Nebraska Volleyball’s Littles Make Big Statement Against Wisconsin

Nebraska came out victorious and earned its 14th sweep of the season and fifth consecutive sweep over the Badgers, 25-23, 25-14, 25-20. But there was more to the night than just the final score. Read on for highlights of the match.

Nebraska's Littles had a Big Night

Nebraska's outside hitters put up some of their most explosive numbers against Wisconsin, but it was the backrow defense that truly controlled the match.

As a team, the Huskers out-dug the Badgers 44-28. Senior Laney Choboy led the match with 13 digs and junior Olivia Mauch was right behind her with 12. On serve receive, the two were targeted a combined 30 times and only committed two reception errors.

Without elite passing and defense, Nebraska likely wouldn't have been able to put up their third- highest hitting percentage this year at .396 or hold Wisconsin to their conference-low .171 hitting percentage, well below their .265 average.

Senior setter Bergen Reilly praised the impact of the back row.

"Our block and our back row just suffocated them. We talked in the locker room, littles don't really score a point but they controlled that game. It's so freeing at the net or being in the back row, knowing Liv and Laney are back there; it's probably going to be up. They find ways to control the game without scoring and I don't think there's many littles in the country that can do that."

It wasn't just their backrow play, though, as both went on long service runs at the end of the second set, leading the Huskers from 13-10 to 21-12. Throughout the entire match, both Choboy and Mauch had more serve attempts (15 and 16, respectively) than anyone else on the court.

"They give me so much confidence as a coach on the sidelines...It just feels like we're gonna run a ton of points because they serve great, they dig everything, they're really intentional with their communication, just everything they're doing is just at a high level," head coach Dani Busboom Kelly said after the game.

Experience Won Out

Both Nebraska and Wisconsin are primarly developmental programs who utilize the transfer portal as needed. This year, the only new additions to the Nebraska squad are three incoming freshman. Wisconsin nabbed two players from the portal, senior outside Eva Travis and junior middle blocker Jaela August to help junior setter Charlie Fuerbringer guide a massive 10-person freshman class.

The match pitted that Nebraska experience against the Wisconsin youth and that night, the veteran presence won out. But it didn't always come easy.

Early in the first set, the Badgers went point-for-point with the Huskers and even had a slight lead midway though. But Nebraska players, who had experienced sets like that before, were able to stay composed and focused in the face of adversity.

"When we're able to execute in a long rally or a scramble play, we don't get frantic and I think that has a lot to do with being very experienced and being in this situation before," Busboom Kelly said.

This ability to stay focused was never more apparent than in the second set, when, after a 9-9 tie, Nebraska went on a signature 10-1 run that unraveled Wisconsin's offense and knocked the early confidence out of the Badgers. Led by senior Harper Murray's 8 kills, .462 efficiency, the Husker offense was nearly flawless and their defense neutralized Wisconsin, holding them to a .052 hitting efficiency off of 4 blocks and 20 digs.

The Importance of Charlie Feurbringer

The brightest spot for Wisconsin in this match was their setter and team captain, Charlie Feurbringer. She is consistently able to better nearly every ball that comes her way and against Nebraska, she racked up 29 assists on 81 attempts. In the third set, she led her team to a .323 hitting efficiency spread across five different hitters.

Feurbringer was not only a floor general but was also the Badger's most efficient offensive weapon across the entire getting 5 kills on 7 attempts with zero errors. She had a team-high 7 digs, proving that she was wiling and able to do whatever was required to keep her team in long points.

Feurbringer has already proven herself an elite setter throughout her career but has kicked her skills up another notch by adjusting her sets to every hitter's preference. Despite the sweep, her play Saturday night should give Badgers fans faith that this team could make a deep post-season run and will be set up to be a nightmare in years to come.

Barring any upsets, both teams will likely win out the rest of their regular season, setting up a potential rematch in the inaugural Big Ten Tournament in November.