Adriano Finding a Groove with the Huskers

After a subpar first set, Virginia Adriano didn’t wait long to get back on the right track.

Nebraska’s 6-5 opposite hammered her first swing of the second set down the line for a kill. After Michigan’s next attack went into the net (in front of a block by Adriano and Rebekah Allick), junior setter Bergen Reilly went back to Adriano, who drew a net violation by the Wolverines for another kill. Then lined up wide for a bump set from Olivia Mauch and hit a soft roll shot off the Michigan block that landed out of bounds for another kill.

The three kills in four rallies erased any lingering ill feelings after Adriano hit negative in the opening set. The Turin, Italy, native terminated six of her seven swings in the second and finished with 10 kills on a .444 hitting percentage.

After a slow start to the season, Adriano has found an offensive groove as she has settled into the American collegiate game, built a connection with Reilly, and improved her play. She hopes to continue the upward trajectory Saturday as the top-ranked Huskers (11-0, 1-0 Big Ten) face Maryland (7-3, 0-0) at 3 p.m. CDT at John Cook Arena.

“The main thing for Virginia is feeling that the team and the coaches have confidence in her,” NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “Can we set her in big moments, and can we set her in system? When we do and she’s successful, it really snowballs into a great game for her.”

For the season, Adriano is averaging 2.1 kills per set with a .246 hitting percentage.

Manaia Ogbechie (14) and Virginia Adriano (9) celebrate Adriano's kill. | Amarillo Mullen

Adriano set a season-best against Creighton with 13 kills over the five sets as she hit .320. She backed that performance up with nine kills at a .438 clip against Arizona. On Wednesday, she set a new career high with a .444 hitting percentage and finished with 10 kills on just 18 attacks. She’s become more efficient overall with a 50.9 kill percentage over the last three matches compared to 36.8 percent over the first eight matches.

Additionally, she has accounted for a team-high 46 points over the last four matches. (Harper Murray has scored 45 points and didn’t play against Grand Canyon.) Adriano can take over sets as she put up seven kills in the third set against Creighton and six in the second set against Michigan.

While part of her recent improvement can be attributed to mechanics and chemistry, it is aided by an attitude shift. Adriano said she gets nervous in big moments and can also be hard on herself. When she takes a more positive outlook, better results often happen.

“Someone told me that if I smile, I play better,” she said. “I’m trying to improve that, because I do not have a very happy face when I play. I am trying to do better on that probably because it was some stress that was releasing.”

Another part of her success has come from becoming more comfortable in her new home and a different style of volleyball. In Italy, sets are often at a slow tempo with a high set to the right pin. However, the Huskers run a faster offense, so she can’t just wait for sets and swing away over the opposing block. Busboom Kelly said they need to set higher than other opposites on the roster (who are also both left-handed).

The key to her improvement lies in working with Reilly in practice to figure out how to work together effectively.

“It’s getting really good,” Adriano said about her connection with Reilly. “I’m working a lot on trying to not start early, and try to not hit the block. It’s really improving, and I’m very happy about that.”

Nebraska opposite hitter Virginia Adriano readies a serve during the Red-White Scrimmage on Saturday. — Nebraska opposite hitter Virginia Adriano readies a serve during the Red-White Scrimmage. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Reilly said she’s been impressed with Adriano’s adaptation to living and playing in the United States.

“Every day she comes in with such a great mentality, and she’s so intentional in everything she does, and we’ve seen her grow so drastically just in the last couple of weeks,” she said. “. So I’m really proud of her even on the hard days, like she’s still just being super intentional with what she’s doing, no matter what she is doing, whether it’s serving, blocking, hitting.”

In addition to her attack, Adriano has become more comfortable at the service line. During the first part of the year, NU would sub in a defensive specialist, mostly Olivia Mauch. Adriano attempted just 30 serves over the first 15 sets she played. However, in the past 14 sets, she’s served 59 times with the Huskers scoring on just over half of her serve.

Adriano said she’s trying to keep enough speed on her serve to make it difficult to pass, but not hit it too hard to decrease her consistency.

“I try to be aggressive, but at the same time not make so many mistakes,” she said. “I’ve always been told that the serve is the first line of attack, so it’s always good to start with that.”

Even though she’s made progress on offense and with her swing, Busboom Kelly was asked about how she felt about Adriano’s improvement and said she was already looking for improvement in another area.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” she said. “Now let’s see if she can block a few more balls.”

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