Nebraska Volleyball: National Championship is end of road for two legends

Nebraska volleyball will play their final match of the season, as they vie for their third National Championship in four years. This is the end of the road for seniors Mikaela Foecke and Kenzie Maloney, who will go down as two of the best ever to don Nebraska jerseys.

Where did the time go? It really feels like just yesterday when Mikaela Foecke was dominating the Texas Longhorns in the 2015 National Championship match in Omaha, which Nebraska volleyball won in a three-set sweep.

Now, here we are, three years later, and Foecke has the Cornhuskers in the same exact position: In the National Championship match contending for yet another trophy.

It’s the same story with Kenzie Maloney, who despite not being as big of a name her freshman year, played in that 2015 championship match and has certainly left her mark on Nebraska volleyball.

These two will go down as two of the best ever to play at Nebraska for many reasons. For starters, they’re 21-1 in the NCAA Tournament during their time at Nebraska. The one loss came in the semifinals in 2016 when the Huskers fell to Texas in three sets.

Another reason these two are legends is that they both have two championship rings and could very well add a third tonight. They’ve also been the first Huskers ever to reach a Final Four every year of their career.

Foecke was a star from the beginning and everyone has known her name since she was a freshman due to her dominance.

Maloney, however, became more well-known as a junior when she took over the libero duties from All-American Justine Wong-Orantes. Those were not easy shoes to fill, but Maloney made it look easy.

It wasn’t a surprise when these two were named co-captains long before the season began and they’ve been amazing leaders for this young team. It couldn’t have been easy, in their senior year, to have eight newcomers joining the team, but you never heard these two complain about that.

They took their leadership role very seriously and pushed this team to be the best they can be. During that rough stretch in October, these two continued to believe in themselves and their teammates. They taught the younger girls what it means to play Nebraska volleyball and how it’s an honor to wear those jerseys every match.

Foecke will be remembered for her dominance throughout her entire career. That performance she put on in the 2015 National Championship match was amazing and I remember thinking at the time how the next three years with her at the net were going to be really special.

Maloney’s legacy will be the fact that she was a wizard when it came to making plays. Seriously, she was EVERYWHERE on the court and made really difficult plays look easy.

This year, she made SportsCenter’s Top 10 when she ran into the sideline, crashing into chairs along the way, to keep a play alive. That’s what a lot of people will remember her for and for good reason.

Personally, my favorite Kenzie Maloney moment was one of the kills she had in the 2017 National Championship match (30 seconds into the video linked below).

In the fourth (and what ended up being the final) set, Maloney went to dig the ball and didn’t mean to send it over, but it landed in bounds for the kill. Her reaction was what made it memorable, as she just laughed and acted like she meant to do that.

This might be the final match for these two Husker legends, but Nebraska fans will always remember them. Foecke will definitely have her jersey retired, and if they win a third title, I think Maloney gets hers retired as well. I personally think her jersey should be retired either way because she’s been so good these last two years.

It’s going to be sad not having Mikaela Foecke and Kenzie Maloney around next year, but it’s been a pleasure watching them grow as athletes and as people. They’ve matured so much since their freshman season and their leadership helped propel this young team to the biggest match of the season.

It’d be awesome if they could go out as three-time National Champions, but even if they don’t, they’re still champions and all-time legends for Nebraska volleyball and nothing will ever change that.