The Wednesday Spike: Is this Nebraska's Best Offense Ever?

The 2025 Huskers are on track to set a couple of school records. See how they stack up to other great NU teams.

Nebraska is on pace to set a new school record for hitting percentage. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska usually occupies rarified air in college volleyball, but as the season moves past the halfway point, the 2025 Huskers look down from an especially lofty perch.

Going into this weekend’s matches against Northwestern and Michigan State, Nebraska’s .332 hitting percentage leads the nation. If the Huskers finish at that number or better, it would set a new school record, surpassing the .331 mark Nebraska reached in 1986.

Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly during the AVCA First Serve. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Reilly set Nebraska’s attack to .273 and .284 hitting her first two seasons. Very respectable marks. But Busboom Kelly on Wednesday pointed out ways her setter continues to grow in a year NU is almost certain to eclipse .300 hitting in an entire season for the first time since 2007. 

“I think there’s some things that you can’t really coach that she’s doing at a high level,” Busboom Kelly said. “I was talking to John Cook the other night just about how, when and how she’s using the back row. That’s just a feel thing, and that can change us so much from match to match, and it’s pretty rare to be hitting that high out of the back row, no matter what team you’re on.”

Back-row attacks, once reserved only for world-class players and professional or international teams, are becoming more prevalent in women’s college volleyball. The Huskers are no exception, with outside hitters Harper Murray and Teraya Sigler giving Nebraska a back-row hitting option in every rotation. Plus, occasional back-row sets on the right side to either opposite Virginia Adriano and middle blocker Andi Jackson. 

Nebraska opposite hitter Virginia Adriano attacks against Creighton outside hitter Ava Martin. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The diversity means opposing blockers can’t just camp out on Nebraska’s front-row hitters, and has made the Huskers deadly in each rotation. The Huskers are hitting above .300 in five of their six rotations, with the low mark of .280 in Rotation 5 still ranking above the team total for 14 of the Big Ten’s 18 teams.

“Bergen’s just done an awesome job balancing our offense,” Jackson said. “It makes it really hard for other teams to play defense because they can’t just stick to one player. They have to worry about our entire front row. That’s a huge credit to her as a setter and her volleyball IQ.”

Andi Jackson leads all Big Ten starting attackers in hitting percentage in conference play. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Let’s give this year some historical perspective. Not only is Nebraska on pace for the best attacking mark in school history, but this year’s team also currently has the best net attacking percentage of any Husker squad. With NU currently ranked No. 2 in the country in opponent attack percentage (.112), the Huskers are out-hitting the opposition by 220 percentage points on average. 

Here are some other Nebraska teams who have been as dominant in the attack.

1986 - The best team in program history to that point. The Huskers went to the Final Four for the first time, beating Stanford in the national semifinals before getting swept by a powerhouse Pacific team that dropped just one set during the NCAA tournament.

Nebraska set a then-NCAA record, hitting .331 for the season, a mark which is still top-15 all-time. The ‘86 Huskers, led by All-Americans Enid Schonewise, Karen Dahlgren, and Tisha Delaney, set school records for most kills and highest hitting percentage in a season. 

2002 - One of just three teams in school history to have an attack percentage more than 200 percentage points higher than their opponents. Also, the first Husker team my Volleyball State co-host Lincoln Arneal and I ever covered way back at the Daily Nebraskan.

This team was led by a senior class that had gone undefeated and won the national title as sophomores in John Cook’s first Nebraska season in 2000. Laura Pilakowski, Amber Holmquist, and Greichaly Cepero were joined by outside hitter Jen Saleaumua to roll through the Big 12 unbeaten at 20-0 before being upset by Hawaii in the regional final, dashing dreams of a second NCAA title for that class (see below).

The ‘02 Huskers hit .322 and held opponents to just .109. That net +.213 attacking mark is, to this point, the best in school history.

2007 - A bittersweet mention because this is the best Husker team to not win the national title. On paper, it was the best Husker team ever, returning nearly every impactful player from the 2006 NCAA champs, plus adding 2005 National Player of the Year Christina Houghtelling, who had missed all of ‘06 with an injury. 

With a stacked lineup that included four-time All-American Sarah Pavan and future Olympic gold medalist Jordan Larson, the 2007 Huskers hit .327 with every starting attacker hitting at least .271. It made their sweep at the hands of Cal in the regional final all the more shocking.

