VB Preview: Alumni Match
MATCH PREVIEW
• The Nebraska volleyball team, under new head coach Dani Busboom Kelly, continues its 2025 preseason with the inaugural Alumni Match on Saturday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. in John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
• The match will be televised on Nebraska Public Media and streamed online at B1G+ (subscription required).
• 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.
• Saturday’s match format will be a normal best-of-five sets, and intermission between sets will be five minutes.
• For the Alumni Match, parking is available for purchase in advance online at huskers.com/tickets.
ABOUT THE HUSKERS
• Nebraska finished the 2024 season 33-3 overall and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second year in a row and seventh time in the last 10 years.
• Nebraska won its 36th all-time conference title and fifth Big Ten title with a 19-1 record in Big Ten play last season. The Huskers went back-to-back as Big Ten champions for the second time, also accomplishing that feat in 2016 and 2017.
• The Huskers’ 29 regular-season wins last year tied the 1983 school record for most wins in a regular season in the NCAA era.
• The Huskers’ 33 wins last season were tied for the most victories by a Husker team since the 2000 national championship team went 34-0.
• The Huskers ranked 11th nationally with a team hitting percentage of .284 in 2024.
• The Huskers ranked sixth nationally and first in the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage at .143 last season. NU led the nation in opponent hitting percentage in 2022 and 2023.
• Nebraska enters the season with 1,499 all-time victories and will be looking to become the first Division I volleyball program to reach 1,500 all-time wins when the regular season begins.
ABOUT THE ALUMNI
• The Alumni squad will be headlined by Jordan Larson, who was a three-time All-American at NU during her career (2005-08), winning a national championship in 2006. She is a four-time Olympic medalist, helping Team USA to a gold medal in 2021. Her four Olympic medals are tied for the most all-time by a women’s volleyball player.
• Along with Larson, other former Huskers who are committed to playing in the Alumni Match include two-time All-American and national champion setter Kelly (Hunter) Natter, three-time All-American and national champion middle blocker Lauren Stivrins, national champion and All-American libero Kenzie (Maloney) Hoppes, national champion and All-American outside hitter Annika (Albrecht) Moulder, two-time All-American outside hitter Gina Mancuso-Prososki, as well as former Huskers Lindsay Krause, Ally Batenhorst, Callie Schwarzenbach and Leyla Blackwell.
• Skutt Catholic Head Coach Renee Saunders will serve as coach for the Alumni team. A member of the 1995 Nebraska national championship team, Saunders is the only Nebraskan to claim both the state’s volleyball high school athlete and coach of the year awards. Saunders coached the SkyHawks to a state-record nine straight state championships from 2015-2023. Val Novak Warrior will be an assistant coach. Novak Warrior was a two-time All-American setter at NU from 1989-90, and she was an assistant coach under Terry Pettit from 1993-94.
RED-WHITE SCRIMMAGE REVIEW
• The Nebraska volleyball team opened the 2025 campaign with its annual Red-White Scrimmage on Aug. 9 in front of a crowd of 8,414 in John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
• The Red team defeated the White team 3-1, though the Huskers mixed their teams and lineups around for each set.
• Rebekah Allick led all players with 16 kills on .433 hitting with five blocks. It was a strong day for the middle blockers overall, as freshman Kenna Cogill posted 10 kills and five blocks and hit .421, and Andi Jackson had nine kills and hit .412. Freshman Manaia Ogbechie led all players with eight blocks in the match.
• Harper Murray tallied 15 kills and nine digs, while Virginia Adriano posted 11 kills with a match-high three aces. Teraya Sigler had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs with a pair of aces, and Skyler Pierce contributed nine kills.
• Bergen Reilly had 41 assists and 15 digs, while Campbell Flynn had 34 assists and 11 digs. Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch had 17 and 16 digs, respectively.
• Taylor Landfair finished with seven kills, five blocks and five digs, and Allie Sczech posted six kills, five digs and three blocks. Ryan Hunter recorded five kills and four blocks. Keri Leimbach and Maisie Boesiger had six and three digs, respectively.
RETURNEE RUNDOWN
• Junior outside hitter Harper Murray was an AVCA Second Team All-American last year, leading the Huskers in kills with 3.40 per set and a team-high 39 service aces. Murray is a two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection and two-time AVCA All-American.
