Huskers Begin Big Ten Play at Home With UCLA, USC
MATCH PREVIEW
• The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team begins Big Ten action this week with a pair of home matches against conference newcomers. The Huskers will host UCLA on Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 20 USC on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Both matches will be televised on Big Ten Network with Larry Punteney and Lauren Stivrins calling the matches.
• Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations, on Huskers.com and on the Huskers app.
ABOUT THE HUSKERS
• Nebraska has won seven matches in a row, including four sweeps in a row.
• The Huskers are 5-0 facing ranked opponents this season.
• Nebraska has won 31 home matches in a row dating back to Nov. 26, 2022.
• The Huskers rank eighth nationally and second in the Big Ten with a team hitting percentage of .300.
• NU ranks 17th nationally in kills per set (14.08).
• Nebraska has turned up its defense of late, holding its last three opponents to a combined .110 hitting percentage.
• Outside hitter Harper Murray is leading the Huskers with 3.22 kills per set.
• Opposite hitter Merritt Beason is averaging 2.84 kills per set for the Big Red. Over her last five matches, Beason is averaging 3.29 kills per set with a .355 hitting percentage.
• Outside hitter Lindsay Krause adds 2.47 kills per set and has served a team-high 15 aces.
• Middle blocker Andi Jackson is averaging 2.62 kills with a team-best .512 hitting percentage, which ranks third nationally.
• Middle blocker Rebekah Allick adds 1.83 kills per set on .369 hitting with 1.43 blocks per set.
• Setter Bergen Reilly is averaging 11.03 assists per set, which ranks ninth nationally. She also adds 3.05 digs per set and has nine aces.
• Three-time All-American Lexi Rodriguez guides the Husker back row with 3.54 digs per set .
SCOUTING REPORT: UCLA
• UCLA enters its first Big Ten Conference match at 6-3 overall.
• The Bruins have a top-25 offense in the country with a .279 hitting percentage.
• Cheridyn Leverette leads UCLA with 4.07 kills per set and is hitting .325. Kiki Horne averages 3.04 kills per set.
• Middle blocker Anna Dodson received AVCA All-America honorable mention last year and was a three-time All-Pac 12 selection. She is putting down 2.14 kills and 1.11 blocks per set this season.
SCOUTING REPORT: USC
• No. 20 USC is 8-2 overall with losses to No. 1 Pittsburgh and No. 6 Creighton.
• The Trojans rank third nationally with 3.17 blocks per set.
• Former Husker Ally Batenhorst leads the Trojans with 3.84 kills per set.
• Setter Mia Tuaniga was a Preseason All-Big Ten selection after earning All-Pac 12 honors in 2022 and 2023. Tuaniga averages 10.39 assists per set and has served 18 aces.
SERIES HISTORY
• Nebraska is 13-5 all-time against UCLA. The last meeting was Aug. 31, 2019 in Lincoln, a 3-0 Husker sweep. NU has won four in a row in the series since a five-set loss to the Bruins in 2009.
• USC is 7-2 all-time against Nebraska. The last meeting was Aug. 31, 2008, a 3-1 Husker win in Omaha. The teams have not played a match in Lincoln since Dec. 14, 1985.
RODRIGUEZ AMONG ALL-TIME GREAT NU LIBEROS
• Lexi Rodriguez is in her final year of a stellar career as the Huskers’ libero. A four-year starter and a three-year team captain, Rodriguez will go down in history as one of the all-time greats in Nebraska volleyball history.
• Rodriguez is a three-time AVCA All-American, earning first-team honors in 2021 and 2023, and second-team honors in 2022. She will look to join Kadie Rolfzen (2013-16) and Sarah Pavan (2004-07) as the only four-time All-Americans in program history.
• Rodriguez made her mark instantly as a freshman in 2021, earning AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Over the last two seasons, Rodriguez has guided the Huskers to the No. 1 defense in the country, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year again in 2023 to become the fifth player in Big Ten history to receive the honor twice in a career.
• Rodriguez has 1,555 career digs, which ranks fifth in school history. U.S. Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes is the career leader in digs at NU with 1,890. With 13 more digs, Rodriguez will tie Jennifer Saleaumua for No. 4 all-time.
BEASON BACK TO LEAD HUSKER ATTACK AGAIN
• Opposite hitter Merritt Beason put together a sensational season in 2023 - her first as a Husker after transferring from Florida - earning AVCA first-team All-America honors and AVCA North Region Player of the Year, becoming just the second Husker (Kelly Hunter) to earn that honor.
• Beason averaged a team-leading 3.76 kills per set on .282 hitting with 2.05 digs per set. She was named Big Ten Player of the Week four times and was the AVCA National Player of the Week on Oct. 23 after averaging 4.25 kills per set and 1.75 digs per set in wins against Northwestern and top-ranked Wisconsin.
• Beason was the MVP of the NCAA Lincoln Regional after 19 kills, 11 digs and a career-high eight blocks in a regional final win over Arkansas.
VERSATILE MURRAY HIGHLIGHTS SOPHOMORE CLASS
• Along with Bergen Reilly, Andi Jackson and Laney Choboy, sophomore outside hitter Harper Murray made an instant impact at Nebraska in 2023, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year, All-Big Ten First Team and AVCA All-America Third Team honors.
