Sheldon: Is Nebraska's Passing as Shaky as it Looks?

Maybe not. And it might not really even matter anyway.

Laney Choboy (No. 6, right) and Olivia Mauch (left) have traded libero duties this season, and Nebraska's offense just keeps humming. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Dani Busboom Kelly appeared strained to keep a look of annoyance from spreading across her face Tuesday when she was asked about the one potential chink in Nebraska’s armor during what has been the most dominant stretch of volleyball the program has played in almost 20 years.

The Huskers, the nation’s top-ranked and, after this weekend, only unbeaten team, cruised to their 12th and 13th consecutive sweeps and put up another set of eye-popping attacking numbers despite being challenged by tough serving from both Wisconsin and Oregon.

Sunday against Oregon, Nebraska passed a season-low 1.75 (on a 3-point scale) with a Good Pass Percentage of just 35.7%, also a low mark in any match this season.

Now, did this end up mattering? Absolutely not. Oregon hung tougher against NU than most teams this season, twice breaking the 20-point mark despite being swept. But, for perspective, Nebraska still hit .405, its third-best mark of the year. A crisis, this did not produce.

So it’s maybe not a wonder that the Husker coach barely suppressed an eye roll when asked about it Tuesday.  

“We’re putting up some pretty incredible numbers, so I’m not too concerned about passing,” she said. “I think we’re playing some great jump servers. I think passing stats can be skewed certain ways if you want to justify them. So, I’m not worried about it. I think it’s the only thing people are nit-picking us about, and we’re setting records offensively.”

Nebraska’s coaches haven’t made it a secret that they don’t hold VolleyMetrics’ passing numbers as gospel, nor consider those of us who either post them on social media or discuss them on our podcasts to be prophets.

Fair enough. The Huskers have been such a machine this year that those who follow the sport have found one of the few ways to talk about Nebraska other than breathless praise to be forecasting ways they could again fall short in the postseason.

And with potential All-Americans at most positions, critical gaze has fallen to Nebraska’s passers, particularly the libero position, where Busboom Kelly has used both Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch in the off-colored jersey this season. Though, it seems Choboy has seized the spot after starting six straight matches. 

The topic was raised by former Husker great and World Champion Sarah Pavan on her weekly podcast “Volleytalk with Sarah Pavan” on Monday. When musing about an opponent’s best chance to beat Nebraska, Pavan, and her co-host and husband, Adam Schulz, said preying on the back row to the extent that NU would have trouble setting the ball to its pair of All-American middle blockers as a potential route to success.

“Break down Laney Choboy’s serve receive to neutralize the middle. That is probably the only way you can beat Nebraska,” Pavan said. “Then, you can put a double block in Harper Murray’s face, which I don’t think she’s great at swinging against a solid double block. She needs a seam. She needs a one-on-one, which (Nebraska’s) middles usually give her.”

Pavan seemed to indicate her preference - if forced to choose between a libero who excelled at passing serves and one who was a better floor defender - to be for the better passer. Mauch is passing a 2.26, the highest among Nebraska’s starters. Choboy, with more than twice as many attempts, is at 2.08.

“I think as a team, any team, not just Nebraska, your priority needs to be consistent serve receive,” she said. “Because if you’re siding out at a high level, and you’re Nebraska, you’re going to steal points. You’re going to steal with your serve. 

“You need to be siding out at a very high level all the time, so I would prioritize serve receive.”

But, here’s the thing. Nebraska is scoring off its serve receive just fine. Actually, really well.

Remember, good passing is not an end to itself. It’s a means to an end. The theory being if you have a great pass off serve receive, you allow your setter to have all offensive options available, which should make you harder to defend and increase your efficiency.

Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray attacks against Oregon. NU hit .405 vs the Ducks, their third-best mark of the year. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Passing scores only measure how you pass serves, so you’d think a team that didn’t pass well would struggle to score points on their first possession of a rally – a metric called First-Ball Side Out (FBSO). 

But, the Huskers appear to be the nation’s best team in scoring off serve receive with an FBSO percentage of 40.3%. That’s even better than last year’s mark of 37.5% when NU had four-time All-American libero Lexi Rodriguez controlling the back row. And it’s better than any of Nebraska’s top challengers for the national title. 

Jeff Sheldon // Stat diva

Nebraska actually has a better FBSO percentage when Choboy passes a serve this season (37.8%) than when Rodriguez did in 2024 (36.8%). Does this mean the Huskers’ current libero is a better passer than one of the program’s all-time greats? No. But it does mean Nebraska’s attack isn’t suffering for it. 

Nebraska still leads the nation in attack percentage (.339) by more than 20 points over the next-best team. The Huskers’ 2.15 passing score and 53.3% Good Pass Percentage on the entire season also lead the Big Ten in both categories. Put in that context, maybe it’s understandable why Busboom Kelly isn’t fired up to entertain critique of the first touch. Choboy’s on-court energy and defensive range may make a worthy trade-off for a few shanked serve receives. 

A lot of players deserve credit for the Huskers’ offensive fireworks in 2025. Harper Murray, Taylor Landfair, Rebekah Allick, and Andi Jackson each have taken steps forward as attackers this season. But no Husker deserves more praise than setter Bergen Reilly, who has elevated her game to another level after already twice being named the Big Ten Setter of the Year.

Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly (right) is on track for All-America honors and potentially a third straight Big Ten Setter of the Year award. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Tuesday, Busboom Kelly credited Reilly for putting Nebraska in system and giving her attackers good chances to score, even if not given a perfect pass. Long-time Lincoln Journal Star volleyball reporter Brent Wagner teed it up with a good question about what fans should look at when watching Reilly to fully appreciate her skill.

“Her footwork,” Busboom Kelly said. “She’s always in a position to set anywhere. She’s just super, super efficient with her movement. It’s a very underrated talent. She makes average passes look like good passes.”

And for the Huskers this year, average passes might just be good enough for a great season.

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