Nebraska Volleyball strives to build on most efficient offense in six seasons
Nebraska Volleyball recorded its most efficient offense in six seasons during the 2023 season. With a freshman setter and no seniors, the Huskers hit .273, its highest hitting percentage since 2017. Setter Kelly Hunter led NU to a .282 clip and the 2017 national championship title.
Now, Hunter is in her third year as an assistant coach for Nebraska. As the setter’s coach, she is diving into film of the best volleyball offenses at every level. The former Husker setter is searching for ways to improve the Huskers’ offense even more and elevate their setters.
Hunter and NU’s two setters honed in on improving each aspect of Nebraska’s offense last off-season. While the adjustments are less this spring, there are improvements and fine-tuning to be made after a strong year.
“Not necessarily certain plays or running new sets or anything, reinventing the wheel there, but just what tempos are we going? What kind of patterns are we running? What back-row attack are we running?” Hunter said at a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce event on April 10.
“I think we can fine-tune from last year, whereas we had this new group who was thrown into college and had a great job and performed super well for a very long time throughout the season. It’s maybe not changing, but like attention to detail on specific things that we know we needed to improve from last year.”
Enhancing Nebraska’s offense starts with their setter, who is coming off a phenomenal freshman season.
Reilly’s goals after a fantastic freshman campaign
The Huskers started true freshman Bergen Reilly in 2023. She averaged 10.51 assists per set, leading the team to 12.84 assists per set. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native was an AVCA Second Team All-American, a First Team All-Big Ten honor and the Big Ten Setter of the Year.
Although her resume is already littered with awards, Reilly always strives to improve.
“I challenged her on Monday like, “Hey, you’re not just a setter, we got to play defense, we got to block, we got to be one of the best servers on the team,” Hunter said. “Those are her goals for the spring. One of them is to be the top one of the top three servers.
“She’s got a great base for offense. She’s incredibly gifted with her decision making and her choices and just her ability to put the ball in the right spot. So fine-tuning that and then being a really, really good all-around player is her overall evolution. Then just commanding the court. Your setter has to be your person who’s your quarterback and running the show, and being good.”
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Becoming a critical leader on a team full of them can be difficult. Especially with two-time captains Lexi Rodriguez and Merritt Beason returning. However, Reilly wants to and is capable of being someone her teammates look to for guidance.
The 6-foot-1 setter was a strong communicator with her hitters and teammates last season. However, Hunter said her nature is to be quieter, so her interactions weren’t easy to notice.
“The next step is being a little bit more of that person that people look to,” Hunter said. “Obviously, Merritt and Lexi are captains and people look to them quite often. But just being a setter, I think the setter has to take on that role. But she has expressed that that’s what she wants. That’s the challenge that she’s ready for. And she wants to run the show and I agree with her. There are not as many nerves or maybe second-guessing things now when something happens.”
Reilly and four other current Huskers were of the 20 players selected for the USA Volleyball U21 Women’s National Team. After the training camp from June 14-22 in Anaheim, Calif., 12 players will be selected for the 2024 U21 Women’s NORCECA Continental Championship in Toronto, Canada from June 23 to July 1.
Assuming Reilly makes the team, it will be an incredible opportunity to practice her vocal leadership.
Orr carves out important role
Senior setter Kennedi Orr carved out an important role in 2023. As the backup setter, she was a serving substitute for the majority of the season. Her back-row defense is solid and she went on many long serving runs with seven aces. And if needed, she is a great secondary setter.
The 6-foot-0 setter embraced her role and ability to be a “game changer”. She has become one of the many leaders on Nebraska’s squad.
“Kenna is a great role model and example of what it means to be a Nebraska volleyball player. She comes in every day, she still works hard to get better,” Hunter said. “She knows exactly what she needs to work on, and what she needs to be better at. And she also is a great leader on our team.
“You have, on teams your captains who are your leaders, and then you also have those people who just are leaders. So for her, it’s really cool to see her even though she doesn’t have this title of Captain or last year, she wasn’t the starting center, but she was able to still bring people along with her and to raise the level of practice and to be competitive.”
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Orr’s career was deeply impacted by a major knee injury during her senior season at Eagan (Minn.) High School. While her career at Nebraska hasn’t been how anyone pictured it, she has created a pivotal role and done it with a smile on her face.
“She’s just really settled in and figured out her balance and what makes her happy and how she can be the best version of herself every day,” her coach said. “So it’s really cool to come in and see her personality, how it’s changed and the excitement that she has every single day.”
Nebraska Volleyball will show off their spring efforts during their Spring Exhibition match against Denver on May 4 at the Nebraska-Kearney Health and Sports Center.
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