Kenzie Knuckles’ value, Texas’ first loss and what keeps Nebraska in a two-setter rotation

As a part-time player for the Nebraska volleyball team, senior defensive specialist Kenzie Knuckles doesn’t fill up a stat sheet like Madi Kubik or Whitney Lauenstein does.

But her value remains high inside the Husker locker room.

“I’ve told the team a couple of times after matches that she was our MVP with some plays she’s made,” Nebraska coach John Cook said on Thursday during the Nebraska volleyball radio show. “We talk about the backcourt winning matches and points for us, and she’s somebody who can do that.”

Knuckles ranks third on the team in digs with 113, helping Nebraska become the No. 1 defense in the nation. She also has 12 ace serves.

“Kenzie Knuckles has a big role on our team, and we purposely try to start in the rotation to get her in the match as much as possible,” Cook said. “So we start with her at right-back, which is going to give her three times through (the rotation). She will usually come through again. We’re trying to get her to play and be in there as much as we can. I think she’s a tremendous middle back defensive player. We’re great point scoring in her rotation when she serves”

On the road to Illinois: Nebraska plays its only match of the season against Illinois on Saturday in a 6 p.m. match on Big Ten Network. The Illini (9-10, 4-5 Big Ten) are in need of wins to give themselves a chance to make the NCAA Tournament.

Outside hitter Raina Terry ranks fourth in the Big Ten in kills. And the Illini don’t sub out their outside hitters in the back row as many college teams do.

“They don’t sub out, everybody plays and they go all the way around,” Cook said. “That would be fun to play on that team because you get to play the whole time. That’s pretty cool. I’d love to have a team that we could do that on.”

Set the middle: The volleyball version of football fans’ plea to run the ball is for the setter to set the middle blockers more.

Nebraska did a better job of that during Wednesday’s sweep of No. 12 Purdue, with middle blockers Bekka Allick and Kaitlyn Hord combing for 17 kills on 26 attempts.

Of course, if you set the middle a lot, the defense will focus more of its attention there.

“(Setting the middle blocker is) a little riskier, but it’s a greater reward,” Cook said. “Sometimes if they miss it looks bad. If you throw it high up there to the outsides and they mess up it’s not the setter’s fault.”

Two-setter rotation best for now: Nebraska has settled into a two-setter rotation with Nicklin Hames and Anni Evans, with Kennedi Orr also having a chance to play.

If Hames, Evans or Orr were playing at a first-team All-American level, Cook would have to decide whether or not the 6-2 offense was the best lineup, even with Nebraska’s depth of outside and right-side hitters helping its offense stay balanced and the defense tough to score on.

“To run a 5-1 you have to have a great setter who can make the hitters better,” Cook said. “We’ve used three setters this year, and we haven’t found that setter yet. So if you have enough outside hitters to run 6-2 then that’s your next option, and that’s what we’ve gravitated toward. So that’s where we’re at. And we’ll stay with it and if one of the setters emerges and can make those hitters better and run a little cleaner system then we’d have no problem going back to a 5-1.”

It’s been a pretty unique season for Nebraska. With the 6-2 offense, and because of players missing matches due to injury or illness, all 14 players on the roster have played in at least three matches.

“Nobody can complain like, ‘You never gave me a chance,’” Cook said. “Or, ‘I don’t ever get to play.’ We’re playing more players than we ever have.”

No. 1 Texas drops first match: Unranked Iowa State beat No. 1 Texas in five sets (15-10 in the fifth) on Wednesday in Ames, Iowa. Texas had been the final remaining team in NCAA Division I that hadn’t lost a match this season. Iowa State, coached by former Husker Christy Johnson-Lynch, improved to 12-7.

“That’s a heck of a win,” Cook said. “That’s a signature win. It’s as big as Tennessee beating Alabama in football, in the volleyball world. A lot of people thought Texas was going to run the table and go undefeated to the NCAA Tournament and they would walk through (the Big 12 Conference).”

Still pushing: Nebraska (17-1, 9-0 Big Ten) has gone more than one month without a loss, winning 10 straight. Each of the last five matches has been sweeps, with Nebraska winning 16 consecutive sets.

But Cook keeps reminding the players how much better they can get.

“We won 3-0 at Purdue, but we had several breakdowns,” he said. “So (Thursday’s video session) was showing them several great plays that they made, but also showing them here is about six points that we just gave away. We got to be better as we go down the stretch here.”

Worth quoting: “Ask Kelsey Robinson and Jordan Larson. They’ll tell you (the Devaney Sports Center is) one of the best places to play in the world. And those guys have played in a lot of gyms.” — Cook.