NEB VB: at No. 16 Penn State & Maryland Preview & Notes
Thursday, Oct. 1 – No. 1 Nebraska at No. 16 Penn State
First Serve: 6 p.m. CT
TV/Streaming: BTN/FoxSports
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers App, Huskers Radio Network
Saturday, Oct. 3 – No. 1 Nebraska at Maryland
First Serve: 6 p.m. CT
TV/Streaming: None/B1G+
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers App, Huskers Radio Network
Follow the Match
• Thursday’s match at No. 16 Penn State can be seen on BTN, with Jason Knapp and Emily Ehman on the call.
• Nebraska’s match at Maryland on Saturday will be streamed live on B1G+.
• Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations, on Huskers.com and on the Huskers App.
Nebraska vs. Penn State
• Through 43 all-time meetings, Nebraska holds a 30-13 lead in the series against Penn State.
• The Huskers went 2-0 against the Nittany Lions last season after Penn State knocked off the Big Red in the NCAA Semifinal match in 2024.
Nebraska vs. Maryland
• Nebraska holds a dominant 21-1 advantage through all-time matchups with Maryland.
• The Huskers have won 21 consecutive matches against the Terrapins after Maryland picked up a 2-0 win against NU in their first all-time meeting in 1975.
Huskers At No. 1 in Latest AVCA Poll
• The Nebraska volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll released on Sept. 28.
• The Huskers collected 1,556 points in the poll and came in ahead of No. 2 Pitt (1,531), No. 3 Kentucky (1,441), No. 4 Louisville (1,367) and No. 5 SMU (1,316). Nebraska got 44 first-place votes, followed by Pitt with the remaining 19.
• It marks Nebraska’s 129th week all-time at No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the most of any program in the nation.
Huskers Off to 13-0 Start for The 12th Time
• With a 13-0 start, the Huskers have posted an unbeaten record through the first 13 matches of a season for the 12th time in program history.
• This is the first time the Big Red have recorded consecutive 13-0 starts since a four-season run from 2005-08.
•Of the 12 seasons with an 13-0 start, 10 have reached an unblemished mark through 15 matches.
DBK Nearing 4th-Fastest to Win No. 250 All-Time
• With a win at No. 16 Penn State or Maryland this week, Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly will become the fourth-fastest coach to reach 250 all-time Division I wins in women’s college volleyball history, per records on the NCAA site.
• Entering the week, Busboom Kelly is 249-45 in 10 seasons as a head coach after going 203-44 in eight seasons at Louisville and 46-1 in her second season with the Huskers.
• In 2024, Heather Olmstead reached 250 career wins in her 292nd match to become the fastest coach to 250 all-time wins. Dave Shoji and Andy Banachowski both reached the 250-win mark in their 293rd career match during the 1983 and 1978 seasons, respectively.
• Busboom Kelly would become the second-fastest female head coach to 250 career wins in women’s volleyball, trailing only Olmstead.
Road Warriors: 20 Straight Away From Home
• Nebraska has a 20-match win streak in road and neutral-site matches, which is tied for 15th all-time in NCAA history and is the 20th all-time streak of 20-or-more victories.
• The Huskers’ current win streak is the longest nationally since UNI’s string of 29 straight wins in 2010-11.
• The 20-match win streak is Nebraska’s third-longest in school history, trailing streaks of 29 victories in 1994-96 and 26 wins in 2002-03.
NU Rides 44-Match Regular-Season Win Streak
• Nebraska is on a 44-match regular-season winning streak that dates back to the 2024 season, which is the second-longest regular-season winning streak in program history in the NCAA era (since 1981).
• The Huskers finished the 2024 regular season with a win at Maryland before finishing the 2025 regular season a perfect 30-0, the third perfect regular season in program history (1994, 2000). Nebraska has started the 2026 season with 13 straight wins.
• Nebraska’s last regular-season loss came on Nov. 29, 2024 at No. 4 Penn State. The Huskers’ win streak is the third in program history over 40 matches, joining streaks from 1999-2001 and 2004-05.
• In the NCAA era, the Big Red have 15 streaks of at least 20 regular-season wins and six of 30-plus.
• Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly also recorded a 43-match regular-season winning streak at Louisville that spanned the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Jackson Earns Big Ten, National Accolades
• Nebraska senior middle blocker Andi Jackson was named AVCA Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week after helping Nebraska go 3-0 last week.