• Junior setter Bergen Reilly is the first player in Big Ten history to win Big Ten Setter of the Year as both a freshman and sophomore, and she is coming off her second straight AVCA All-America Second Team honor. Reilly averaged 11.08 assists per set in 2024 while leading the Huskers to a .284 hitting percentage, their best since 2016.
• Junior middle blocker Andi Jackson had a breakout year in 2024, earning AVCA All-America First Team and All-Big Ten First Team. Jackson averaged 2.62 kills per set with a .439 hitting percentage, which ranked sixth in the nation. She also put up 1.18 blocks per set.
• Senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick recorded 1.82 kills per set in 2024 with a career-best .357 hitting percentage. She had a team-high 1.43 blocks per set, which ranked third among Big Ten players and 14th nationally. Allick ranks sixth in school history with 415 career blocks entering the 2025 season.
• Senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair returns after starting 20 matches in 2024, averaging 2.49 kills per set.
• Maisie Boesiger, Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch all return in the back row for the Big Red. Mauch, a sophomore, had 196 digs and 21 aces in her first year as a Husker last season. Choboy, a junior, had 185 digs and 36 set assists. Boesiger, entering her senior season, played in nine matches as a serving sub in 2024.
• Skyler Pierce will look to make an impact at outside hitter after redshirting in her first year at NU. Pierce had an accomplished prep career at Olathe Northwest in Kansas and was the MVP of the Under Armour All-America Game in 2024.
HUSKERS WELCOME EIGHT NEWCOMERS
• Eight of the 17 players on the 2025 roster are newcomers.
• Senior opposite hitter Allie Sczech is the lone transfer the Huskers brought in for 2025. Sczech was a two-time All-Big 12 Second Team performer at Baylor, averaging 2.44 kills per set with a .273 hitting percentage in 2024. Sczech posted a career-high 21 kills and hit .463 in Baylor’s NCAA Tournament second round defeat to Dayton last year. She totaled 754 kills in three seasons at Baylor.
• In addition to Sczech, seven freshmen have joined the fold. Campbell Flynn (6-3, Setter), Ryan Hunter (6-2, Opposite Hitter), Keri Leimbach (5-4, Libero) and Teraya Sigler (6-3, Outside Hitter) all enrolled at Nebraska in January. Virginia Adriano (6-5, Opposite Hitter), Kenna Cogill (6-4, Middle Blocker) and Manaia Ogbechie (6-3, Middle Blocker) joined the Huskers in June.
BUSBOOM KELLY DEBUTS AS NEW HEAD COACH
• Nebraska native Dani Busboom Kelly was named the fourth head coach in program history on Jan. 29, 2025 by Nebraska Director of Athletics Troy Dannen. Busboom Kelly succeeds her former coach and mentor, John Cook, who announced his retirement following the 2024 season after 25 seasons as Nebraska’s head volleyball coach.
• A Husker national champion player and assistant coach, Busboom Kelly spent eight years (2017-24) building Louisville into a national power. The Cardinals reached two NCAA Championship matches, three NCAA Semifinals, five regional finals and won four ACC titles.
• Busboom Kelly compiled a 203-44 (.822) record in her eight seasons at Louisville, including a 120-15 (.889) mark from 2021-24, which was the second-best winning percentage in the country during that span. In 2024, the Cardinals reached the NCAA Championship match for the second time in three seasons.
• Busboom Kelly was the starting libero on Nebraska’s 2006 national championship team, and she was an assistant coach when the Huskers won the 2015 national championship in Omaha. She took the helm at Louisville late in 2016 after being named AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year in her final season as a Husker assistant, and she guided the Cardinals to heights the program had never experienced.
HOME SWEET HOME
• Nebraska has won 45 home matches in a row dating back to Dec. 1, 2022, which is the longest active streak in the nation.
• The Huskers’ home win streak is its longest since moving into the Devaney Center in 2013.
• Nebraska’s longest all-time home win streak was 88 matches from 2004-09.
• The Huskers went 22-0 at home in 2024, a school record for home wins in a season.
• Nebraska has won 26 consecutive NCAA Tournament matches played in the Devaney Center, a school record.
