allie Sczech and Virginia Adriano - combined for just 14 kills in the five-set marathon. 

That’s not even 3 kills per set.

Nebraska opposite hitter Virginia Adriano came off the bench and recorded three blocks in Sunday's win over Kentucky. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Some of this is because of the shakiness of Nebraska’s first two contacts (more on that later), but the Huskers can’t count on winning too many matches against good opponents - the kind they’ll face in November and December - without at least one other pin hitter becoming a player to be feared. As good as NU's middles are, matches - and championships - are usually won on the pins. You'll take your chances having the best outside hitters in each match.

Kentucky also leaned on its pin hitters. Brooklyn DeLeye and Eva Hudson combined for 133 of the Wildcats’ 185 attacks on Sunday. No other Kentucky player took more than 16 swings.

It almost was enough.

Libero switch shows DBK not afraid to mix it up

Maybe I should have known that after praising Nebraska’s back row in this column following Friday’s win over Lipscomb, a course correction was inevitable.

I should have waited until Volleymetrics put out its passing statistics, which usually show up a day after matches. Those numbers told a more nuanced tale. Nebraska dominated Lipscomb on the scoreboard, but did so despite passing at the same rate as the Bison.

On Sunday, Nebraska’s passing in the first two sets against Kentucky was a Greek tragedy, allowing the Wildcats to surge to a 2-0 lead.

Nebraska made a switch at libero Sunday, replacing Laney Choboy with Olivia Mauch after the second set. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Monday should provide a statistical context, but if the Huskers passed higher than a 1.85 on a 3-point scale, it would be surprising. Kentucky, another tough serving team anchored by All-American outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye’s jump-serve missiles, aced Nebraska four times in the second set alone, often targeting starting libero Laney Choboy, who passed a team-high 34 serves.

It’s not usually a great sign of the opponent’s respect for your designated passer if they think they’re the best option to serve at. 

At the intermission, Busboom Kelly made the call to put sophomore Olivia Mauch in the libero jersey, keeping her on the court in all six rotations. The eye test says the change brought some stability to the Huskers’ ball-handling.

Nebraska's Olivia Mauch was inserted at libero for the second half of Sunday's match vs. Kentucky. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The Husker coach said multiple players were struggling, so she wanted to use Nebraska’s depth to shake things up. Choboy became a defensive specialist, where she could play for three rotations before coming off. Nebraska also brought freshman Virginia Adriano in to replace Sczech, who had just two kills on 10 attacks in the first two sets. Adriano had two kills as well, but was a force at the net with three blocks, including a key stuff in the fifth set.

“I thought Laney was struggling a little bit to pass, and this would give her a little bit of a break to come off the court for three rotations,” Busboom Kelly said. “Then, she did great. She passed great after I made the switch. We’re going to be able to do that all year. That’s the beauty of this team. They trust that we as coaches are making the best decisions in the moment.”

A tough start escaped unscathed, Nebraska finally goes home

Nebraska has plenty to improve on in the three weeks before Big Ten play starts, but got its homework without having to suffer a loss after Sunday’s comeback.

Maybe some of the Huskers’ passing problems can be explained by the venue. Nebraska’s first four matches have come in arenas designed for basketball. The depth perception and sightlines of Pinnacle Bank Arena and Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena are different than the ones the Huskers see at daily practice in the Devaney Center. 

Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray prepares to receive a serve during the Red-White Scrimmage. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Busboom Kelly said Nebraska didn’t get into Bridgestone Arena until about 90 minutes before 11 a.m.’s first serve Sunday. The Huskers now head home to play their next four matches inside the Devaney Center.

Maybe that will help the Huskers elevate passing numbers that are at a significantly lower mark this year than last season. The 2024 Huskers passed at a 2.30 on the 3-point scale and had a Good Pass Percentage of 59.6%. Those totals have dipped to 2.13 and 52.4% this year before figuring in the data from the Kentucky match, which will likely only pull them lower.

Now, some of this you had to expect. You don’t graduate one of the best liberos in program history in Lexi Rodriguez and get better at passing. And each of NU’s first four opponents has fired challenging serves. 

The passing figures to improve over the next few weeks when Nebraska faces a step down in opposition quality (due respect to Wright State and Cal next weekend). Passing is something that usually improves over the course of a season with increased reps and the acclimatization of players figuring out their passing relationships.

But if the Huskers can’t improve their first and second contacts - setter Bergen Reilly took a step back Sunday after a couple of very good performances - then all of the pin talent Nebraska believes it has acquired will not be able to reach its potential.

If they do, Nebraska’s opponents will have plenty more to worry about.

Nebraska Volleyball 2025 Schedule

• Aug. 9 Red 3, White 1
• Aug. 16 Nebraska 3, Alumni 1
• Aug. 22 Nebraska 3, Pittsburgh 1
• Aug. 24 Nebraska 3, Stanford 0
• Aug. 29 Nebraska 3, Lipscomb 0
• Aug. 31 Nebraska 3, Kentucky 2
• Sept. 5 vs. Wright State 7 p.m. B1G+
• Sept. 7 vs. California 1 p.m. BTN
• Sept. 12 vs. Utah 6 p.m. FS1
• Sept. 13 vs. Grand Canyon 6 p.m. NPM
• Sept. 16 at Creighton 6:30 p.m. FS1
• Sept. 20 vs. Arizona BTN
• Sept. 24 vs Michigan 6 p.m. BTN
• Sept. 27 vs. Maryland 3 p.m. NPM
• Oct. 3 at Penn State 7 p.m. FOX
• Oct. 4 at Rutgers
• Oct. 10 vs. Washington 8 p.m. BTN
• Oct. 12 at Purdue
• Oct. 17 at Michigan State
• Oct. 19 at Michigan 1 p.m.
• Oct. 24 vs. Northwestern NPM
• Oct. 25 vs. Michigan State 7:30 p.m. BTN
• Oct. 31 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. BTN
• Nov. 2 vs. Oregon 1 p.m. BTN
• Nov. 6 vs. Illinois 7 p.m. FS1
• Nov. 8 at Minnesota 2:30 p.m. NBC
• Nov. 14 at UCLA BTN
• Nov. 16 at USC 2 p.m. B1G+
• Nov. 20 vs. Iowa FS1
• Nov. 22 at Indiana
• Nov. 28 vs. Penn State 5:30 p.m. BTN
• Nov. 29 vs. Ohio State BTN

Home matches are bolded. All times central.

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