Nebraska Volleyball roster loaded for next two years
Nebraska volleyball had their first practice of the season this past Saturday and that officially marks the beginning of college volleyball season! The Huskers are in a unique situation this year, not having any seniors on their team.
The last time we saw the Nebraska Cornhuskers in action on the volleyball court, they lost in five sets to Stanford in the National Championship game. While the loss was a bummer, Nebraska had won two of the previous three titles and were well on their way to a third title in four years had it not been for some questionable calls and bad serves.
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Instead, Nebraska will have to “settle” for two rings in four years, but fans of this program know that winning another title isn’t only entirely possible this year, but in 2020 as well. Why’s that, you ask? Well, because the Huskers roster is packed with underclassmen. In fact, there’s not a single senior on the current roster.
Nebraska had just one junior on their roster last year, an international transfer named Mari Kurkova from Czech Republic. Kurkova opted not to return for her senior season, so the Huskers are now without a single senior on their 2019 roster, which is a rare situation, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The biggest challenge for this team in 2019 will be the losses of Mikaela Foecke and Kenzie Maloney to graduation. Fortunately, the Huskers found two excellent replacements in freshmen Madi Kubik and Kenzie Knuckles, both of whom could find themselves in starting roles in Lincoln this year.
Having just these two enter the program would suffice for most, but Nebraska didn’t stop there when it came to bringing in underclassmen. Here are the other incoming freshmen joining the Cornhuskers this year:
- Emma Gabel (Defensive Specialist/Libero)
- Nicole Drewnick (Setter)
- Fallon Stutheit (Middle Blocker)
- Riley Zuhn (Outside Hitter)
While these four might not see the court much in 2019 (or even 2020), they’ll be vital pieces after the big names like Lauren Stivrins, Lexi Sun, and Jazz Sweet graduate after next season. They’ll get plenty of time to learn on the sidelines and cheer on their teammates and that kind of experience can’t be understated.
When looking at the potential starting lineup for 2019 and probably 2020 as well, you’re looking at Nicklin Hames as the setter, Stivrins and Callie Schwarzenbach as the middle blockers, Megan Miller as the libero, Kubik, Sun, and Sweet as the outside hitters, and Knuckles as a defensive specialist. That’s quite the lineup right there and one that will be working and growing together not only this year, but next year as well.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone by this point considering how dominant Nebraska Volleyball has been over the last several years, but this is definitely a team that could vie for a fifth straight Final Four appearance and third straight shot at a National Championship.
Go Big Red!