REGENTS APPROVE NAMING OF JOHN COOK ARENA
• The home of Nebraska Volleyball will now officially bear the name of one of the legendary coaches in the history of the sport, as the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the naming of John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
• Cook retired in January following a remarkable 25-year run as the Huskers’ head coach. He guided the Huskers to four national championships, 12 NCAA Semifinal appearances and 14 conference championships. Cook achieved a career record of 883-176 (.834), the fifth-best winning percentage all-time for a Division I volleyball coach. His record of 722-103 at Nebraska was the best winning percentage (.875) for any DI program from 2000-24.
• In addition to the naming of John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, the project also includes a bronze statue honoring Cook on the north side of the Devaney Sports Center. Nationally recognized sculpture artist and Nebraska native George Lundeen has been commissioned to produce the life-size tribute to Cook and his career.
• The court inside John Cook Arena will continue to hold the name of Terry Pettit Court to recognize Cook’s predecessor and fellow Hall of Famer. Additionally, the full athletics complex will continue to be named the Bob Devaney Sports Center in honor of Nebraska Hall of Fame football coach and long-time athletic director Bob Devaney.
• The new John Cook Arena signage and the bronze statue will be unveiled later this year.
AVCA FIRST SERVE COMING TO PBA
• Nebraska will begin the season in the 2025 AVCA First Serve at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Aug. 22-24. It will mark the first time Nebraska has played volleyball in the 15,500-seat arena.
• The 2025 AVCA First Serve will feature 10 of the nation’s top teams. Two matches will be played each day on Aug. 22, Aug. 23 and Aug. 24 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. To cap off the event, two matches will be played on Monday, Aug. 25 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
• Nebraska will face Pittsburgh on Friday, Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. and Stanford on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 2:30 p.m.
• Other matchups at Pinnacle Bank Arena will include Florida vs. Stanford on Aug. 22, Creighton vs. Penn State and Kansas vs. Vanderbilt on Aug. 23, and Florida vs. Pittsburgh on Aug. 24.
• On Aug. 25 in Sioux Falls, Minnesota will face Texas A&M, and Kansas will play Penn State.
HUSKERS TO PLAY IN NASHVILLE EVENT IN 2025
• Nebraska will participate in the Broadway Block Party, hosted by the Nashville Sports Council and ESPN Events, this season at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The event will feature three matches between Big Ten and SEC teams.
• The Huskers will take on Kentucky at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday, Aug. 31 on ABC. Purdue and Tennessee will play 30 minutes following the conclusion of that match on ESPN2. Illinois and Vanderbilt will square off to end the tripleheader on SEC Network.
• The non-conference matchup against Kentucky will be the fourth straight year the teams have met early in the season. In 2024, Nebraska beat Kentucky 3-1 at the AVCA First Serve in Louisville, Ky.
HUSKERS BEGIN SEASON AT NO. 1 IN AVCA POLL
• The Nebraska volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll released on Aug. 6.
• The Huskers collected 1,490 points in the poll and came in ahead of No. 2 Penn State (1,459), No. 3 Pittsburgh (1,338), No. 4 Louisville (1,240) and No. 5 Texas (1,223). Nebraska got 40 first-place votes, while Penn State had 21.
• It marks Nebraska’s 109th week all-time at No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the most of any program in the nation. The last time the Huskers were ranked No. 1 to start a season was prior to the 2022 season. Nebraska was last ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Poll on Nov. 27, 2023.
• Nebraska will be tested right out of the gate with matches against No. 3 Pittsburgh (Aug. 22) and No. 6 Stanford (Aug. 24) at the AVCA First Serve at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
• NU has 12 regular-season matches scheduled against preseason top 25 teams, including six against top 10 teams.
HUSKERS SET FOR 24 TV BROADCASTS
• Nebraska volleyball will air on television 24 times this season. The Huskers will make 19 national TV appearances on Big Ten Network, FOX, FS1, NBC, ABC and ESPN.
• Additionally, Nebraska Public Media has been granted the rights to televise the Red-White Scrimmage (Aug. 9), the Alumni Match (Aug. 16), and three regular-season home matches: Grand Canyon (Sept. 13), Maryland (Sept. 27) and Northwestern (Oct. 24).
• All matches that are televised on Nebraska Public Media are also streamed on B1G+. All home matches and Big Ten road matches not selected for TV will be streamed on B1G+.
• NU’s match at Lipscomb will be available on ESPN+.
FOUR HUSKERS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN
• Four student-athletes from the Nebraska volleyball team were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team after a vote by the league’s 18 head coaches.
