Nebraska’s Red/White Scrimmage on Saturday marked the first time in 21 months that Husker fans were able to gather in the Devaney center and they were not let down.
Nebraska Volleyball displayed the competition they have been discussing in the scrimmage and tied 2-2. The White team won the first set 25-22, Red followed with a close 26-24 victory. White then dominated the Red team 25-13 and the Red team responded with a 25-17 blowout themselves.
Here are three takes on the Huskers scrimmage:
Head coach John Cook told the media that the level of competition in practice is making it hard for the five-time national champion to decide on a starting lineup for Nebraska’s first game on Thursday.
To help with his decision process, Cook had his outside hitters and middle blockers switch from team to team to try different combinations.
Lexi Sun, Madi Kubik and Ally Batenhorst are competing for the left outside hitter position and freshmen Lindsay Krause and Whitney Lauenstein are battling for the right.
Over all four sets, Sun had 16 kills on 48 attacks and two hitting errors. Kubik had 14 kills with 13 errors on 61 swings and Batenhorst has 12 kills with five errors on 35 attacks.
On 39 swings, Krause had 12 kills and nine errors on the right side. Lauenstein had 14 kills and eight errors on 35 swings.
As for the middle blockers, the race is just as tight. Veterans Callie Schwarzenbach and Kayla Caffey hit .393 and .188, respectively. Sophomore Kalynn Meyer had a strong outing with seven kills, two errors and a hitting percentage of .294.
Freshman Rylee Gray just return to practice after a ‘sore shoulder’ and Cook said he didn’t want to throw her into the scrimmage unprepared.
Senior setter Nicklin Hames and freshman libero Lexi Rodriguez were the constant core of the Red team. Hames had 32 assists and Rodriguez had 16 digs and two assists.
In the fourth set, Hames went down clutching her right ankle and was helped off the court. Setter Kennedi Orr from the White team took over setting on the Red team for the rest of the set.
On the White team, Keonilei Akana, Kenzie Knuckles and setters Anni Evans and Orr were the core athletes. Akana wore the black libero jersey instead of Knuckles who had worn it the two years prior.
Cook said Saturday’s performance matches what he has seen in practice and that he is “even more perplexed” about his starting lineup come Thursday.
Here is the lineup for each set and team:
One thing a coach never wants to happen is one of their players getting injured in a practice. Unfortunately for Cook and his team, Hames, the Huskers three-year setter, suffered an apparent right ankle injury during the fourth set.
Cook said after the scrimmage that he hadn’t talked to Hames or the trainer yet about her injury and didn’t know the extent of it. However, he did say that Hames is a ‘very tough kid’ and that her crying made him nervous the injury was serious.
Hames is a two-time captain and as a setter, the heart and soul of Nebraska’s offense. On a team with intense competition at every single position, setter was the only position with a clear starter.
And now, that position, like the others, is a mystery.
Behind Hames is Evans, who had 15 sets of game experience last season, and Orr, a freshman who hasn’t completely recovered from a knee injury but played on Saturday.
Cook said after the scrimmage that he was at a loss for words taking in the crowd on Saturday night. Devaney had been empty for almost two years and seeing it ‘full and alive again’ awed the coach.
To welcome back Husker fans after a long time apart, the Nebraska volleyball players went into the crowd and gave away an autographed volleyball to one lucky fan when their name was announced before the game.
Huskers Radio Network’s Jessica Coody hosted four live interviews with Krause, Knuckles, Batenhorst and Lauren Stivrins after each set. During her interview after the match, Stivrins held back tears talking about how much feeling the Devaney Center alive again meant to her.
The first 400 Husker fans also received a poster with NU’s motto for the season ‘Our Roots Run Deep.’
After being distant for so long, the crowd was electric with excitement for the upcoming season and grateful to support the Nebraska volleyball team again in person.
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