What to Look for in Saturday's Nebraska Volleyball Red-White Scrimmage

Nebraska volleyball has never been a program that shied away from the spotlight. Any pretense of modesty evaporates when you set a world record and play in front of 92,000 fans in a football stadium.

A program that embraced former coach John Cook’s mantra of "Dream Big” recognized that expectations will be there, so you'd better learn to embrace them. So when current head coach Dani Busboom Kelly was asked this week if the Huskers’ preseason No. 1 ranking, revealed in Wednesday’s AVCA coaches poll, came as a surprise to her, the answer was a matter-of-fact, but firm, “no.”

After all, Busboom Kelly gave the team her own first-place vote.

“I think we’re pretty talented,” Busboom Kelly said to reporters Wednesday. “We’re going to talk about that and talk about what it means to be number one. But, we’re not going to dwell on that or talk about it for more than about 10 minutes. But, I also don’t want to avoid it. I don’t think anybody on our team is surprised that we’re preseason number one. I also don’t think anybody believes that’s what we’ll be in December just because that’s what we are right now because they’ve been through it all.”
Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly

Some have, sure. Nebraska returns four starters, plus two more returners vying for the starting libero job in Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch, who have played regular roles before. But, with a newly expanded roster, eight newcomers mean nearly half of the NU locker room will have to wear those expectations as well.

“It’s a lot of outside noise, and we try to keep that outside of the gym because when we get in there, it’s just us 17 on the court and it’s our coaches,” junior setter Bergen Reilly said. “I’ve always heard ‘Don’t listen to what anybody has to say about you, especially if it’s good.’ You’ve just got to come in and work every single day.”

Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly is the two-time Big Ten Setter of the Year | Amarillo Mullen

The Husker coach believes - and early murmurs and scant social media videos from practice would agree - the combined talent of Nebraska’s veterans and newcomers is enough to give the Huskers a good chance at reaching its third straight Final Four and making its fourth appearance in five seasons.

Saturday afternoon’s Red-White scrimmage (2:30 p.m. CDT, Nebraska Public Media) will be the first chance to put it on the court. Cook regularly mentioned this intrasquad scrimmage was one of the team’s most nervous dates of the year. For newcomers, it’s the first time playing in front of a sold-out Devaney Center crowd (are we calling it John Cook Arena, yet? Still feels weird). A strong - or not-so-strong - performance in the scrimmage might be the final say in a preseason position battle.

Busboom Kelly has told the team she’s treating the Red-White like another practice. Next Saturday’s Alumni Match will be more like a preseason tune-up. But Saturday is the public’s first look at the 2025 season, which is one of the most-anticipated in memory.

Here are major things I’ll be looking at in the Devaney Center on Saturday.

The setter battle

It’s been awhile - 2013 if I recall correctly - since Nebraska had an honest-to-goodness preseason setter competition.

They may have one this year even though Reilly, the incumbent, has won Big Ten Setter of the Year each of her first two years, and set Nebraska to the Final Four twice.

You’d have to be pretty exceptional to unseat a player of Reilly’s caliber – and Campbell Flynn might just be that. The No. 1-ranked setter in the Class of 2025, Flynn made the most of her early enrollment by wowing in NU’s spring exhibition wins over Kansas and South Dakota State.

A 6-foot-3 lefty who brings an effective attack during her front-row rotations, Flynn seems likely to play this season, even if she doesn’t start. The modern culture of player movement in college volleyball makes it less likely that talented players will redshirt. Don’t count on Flynn to be just a cheerleader this fall. She’ll run the offense for one of the two squads on Saturday.

Busboom Kelly, who routinely rotated setters at Louisville, praised both setters on Wednesday. Just as with Nebraska’s other positions, she challenged the setters to see themselves as the top unit in the nation.

“That’s how I think Bergen and Campbell are starting to see themselves, as two of the best setters in the country,” Busboom Kelly said. “We don’t know who’s going to be the starter yet, but as a group there’s nobody in the country that has as good of setters as we do. I definitely believe that.”

Whoever prevails in the competition may come down to who can run a new-look NU offense. The team unveiled some new attacking routes in the spring exhibitions, and Reilly said the attacking tempo is faster.

Both setters will likely have roles this fall, and whoever wins the starting job is still going to need to occasionally lean on the other.

“We push each other every day, but we’re also each other’s biggest supporters,” Reilly said. “We know that being a setter at Nebraska is a hard job, so having someone in your corner 24/7 is just super helpful. I obviously had that with (former setter Kennadi Orr), and now I get to have that relationship with Campbell too.”

Who will be the second outside hitter?

Harper Murray has the top spot locked down. She’s Nebraska’s leading returning attacker and one of the best passing outsides in the country.

Nebraska volleyball outside hitter Harper Murray at 2025 Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. — Nebraska needs Harper Murray to be really good this year. | Ryan Kuttler

The second spot will be decided between super duper senior Taylor Landfair, playing her second season at Nebraska but her sixth in college, and highly touted freshman Teraya Sigler, PrepDig.com’s No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2025.

Redshirt freshman Skyler Pierce also will have her chance to make a statement in Saturday’s scrimmage.

Landfair, herself a former top recruit when she started her career at Minnesota, made an interesting comment Wednesday on the nature of the position battle in preseason workouts.