• Murray finished her freshman campaign with 3.23 kills per set, the highest kills per set average by a Husker freshman since Kadie Rolfzen (3.46) in 2013. One of the Big Ten’s best six-rotation players, Murray also added 2.07 digs per set with a team-high 36 aces. She was a three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
• Murray is off to a solid start to her sophomore season, leading the Huskers in kills with 3.22 per set with 2.25 digs per set and 10 service aces.
KRAUSE LOOKING TO PICK UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
• Senior outside hitter Lindsay Krause was having the best year of her Husker career in 2023 before it ended in mid-October with an ankle injury. At the time of her injury, Krause was averaging 2.50 kills per set and was hitting .285 for the season.
• Not only that, Krause was putting up 2.82 kills per set on .366 hitting through six Big Ten matches, which led all Big Ten outside hitters in conference action at the time.
• Krause was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Oct. 9 following a season-high 15 kills on .519 hitting at Michigan and nine kills on .381 hitting at Michigan State.
• This season, Krause is averaging 2.47 kills per set and leads the team with 15 service aces.
REILLY SETS THE TONE
• Sophomore setter Bergen Reilly was the Big Ten Setter of the Year in 2023, becoming the first freshman to win the award since it originated in 2012. Reilly was also an AVCA second-team All-American and an All-Big Ten first-team selection.
• Reilly led all Big Ten setters with 10.51 assists per set in 2023, and she has received six career Big Ten Setter of the Week honors, including on Sept. 2 and Sept. 16 this season.
• Reilly was named Best Setter at the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Louisville, Ky., as she guided the Huskers to a 3-1 win over No. 9 Kentucky with 39 assists and 11 digs.
• Reilly ranks ninth nationally with 11.03 assists per set this season.
JACKSON IN ACTION
• Sophomore middle blocker Andi Jackson showed enormous athleticism and potential the first time she stepped on the floor as a Husker, and she followed through with a strong debut season that included AVCA All-Region, All-Big Ten Second Team, and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.
• Jackson averaged 2.01 kills per set and 1.09 blocks per set with a .399 hitting percentage in 2023, which ranked third in the Big Ten and 19th in the nation. Her hitting percentage was the best ever by a Husker freshman and ranked seventh all-time in the rally scoring era.
• Along with Reilly, Jackson helped the U.S. U21 National Team win the gold medal at the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto this summer, hitting .654 throughout the tournament with 39 kills and 10 blocks.
• Jackson has elevated her game to new heights in 2024, as she is averaging 2.62 kills per set with a .512 hitting percentage, which ranks third in the nation.
ALLICK ON A BLOCKING TEAR
• Junior middle blocker Rebekah Allick is a two-time AVCA All-Region and All-Big Ten second-team selection. Last season, she averaged 1.76 kills per set with a team-high 1.50 blocks per set, which ranked second among Big Ten players and seven in the nation. Her 1.50 blocks per set was also the No. 2 mark in school history in the rally scoring era.
• Allick was at her best at the end of the 2023 season, registering a career-high 12 blocks in the NCAA regional final win over Arkansas and 10 blocks in the NCAA semifinal sweep of Pittsburgh.
• In the season-opening victory over Kentucky, Allick had 11 kills and hit .667 while tying her career high with 12 blocks. Her performance earned her Best Middle Blocker and Most Valuable Player honors at the AVCA First Serve Showcase. She averaged 1.90 blocks per set in the first three matches of the season, which earned her Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
• Allick leads the Huskers with 1.43 blocks per set so far this season. Offensively, she has provided 1.83 kills per set on .369 hitting.
HALL OF FAME COACH COOK IN YEAR 25 AT NU
• Nebraska head coach John Cook is in his 25th season as the Nebraska volleyball head coach in 2024. He has led the Huskers to four national championships, 11 final fours, 13 conference championships and 22 top-10 final rankings since 2000.
• Cook has 860 career wins and is one of the all-time winningest coaches in NCAA history. Since taking over the program in 2000, Cook has led the Huskers to a nation-leading .874 win percentage (699-101).
• Under Cook, the Huskers have achieved 68 AVCA All-Americans and 20 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, both among the best in the nation. He is a three-time AVCA National Coach of the Year, earning the prestigious honor in 2000, 2005 and 2023, and an eight-time conference coach of the year, including Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2016, 2017 and 2023.
• In 2023, Cook was voted AVCA National Coach of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading a young Nebraska team with no seniors to its first Big Ten title since 2017. The Huskers finished the regular season 28-1 overall, their best regular season record since going 28-1 in 2005. After going 26-6 last year and missing the NCAA regional finals for the first time since 2011, the Huskers started over with a starting lineup featuring four true freshmen and a junior transfer (Beason). Cook’s Huskers won their first 27 matches of the season and held the No. 1 ranking from Oct. 23 through the end of the regular season. Despite having no seniors on the roster for just the second time in Cook’s time at Nebraska - as well as starting a true freshman at setter for only the second time in Cook’s tenure - the Huskers earned the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and the sixth time overall under Cook.
• Cook was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2017, joining former Husker volleyball coach Terry Pettit in the hall.