Nebraska volleyball’s first day of practice observations
Nebraska volleyball’s first day of fall practice was on Tuesday, Aug. 8 and they kicked it off with two practices on Tuesday.
The Huskers focused on blocking during the afternoon session while passing and serving were a big emphasis in the morning session.
The players worked on hitting and footwork for twenty minutes before playing 6-on-6 in a few specific rotations. Then they went scrimmaged with Maisie Boesiger, Hayden Kubik and graduate assistants on one side.
Here are notes and observations from Nebraska’s second practice on the preseason:
Notes and Observations:
***Setter Kennedi Orr didn’t practice during the afternoon but did this morning. She did work out with Nebraska’s strength and conditioning coach. The junior ran some cones then ran down the courts a couple of times.
It is unknown whether she tweaked something at practice this morning or if Nebraska’s staff decided five hours of practice would be too much for her knee.
***Freshman Bergen Reilly was the only setter available at Nebraska’s practice. He gained some great experience setting during each drill and scrimmage.
To warm up, she set a basketball and a medicine ball.
Reilly did a great job of running Nebraska’s offense. While the Huskers were working on diversifying their offense, Head Coach John Cook told Reilly to run the offense. She did a great job of picking different players and different positions along the net.
The 6-foot-1 freshman had some great serves. Most of them bottom out and float down quickly. During the drills where they served at cones, Reilly nailed a couple and got very close several times.
Reilly pulled off back-to-back setter dumps and went for two different locations on the court. After a few more plays she called her number again for another kill.
She even came away with a few big blocks.
***Speaking of big blocks, sophomore Maggie Mendelson was on fire during Tuesday’s afternoon practice. She had many big blocks including teaming up with Ally Batenhorst and then slide over to block with Merritt Beason on the next play.
She also had some big kills including right down the middle, on the slide and over closer to the left pin.
***Freshman Andi Jackson showed off her quick arm and blocking. As a freshman, she required some instruction but Nebraska volleyball assistant coach Jaylen Reyes praised her during the drills.
Just like all of Nebraska’s middles, Jackson had some huge hits and blocks.
After one particularly strong hit off the block, a returning graduate assistant told the new GAs, “Welcome to Nebraska, boys.”
***Ally Batenhorst stood out during Nebraska’s serving and hitting drills where hitting cones/areas was the focus. She drilled several cones while serving then hit a multiple while hitting.
Her full-power swing had a little extra zing on Tuesday. Batenhorst has a great eye for tip/jam opportunities.
She had a massive solo block in the middle of the court, shutting down a GA.
***Nebraska volleyball’s left-side hitters trained equally until the scrimmage period. Hayden Kubik passed in the back row during the scrimmage. Batenhorst, Krause and Murray rotated playing on the left side with the No. 1 team.
Krause has a very powerful swing and had her serve dialed in on Tuesday, also hitting a few cones. The junior had good accuracy during the hitting the cone drill. Her serve hit cones a few times making a loud noise that echoed through the gym.
Murray’s athleticism is obvious. She did a great job moving quickly from blocking outside to inside. The freshman floats in the air while blocking and hitting.
All three did a nice job passing and were definitely challenged with the drills as each passer was.
***Opposite Merritt Beason had several great digs. She flies through the air going for kills and looks like a blurry. Her down-the-line shot is lethal.
Freshman opposite Caroline Jurevicius has a strong, quick arm. The ball rockets off her hand. She had many huge kills during the scrimmage portion.
Beason and Jurevicius rotated at opposite then Beason played with the first team.
***Having an All-American setter as a GA has come in handy for the Huskers. Former Nebraska volleyball setter Nicklin Hames set during many drills and was the B team setter during the scrimmages.
***Nebraska took a quick break in the middle of practice for a water and a breathing exercise. Cook had the players focus on their breathing for one minute before returning to practice.
The post Nebraska volleyball’s first day of practice observations appeared first on On3.