But, what do you notice about those three Husker teams? None of them won the NCAA title. Nebraska’s two most recent national championship squads - 2017 and 2015 - didn’t really come close to hitting .300 and had net attacking marks of +.128 and +.102.

The postseason is a small sample size, and the team that hoists the trophy is the one that is playing the best in December, not October.

The good news for Husker fans - and a frightening admission for NU challengers - is that Nebraska hasn’t reached the limit of its potential yet. Busboom Kelly outlined on Wednesday that the Huskers still need to get better at attacking out of system when Reilly, who leads the team in digs, has to take the first contact instead of the second. 

Taylor Landfair (12) is having the most efficient season of her college career. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska coaches continue to tinker with attacking routes in the second half of the season to keep opponents off balance. And while senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair is having the most efficient attacking season of her career, Busboom Kelly said coaches continue to challenge Landfair to take aggressive swings even on imperfect sets. Be a point scorer, not just a rally extender.

“The team really takes it to heart when we tell them we can improve here or there,” Busboom Kelly said. “They attack it that week in practice. It’s been awesome to see it show up in matches.

What do we like?

Nebraska was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Volleyball Committee’s initial Top 16 rankings, which came out last weekend.

They were followed by No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Pitt and No. 4 Kentucky as projected regional hosts. If those seedings held, Nebraska could potentially host No. 8 seed Purdue, which the Huskers swept in West Lafayette already, No. 9 TCU and No. 16 Minnesota in the regional round.

Seedings are sure to shuffle over the last month of the regular season, but bracketology is a fun way to pass the time. Discussions like this will continue to drive engagement with volleyball.

Caught my eye

Nebraska has a name for its reserve unit: Gamechangers.

For the Huskers, it seems more than an honorary distinction. Busboom Kelly plays more players than her predecessor John Cook. Last weekend, she gave freshmen Manaia Ogbechie and Campbell Flynn significant minutes, plus used Laney Choboy as the libero after sophomore Olivia Mauch had seemed to secure the job full-time.

On Wednesday, Busboom Kelly said her staff is finding the right balance between developing depth and maintaining continuity. Sometime this season, the Huskers will likely be pushed to another five-set battle, and she wants her players to know they are conditioned to go the distance.

Yet, giving more than just the established starters court time has energized a competitive practice gym, which has its own benefits.

“It also gives (starters) a perspective (when they come out). When you watch the game, you learn so much more,” she said. “They watch their teammates and see maybe what they need to improve on. Then, it creates an amazing atmosphere in practice where everybody feels open to give feedback and everybody feels they can hold each other accountable.

“The reward outweighs the risk, especially long term for a program.”

The Week Ahead

Friday: No. 1 Nebraska (18-0, 8-0 Big Ten) vs Northwestern (13-7, 3-5), 6:00 p.m. (Central), Nebraska Public Media/B1G+

Most clubs aren’t exactly looking forward to making the trip to John Cook Arena, but Northwestern’s 4-2 road record versus a 4-5 mark at home might make you wonder.

The Wildcats come to Lincoln after splitting matches at home last weekend, beating Michigan in five before being swept by Illinois.

A pair of transfers leads Northwestern’s attack. Outside hitter Rylen Reid (Florida Gulf Coast) averages 3.25 kills per set, boosted by Kansas transfer Ayah Elnady’s 2.88 kills/set. 

The Wildcats were also boosted last week by the return of pin hitter Buse Hazan, who had missed about a month with an injury. She had 27 kills in Northwestern’s two matches last week.

Saturday: Nebraska vs Michigan State (12-5, 2-4), 7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network

It’s a little strange to play the same team twice in 8 days, but it will be interesting to see how first-year MSU Coach Kristen Kelsay tries to attack the Huskers after NU dominated the match in East Lansing.

The Spartans built a little momentum late in the match on Friday, scoring 20 points in Game 3 and becoming just the second team all season to hit better than .200 against Nebraska. 

Outside hitter Taylah Holdem, who missed a chunk of this season with an injury, returned to the front row after playing mostly back row in limited appearances this year. She had four kills in the third set and could see an expanded role on Saturday.

Murray was sensational for Nebraska in the first meeting with 13 kills on 26 error-free attacks.

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