Nebraska Volleyball: Future looks bright for Huskers despite early exit

By Leigh Oleszczak | Dec 15, 2019

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 13: Nicklin Hames #1 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers dives for a dig against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the Division I Women's Volleyball Semifinals held at the Target Center on December 13, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /

Nebraska volleyball fell to the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday in a three set sweep, ending their season. It’s the first time since 2014 that the Huskers haven’t made the Final Four. Despite the early exit, Nebraska’s future is bright.

Nebraska volleyball might not have made it past the Elite Eight this year, but it’s hard to be too upset with this team considering all of the success they’ve had in recent years. They won a National Championship in 2015 and again in 2017 while making it to the Final Four in both 2016 and 2018, and being the National Runners Up in 2018.

In other words, we’ve been pretty spoiled as Nebraska volleyball fans. An early exit this year isn’t the end of the world because this team is stacked heading into 2020.

Nebraska was in a unique situation this year, as they didn’t have a single senior on their roster for the 2019 season. This means they’ll have virtually the same roster in 2020 as they did this season and we all saw how good this team was in 2019.

More from Nebraska Cornhuskers News

Having the same group of players returning next year means that they’ll have another offseason to work together and improve on the things that they struggled with this year. That’s crucial moving forward.

With no seniors graduating from this team, that means all of the starters will remain the same, barring something unusual like an injury or someone transferring. The starters for Nebraska’s match against Wisconsin were as of follows (with their 2019 class in parenthesis):

Nicklin Hames, Setter (Sophomore)
Kenzie Knuckles, Libero (Freshman)
Megan Miller, Defensive Specialist (Sophomore)
Madi Kubik, Outside Hitter (Freshman)
Lexi Sun, Outside Hitter (Junior)
Callie Schwarzenbach, Middle Blocker (Sophomore)
Lauren Stivrins, Middle Blocker (Junior)

Jazz Sweet, who is a junior this year, should also be back in 2020 and she was huge for the Huskers in the postseason. Hayley Densberger, another junior, will return as a defensive specialist, giving the Huskers another defender and good server to help them for another season.

It was incredibly frustrating to not be able to take a set from Wisconsin all season long, but hopefully that’s a kick in the butt for this group moving forward. They’ve had a year to work together and aren’t losing anyone from their starting core (again – barring something unusual), which will give them a chance to come back stronger next year.

Yes, Nebraska more than likely will lose some bench players, but that’s to be expected. They’ve had at least two players transfer in each of the last two offseasons, meaning it shouldn’t come a a surprise if a few of players opt to aim for a starting job with another program. That’s a conversation for another day though.

Even if a few people decide to leave the program, Nebraska signed three recruits last month, who can step in and fill the gaps where needed.

Next. Volleyball Roster Loaded Moving Forward. dark

For now, let’s appreciate how good this team did despite being incredibly young and look forward to what the 2020 season has in store for our fearless volleyball squad!

Go Big Red!

Home/Nebraska Cornhuskers News