Sigler's Hustle Rewarded During Spectacular Save, Energized Devaney Center Crowd

The loudest moment Saturday night at the Devaney Center wasn’t for a smash kill, an authoritative roof of a Kansas State player or a back-breaking ace.

The sellout crowd of 8,601 gave its biggest cheer for a freeball by Teraya Sigler.

“That was the loudest I’ve heard Devaney, maybe, all season,” Bergen Reilly said. “That was super cool and such a big momentum play. Even though it’s just one point, that changed the trajectory of the first set.”

Calling it just a freeball sells the play a little bit short.

With Nebraska leading 18-14, Olivia Mauch sent over a short serve, and Kansas State responded with a tip attack by Reagan Fox down the line. Mauch rushed to the net and kept the ball up with a pancake dig. Reilly turned around from the block and didn’t have much time to react to the play; she popped the ball up.

“I kind of launched it, and so I just remember saying, ‘Come on, T,’” Reilly said.

With the ball flying away from the net, Sigler sprinted and chased the ball down. As she crossed the end line, she put her hand into a fist and made a strong uppercut at the ball. The move threw off her center of gravity as Sigler tumbled to the ground. As she recovered and scrambled back into position, Rebekah Allick ran off the bench and nearly helped Sigler up off the floor.

In the meantime, the ball had sailed back toward the net and barely cleared the net as KSU middle blocker Jordyn Williams waited to dig it. As the ball crossed the net, the crowd began to cheer.

Teraya Sigler reacts to her insane first-set save that helped @HuskerVB advance to the Sweet 16‼️ pic.twitter.com/ZshQObhxZI
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) December 7, 2025

“If I’m being honest, if I’m running to get a ball over, I listen to the crowd,” Sigler said. “So, I’m just like, ‘You know what, T? Just put everything into it and get it, like, just try.’ Then, if I can hear the crowd cheer, I’m like, ‘Okay, bet it went over so I can get back on the court.’”

Kansas State ran an in-system attack, but Fox tipped it again, this time into the waiting platform of Mauch. Reilly set a quick tempo ball to Harper Murray, who drew a net violation on the Wildcats and earned the kill on the play.

After the whistle, the crowd really let the players know how much they appreciated them. The Huskers on the court gathered around Sigler to celebrate as the Nebraska bench went berserk. After a moment, Kansas State called a timeout, allowing the players and fans to bask in the energy of the moment.

“It’s insane. You can just hear the crowd go insane,” said libero Laney Choboy, who had a front row view of the play on the court. “When we’re playing in the tournament, sometimes our crowd can get a little bit quiet at times, but when we have plays like that, it just brings everybody up, and like the rest of that rally, I was like, ‘We have to win this rally now, because she got an incredible save.’ I don’t know. I think defense wins championships. So if you can get a save like that, we’ll be just fine.”

Teraya Sigler shouts as she runs off the court for a timeout. The freshman outside hitter finished with nine digs against Kansas State. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska scored two more points after that point as part of a 5-0 run to go up 21-14 and cruise to the first set win.

Sigler’s effort didn’t surprise Murray.

“Props to T for that hustle,” she said. “That’s the effort and hustle that we see every day in our gym, in practice. Translating it into a game always feels good when it pays off.”

Sigler finished the match with nine digs and an ace, but never recorded an attack for the Huskers. Even though she came to Nebraska, she found a role for the Huskers as a back-row player for Taylor Landfair. She has just 72 kills this season compared to 153 digs. For the former No. 1 overall prospect in her class, she’s completely at peace in her new role for the undefeated Huskers.

Sigler said she has always been taught to be good at both passing and attacking, and it helped her get on the court her first year at Nebraska.

“I can contribute something that I take pride in, that my team trusts me with that kind of thing, because everyone knows passing is Nebraska’s philosophy,” she said. “However this team needs me, I’m willing to help.”

Kentucky’s Molly Tuozzo congratulates Kennedy Washington after the beat UCLA. — Kentucky’s Molly Tuozzo congratulates Kennedy Washington after the beat UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Historic Memorial Coliseum. The top-seeded Wildcats were part of the 15 out of 16 hosts to win both their matches in the first weekend of the tournament. | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Chalky Times

After a few upsets in the opening round, the second round nearly followed the script according to the tournament seedings.

Eight unseeded teams won their first round games. Most of those were minor upsets as only one five-seed and one six-seed fell. The rest of the seeded losers were either seventh or eighth. In the second round, all the top four seeds defended their home court, except for one — Cal Poly’s five-set victory over No. 4 USC.

The separation between the top teams is even more evident when looking back at the preseason AVCA poll. Out of the Top 16 teams in the first rankings released in early August, 14 are still playing in the tournament. The two teams that fell by the wayside were then-No. 2 Penn State and No. 16 Florida, both of which lost in the second round.

The only two teams to crash the preseason poll are Cal Poly, once again, and Indiana, which rose to No. 15 by the end of the regular season.

Indiana's Candela Alonso-Corcelles spikes the ball during the Indiana versus Toledo. — Indiana's Candela Alonso-Corcelles spikes the ball during the Indiana versus Toledo in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers were one of five Big Ten teams to advance to the second week of the tourney. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Big Ten Supremacy

The Big 12 Conference took the honor of having the most teams in the tournament, with 10 members making the field of 64.

However, after the first weekend, the Big Ten has taken the lead. All nine league schools won their first-round matches. They won a majority of the second-round games, too, as five members — Nebraska, Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota and Indiana — will play in the second week.

The ACC is represented by the second-most schools in four, while the SEC has three members still alive. The Big 12 had a rough second round, as after losing two opening matches, six more schools exited the tournament.

The Big East (Creighton) and Big West (Cal Poly) also represented in the Sweet Sixteen.

1️⃣6️⃣ teams, one step closer 🏆

➡️ https://t.co/iWdo3AJH6K
🎟️ https://t.co/YeDWiQhvgk #NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/LUNWa74JHs
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 7, 2025

Regional Schedule Set

After a blitz of 48 matches over three days, the tournament will slow down during the second week. Four matches will be played on Thursday and Friday, spread out and broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2.

The first match on Thursday will feature Arizona State against Creighton at Noon Central. Kentucky will face Cal Poly in the second match. In the evening, Pitt faces Minnesota at 6 before SMU and Purdue play. All of the matches will be on ESPN2.

On Friday, Texas kicks off the festivities on ESPN at 11 a.m. against Indiana, with Wisconsin and Stanford to follow. Louisville and Texas A&M start at 6 p.m. on ESPN2, followed by Nebraska and Kansas, the final match of the regional semifinals.

After the winners get a day off, the regional finals will be played on Saturday and Sunday.

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