Laney Choboy is at the top of the world with the Nebraska volleyball team. However, things haven’t always been that rosy for the star defensive specialist and libero.
The senior from North Carolina’s biggest struggles were health issues when she was in high school. Choboy underwent double labrum surgery in her hips, and as she was recovering from that, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
Speaking to Hail Varsity, Choboy told the publication that she thinks those issues made her a strong person in the long run. “I think that having to come out of that really shaped my future, and knowing that if I can deal with all of those things in high school, then I know I can deal with things in college, or other things,” Choboy explained. “I know that I have the will to fight until I can’t anymore.”
With Nebraska, the challenges have been more mental than physical. She’s been healthy for the most part since coming to Lincoln, but she’s had to learn how to play a position she hasn’t always been totally comfortable with. She’s had to do that while playing for one of the best programs in the sport. She also did that with a program that has had the spotlight shining on it at full blast since she’s been a Husker.
Laney Choboy explains how adversity prepared her for Nebraska volleyball pressure
“Learning how to be a D.S. and how to come off the court and come on and still be mentally as tough as I was as if I was playing the whole time is really difficult,” Choboy said. “I think that I learned so much my first two years by not being on the court. I saw it from a different perspective, and I think that it just changed the way that I looked at volleyball, and how appreciative I was of certain things.”
As a junior, Choboy started 22 matches at libero, playing defensive specialist in the other 12. She led the Huskers in digs, averaging 2.71 per set, and serves received with a .935 reception percentage on 501 attempts. She dominated every role she was asked to take on.
Like many of the stars of the Nebraska volleyball team in the last four years, Choboy also had plenty of offers to go elsewhere. Perhaps it was because of her innate ability to handle stress and make tough decisions that she stayed in Lincoln and is now looking to make yet another run at a national title.
Choboy said that it definitely wasn’t easy for her to decide to stick around considering some of the offers that came in. She added that she believes what helped her decide to stay at Nebraska is that she really likes being pushed and made to think about where she is in her life. She’s also quite proud that when she was pushed and there was even a pull to leave Lincoln, she stayed true and will be around to hopefully finish the job.
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