“We’ve been super, super competitive, especially with all the new people,” Landfair said. “I think that’s honestly been a given for us. I think it’s like a huge positive because we didn’t really have that last year.”

Bergen Reilly & Taylor Landfair (right) during media availability ahead of the 2025 season. | Nebraska Athletics

Trying to unpack that a little. It could be just the reflection that Nebraska had fewer options at outside last year, with Pierce redshirting. Landfair eventually won the starting job over senior Lindsay Krause, but both played in 2024.

It could also just be the reality of having a new coach means a clean slate for everyone. And Busboom Kelly admittedly uses a more flexible lineup over the course of the season than Cook might have.

Regardless, the young talent seems poised to make their mark. Sigler could be ready to play six rotations in her first year. Her passing and back-row attack skills are already beyond your standard freshman pin hitter.

Compare that to Landfair, who I expect to play front row only, and Sigler could free up more substitutions for Nebraska to use on serving and defensive specialists in other rotations.

The positive of the Red-White scrimmage is all four outside hitters should have plenty of opportunity to show their stuff. Two will likely play on each team.

How about NU’s other newcomers?

All eyes on Saturday will be on Nebraska’s two new opposite hitters, both of whom joined the team in the summer.

The most anticipation - and most mystery - surrounds 6-foot-5 Virginia Adriano, who played several years in Italian pro leagues. The 21-year-old was given three seasons of NCAA eligibility, though if she’s as good as Husker fans hope, she will not be in Lincoln that long.

“I think she’s a great blocker. I love her range,” Husker middle Rebekah Allick said about Adriano at Big Ten Media Days. “There’s this one line shot that my campers actually watched and kept talking about the next day. She’s got a lot of range as an attacker and a blocker.”
Nebraska middle blocker Rebekah Allick

She’s also apparently got a feisty serve. Keep an eye out for that on Saturday.

But it’s not a given Adriano starts. Baylor transfer Allie Sczech should be on the opposing side in Saturday’s scrimmage. She averaged 2.4 kills per set last season, starting about half of the Bears’ matches. It was her NCAA tournament performances that turned heads. She had 33 kills and hit .508 in Baylor’s two postseason matches.

“She’s kind of a goofball, and the type of person this team really needed,” Busboom Kelly said of Sczech. “She’s different from anything we’ve had. She can hit really hard, she’s a lefty, she puts up a great block, and she’s definitely a fiery competitor. She’s been really fun. I’m excited to see how she is throughout the season.”

Freshman Ryan Hunter is in the mix, too. Reports are the North Carolina native is still working to find consistency, but her ceiling is high. Athletically elite, Hunter put down 11 kills and hit .563 in Nebraska’s April exhibition win over Kansas.

Nebraska’s middle blocker spots seem to be solidified with junior All-American Andi Jackson and senior Rebekah Allick, but the talent behind them is tantalizing in freshmen Manaia Ogbechie and Kenna Cogill.

Ogbechie originally committed to Northwestern, but after a coaching change, flipped to Nebraska last year, and her national profile skyrocketed about as much as her explosive vertical leap.

Whispers are that she’s had moments in practice where she put teammates in jail with her blocking. At her full potential, she could be the next great Husker middle.

Does that leave room for Cogill? You’ll see her Saturday. A club teammate of Sigler’s, the 6-foot-4 Cogill was a late addition to Nebraska’s recruiting class, flipping her commitment from Oregon after the Ducks’ coach, Matt Ulmer, left for Kansas.

On the other end of the size spectrum, 5-foot-4 freshman Keri Leimbach will provide back row depth behind Choboy and Mauch. Though, at many other programs, the Lincoln Lutheran product might start from day one.

How will the Huskers carry themselves?

An ambiguous question, I know. But, in short, does Nebraska play with confidence in front of a full crowd and reflect comfort with its preseason No. 1 ranking?

In limited preseason media sessions, the team talked the talk well. And their coach has seen nothing but enthusiasm in preseason practices, particularly the morning sessions, which have the risk of being slogs with groggy young people.

Nebraska volleyball players walk onto the court for practice ahead of the 2025 season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“I was just telling somebody this morning, it’s just really fun to go into work every day,” Busboom Kelly said. “It’s different every day. This team is fun. They’re hungry, they’re motivated, and you don’t ever feel like you have to push them in practice. So when you come to work, everybody is going to be excited to be here and ready to work. There’s no tug and pull or pushing that I need to do.”

So, Jeff, how does that manifest itself on Saturday? Good question.

I’m looking for aggressive play. Swings taken without fear of failure. An offense - run by either setter - with creative routes and a quicker tempo. Back row players flying around, letting their bodies hit the floor before the ball does.

I want to see one of the most-hyped new classes in the country show early signs they can live up to it.

Now, I’m a realist. There’s only one ball and six players on the floor at a time. And the current reality of player movement makes it pretty likely that some players who don’t win a starting job this season are going to give it a try somewhere else in 2026.

But August is for optimism. And the vibes are strong.

“They really show every day that they, number one, love volleyball, and number two, want to win,” Busboom Kelly said. “That’s every person on the team. It’s really hard to think of a glaring weakness. Of course we want to get better at certain things, but right now, there’s nothing that’s sticking out that’s scary going into the fall.”

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