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Nebraska Volleyball's All-Quarter-Century Team

Originally posted on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI
By Kaleb Henry | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 8:00 AM ET

There have been 25 seasons of Nebraska volleyball in the 2000s.

The Huskers have won four national titles and 14 conference titles over this time. They've also been in the National Semifinals 12 times and notched 72 AVCA All-America honors. In 25 seasons, Nebraska had just a single season with double-digit losses, helping the total record come to 722-103 over that time period.

All of that winning came under one coach: John Cook. While this is officially the All-Quarter-Century Team, there is a case for calling this the All-John Cook Team.

Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

This quarter century has also seen the sellout streak for Husker volleyball grow to 337 consecutive home matches. Not just longevity, but singular attendance has been a hallmark of the program for the past 25 years. Nebraska was involved in 17 of the top 25 most-attended college volleyball matches, including nine of the top 10. The No. 1 overall spot is Volleyball Day in Nebraska, which saw a women's sport world record of 92,003 in Memorial Stadium.

With the help of experts, below is the All-Quarter-Century Team for Nebraska volleyball.

Outside Hitter Jordan Larson, 2005-08

Larson helped Nebraska achieve a trio of National Semifinal appearances, including a 2006 run that culminated in a national title. That season saw Larson earn her first of three All-America honors, as she was named to the first team then and in 2008.

During her senior season, Larson was named the Big 12 Player of the Year. She also earned her second Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honor and made her second NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.

Larson remains a staple in the Nebraska record books. She holds the No. 6 and 7 spots for single-steason kills in the rally scoring era. Larson is also sixth for career kills (all-time), third for career kills (rally scoring), second for career kills per set (rally scoring), eighth for single-season aces (all time), first in career aces, and is tied with herself for the top spot in single-season aces during the rally scoring era.

Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Netwo

Outside Hitter Mikaela Foecke, 2015-18

Nebraska made the national semifinals every season that Foecke played, winning a pair of national titles in the process. During both of those national championships, she was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player.

A two-time AVCA All-American, Foecke earned first-team honors in 2018. That same year, she was named the Best Female Athlete at Nebraska across all sports.

Only two Huskers have ever had more kills in rally scoring match than Foecke's 27 against Stanford in 2018. That season saw her finish with the third-most kills in a rally-scoring season. Foecke also ranks third in career kills (all-time), second in career kills (rally scoring), fifth in single-season aces (rally scoring), seventh in career aces (all-time) and fourth in career aces (rally scoring).

Opposite Hitter Sarah Pavan, 2004-07

Pavan helped the Huskers win four straight Big 12 titles, make the National Semifinals twice, and win the 2006 national championship. She was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player in taking Nebraska to its third national title in program history.

A four-time AVCA first-team All-American, Pavan was the 2006 AVCA Player of the Year. At the conference level, she was a three-time Big 12 Player of the Year. In 2006-07, Pavan was named the and the Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year.

No Husker in history was used in the attack more than Pavan. She is No. 1 for most single-match attacks (all-time) and career attackes (all-time). All of those swings were put to good use, as she's the program record holder for career kills (all-time), holds the top three spots for single-season kills per set (rally scoring), the top spot for single-season kills (all-time), is second for single-season kills (all-time), and holds the record for single-season kills (rally scoring). Pavan is the only Husker in the rally scoring era to eclipse 30 kills in a match, something she did twice.

Yukihito Taguchi-Imagn Images

Middle Blocker Melissa Elmer, 2002-05

Elmer powered Nebraska to a trio of Big 12 titles and an appearance in the 2005 National Semifinals. While the team success was solid, her individual statistics are outstanding.

A three-time AVCA All-American, Elmer owned Big 12 records for career blocks (767), career block assists (697), as well as single-year marks for blocks (250) and block assists (233). She was the first player to lead the country in blocks in consecutive seasons (2004-05).

Elmer is Nebraska's all-time blocks leader, while also holding the records for career blocks per set (rally scoring), single-season blocks per set, single-season blocks, and the top three spots for single-match blocks in the rally scoring era. Offensively, she is fourth for career attack percentage (rally scoring) and is ninth for career kills (rally scoring).

Middle Blocker Lauren Stivrins, 2016-21

No Husker played in more postseason matches than Stivrins, who saw action in 24 over her five years in Lincoln. She appeared in three National Semifinals, helping the team to two runner-ups and the 2017 national title.

A three-time All-American, Stivrins was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team in 2018. She was also a first-team All-Big Ten selection four times.

Stivrins ranks highly for career blocks, both all-time (5) and rally scoring (3). Offensively, she is the top Husker in the rally scoring era for attack percentage, while sitting fourth all-time. Her .468 attack percentage in 2020 is the second-best season in program history. She is seventh for rally scoring career kills and 14th all-time.

Setter Kelly (Hunter) Natter, 2013-17

After splitting time in a 6-2 offense and then redshirting, Hunter put together one of the best three-season runs in program history. With her running the offense, the Huskers made a trio of National Semifinals and won a pair of national titles, winning the Big Ten twice for good measure.

A two-time All-American, Hunter made a pair of NCAA Championship All-Tournament Teams and was named 2017's Most Outstanding Player. Also in 2017, she earned Big Ten Setter of the Year honors, while PrepVolleyball.com and VolleyballMob.com both had her as their national player of the year.

Hunter ranks highly for career assists, sitting third all-time and second in the rally scoring era. Her 2015 season ranks No. 8 for single-season assists (all-time), No. 2 for single-season assists (rally scoring), and No. 6 for single-season assists per set (rally scoring).

Libero Lexi Rodriguez, 2021-24

The most recent Husker on this list to have played, Rodriguez anchored Nebraska to a trio of National Semifinals and a pair of title match appearances.

A four-time All-American, Rodriguez won the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year award three times. The 2021 AVCA National Freshman of the Year would go on to win the AAU Sullivan Award, while also taking home honors as Nebraska's Most Outstanding Female Student-Athlete and Female Athlete of the Year.

Rodriguez finished her career as the school's all-time career leader in digs with 1,897. She owns two of the top 10 seasons for digs and is fourth for career digs per set. Besides the all-time digs record, Rodriguez also has the most postseason digs in program history.