• Juniors Andi Jackson, Harper Murray and Bergen Reilly were three of just five unanimous selections to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. They were joined on the 20-player team by senior Rebekah Allick.
• The coaches picked Nebraska as the top team in the preseason poll. The Huskers won their fifth Big Ten title in 2024 with a 19-1 conference record to share the crown with Penn State. Nebraska finished the season at 33-3 and reached the NCAA Semifinals. Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota and UCLA rounded out the top five.
• Jackson, a junior middle blocker, had a breakout year in 2024, earning AVCA All-America First Team and unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honors. Jackson averaged 2.62 kills per set with a .439 hitting percentage, which ranked sixth in the nation and fourth in school history. She also put up 1.18 blocks per set.
• Murray, a junior outside hitter, was an AVCA Second Team All-American last year after earning third-team honors as a freshman. Murray led the Huskers in 2024 with 3.40 kills per set and a team-high 39 service aces. She is a two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection. Murray was selected to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team last season and was the NCAA Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player.
• Reilly, a junior setter, is the first player in Big Ten history to win Big Ten Setter of the Year as both a freshman and sophomore, and she is coming off her second straight AVCA All-America Second Team honor. Reilly averaged 11.08 assists per set in 2024 while leading the Huskers to a .284 hitting percentage, their best since 2016.
• Allick, a senior middle blocker, recorded 1.82 kills per set in 2024 with a career-best .357 hitting percentage. She had a team-high 1.43 blocks per set, which ranked third among Big Ten players and 14th nationally. Allick ranks sixth in school history with 415 career blocks entering the 2025 season. She was an All-Big Ten Second Team selection in 2022 and 2023.
JACKSON, MURRAY, REILLY ON AVCA WATCH LIST
• Andi Jackson, Harper Murray and Bergen Reilly were named to the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List in July. The three Husker juniors are among 30 players who are part of the Player of the Year Watch List.
• The Player of the Year Watch List was compiled by the AVCA Division I Women’s Volleyball Awards Committee. They will also be the group working on the additional phases of the Player of the Year process. Midseason additions to the list will come in October, and the semifinalists will be named in November. Finalists will be announced on Dec. 15, and the Player of the Year Award will be presented in Kansas City at the AVCA Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 19.
FLYNN NAMED GATORADE NATIONAL POTY
• Freshman Campbell Flynn was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year on Jan. 10.
• Flynn, a 6-3 setter from Oakland, Mich., was a two-time Gatorade Michigan Volleyball Player of the Year. She recorded 730 assists and 180 digs in her senior season for Mercy High School, leading the Marlins to a 31-3 record and the Division I regional semifinals in 2024. Flynn also compiled 131 kills, 52 blocks and 36 service aces while posting a .394 hitting percentage at net.
• Flynn was a member of the U.S. U21 Women’s National Team that won the gold medal at the NORCECA Championships in 2024 and was ranked as the nation’s No. 4 overall recruit and top setter recruit in the Class of 2025 by PrepDig.com. Flynn concluded her prep volleyball career, which included a state championship in 2023, with 1,973 assists and 737 kills. She also competed in the Under Armour All-America Game. Off the court, Flynn maintained a 3.94 GPA in the classroom.
• Flynn is the sixth Husker all-time to be named the Gatorade National Player of the Year. The others are Harper Murray (2022-23), Ally Batenhorst (2020-21), Lexi Sun (2016-17), Mikaela Foecke (2014-15) and Gina Mancuso (2008-09).
FLYNN, SIGLER EARN GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• In addition to being named Gatorade National Player of the Year, Campbell Flynn was named the Gatorade Michigan Volleyball Player of the Year for the second straight year, while fellow Husker newcomer Teraya Sigler was named the Gatorade Arizona Volleyball Player of the Year for the second straight time.
• Sigler, a 6-2 outside hitter from Scottsdale, Ariz., led Horizon High School to a 25-5 record and a fourth straight Conference 5A state championship in 2024. Sigler amassed 619 kills and 354 digs, including 33 kills and 20 digs in the state championship match. She also had 65 service aces and 28 blocks while posting a .398 hitting percentage.
• Ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025 by PrepDig.com, Sigler was a member of the U.S. U21 Women’s National Team that won the gold medal at the NORCECA Championships in 2024. She concluded her prep volleyball career with 1,951 kills and 1,128 digs and competed in the Under Armour All-America Game.