Nebraska Volleyball: Scrimmage provides first glimpse of 2020 squad

Nebraska volleyball participated in a scrimmage on Thursday evening and it was the first time fans got to see the Huskers in action since last December.

Normally this time of year, Nebraska volleyball is racking up the wins and on their way to either winning the Big Ten Conference or at least making some noise in the tournament. Due to the coronavirus, most fall sports were pushed back to the spring in the Big Ten, and volleyball was included in that bunch.

On Thursday, Nebraska live-streamed their Red/White scrimmage held in an empty Bob Devaney Center (which was a very weight sight) and thousands of Husker volleyball fans tuned in to watch the 2020 team in action. The red team was made up of the starters (if the season started today) while the white team was made up of everyone else along with some of the student assistants. The red team won all three sets, which isn’t surprising, but scrimmages aren’t about who wins, it’s about getting the team on the court together and getting them into some sort of a rhythm.

One of the most notable things was that senior outside hitter Lexi Sun was nowhere to be found. John Baylor, the voice of Nebraska volleyball, mentioned that she was unavailable and that was all we were told about her absence from the scrimmage. Sophomore Riley Zuhn played in Sun’s spot and it was noted that she’ll likely have a bigger role for the Huskers this year.

Another notable thing from the scrimmage was that junior middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach was not included on the red team (made up of presumed starters). This was bizarre considering that Schwarzenbach has started during her first two seasons at Nebraska, but the commentators (made up of Baylor, former Nebraska volleyball player Lauren Cook West, and head coach John Cook) noted that there’s a lot more competition at middle blocker this year.

With COVID-19 putting a damper in a lot of teams’ plans this year, Cook mentioned that everyone on the team can redshirt this year if they want to, giving them an extra year of eligibility. This means that the seniors can return for one more year if they’d like to, but Cook explained that this is more complicated than it appears, as the university still has to give those players scholarships and pay for them.

If someone like Lauren Stivrins takes the offer to red shirt this year, next season would be her sixth season with the program. She redshirted back in 2016 and therefore her eligibility didn’t begin until 2017. It’d be nice to have players like Stivrins, Sun, and Jazz Sweet back again for the 2021 season, but just because the offer is there doesn’t mean these players will take it. They might go pro or go to a “traditional” job after graduation.

Speaking of Sweet, she spent a considerable amount of time in the back row during the scrimmage, which is something we haven’t seen from her during her time with the Huskers. She always had a sub come in for her and then would re-enter the match when that sub was about to reach the front row. Playing in the back row means Sweet would be playing defense and serving as well, two new things for Sweet.

Four new players made their debuts as Cornhuskers on Thursday and two of them got a chance to play with the presumed starters. Kalynn Meyer and Keonilei Akana were on the red team while Kayla Caffey and Anni Evans played on the white team. Meyer received high praise from the commentators and looks to be a solid option to have at the net this year.

I know it was just a scrimmage, but it sure was nice to have volleyball on my screen again. The season won’t begin until Jan. 22 with the championship hopefully taking place in April and Omaha is still the destination for the National Championship, which the Huskers are hoping to be playing in.

Here’s to hoping the volleyball season can safely get underway in two months and that the Cornhuskers have another season for the ages!