• Jackson’s all-around performance led the top-ranked Huskers to a 3-0 week against Missouri, Rutgers and Ohio State. On the week, the senior averaged 3.33 kills per set and 1.56 blocks per set.
• Jackson was one of three players nationally with at least 30 kills and 14 blocks last week after totaling 30 kills on .578 hitting in 45 swings while adding 14 blocks on the defensive end to help the NU defense hold opponents to a .048 hitting percentage.
• On Wednesday, Jackson tallied 10 kills without an error on 15 swings and matched a season high with six blocks in Nebraska’s sweep of Missouri. The senior posted a season-high 14 kills on .632 hitting and added four blocks in the Huskers’ sweep of Rutgers. Jackson recorded six kills and four blocks in Nebraska’s sweep against Ohio State on Saturday.
• Jackson is Nebraska’s first AVCA National Player of the Week since Rebekah Allick on Aug. 27, 2025.
Busboom Kelly vs. Ranked Opponents
• Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly is 59-28 against ranked opponents in her 10 seasons as a head coach at Louisville and Nebraska.
•At Nebraska, Busboom Kelly is 17-1 against ranked foes in two seasons after going 13-1 last season and holding a 4-0 mark vs. ranked teams in 2026.
• Busboom Kelly totaled a 29-13 record vs. ranked opponents in her final three seasons at Louisville before joining Nebraska in 2025.
Big Red Response Under DBK
• Nebraska has dropped 13 combined sets in the last two seasons and is 10-2 in the following set under Busboom Kelly.
• In those 12 following sets, the Huskers are hitting at a prolific pace of .372 with 163 kills and 38 errors in 336 swings.
• Defensively, the Big Red are stifling the opponents to a .153 hitting percentage after a set loss and have forced 72 errors across 385 swings.
Reilly Climbing All-Time Assists Chart
• With 4,111 career assists, senior Bergen Reilly is 15 away from surpassing Kelly Hunter for third all-time in program history.
• Nicklin Hames (2018-22) holds the program record with 5,086 career assists, followed by Fiona Nepo (1995-98) with 4,824.
• Reilly is 15 assists away from climbing to second in program history in the rally-scoring era, trailing only Hames.
NU’s Race to the Red Zone
• Nebraska is 135-0 in sets under head coach Dani Busboom Kelly when reaching the red zone (20 points) first.
• The Huskers are 39-0 when reaching the red zone first in 2026 after posting a 96-0 mark last season.
NU’s Two-Way Dominance
• After leading the country in hitting percentage and opposing hitting percentage last season, Nebraska became the first team to finish first nationally in both categories since at least 2014, the NCAA’s first season tracking opposing hitting percentages.
• The Husker offense hit at a school-record pace of .351 and hit over .400 in nine matches last season, which is a school record in the rally-scoring era.
• The NU defense has led the nation in opponent hitting percentage three times in the last four seasons (2022, 2023 and 2025) after limiting opponents to a pace of .129 in 2025.
• Through 13 matches, Nebraska leads the country with an opposing hitting percentage of .078. The Huskers have held eight of their 13 opponents under .100 hitting this season, including two below .000.
• As of Tuesday, Nebraska is the only team in the country holding its opponents under .100 hitting. Lehigh ranks No. 2 nationally in opposing hitting percentage at .118.
• The Huskers are hitting .319 as a team this season, which ranks second nationally. Nebraska is one of nine teams in the country hitting over .300 as a team.
• With Nebraska’s hit percentage of .319 and opposing clip of .078, the Huskers own a margin of +.241 to lead the country. NU is the only team in the country above +.200 and one of four teams with a margin of +.150 or better.
Acing the Test Through First Five Weeks
• Nebraska has recorded 83 service aces through 13 matches after totaling a program-record 70 aces in the first 10 matches of the season.
• The 70 aces surpass the previous high of 67 set in 2002, followed by 65 in 2003, 64 in 2018 and 63 in 2000.
• Additionally, the Big Red are one of five P4 programs to post a point differential greater than +45 at the service line as of Tuesday.
Big Red on the Run
• Nebraska has recorded 39 runs of five-plus unanswered points through 13 matches this season, highlighted by a season-long streak of 12 against FGCU and 10 consecutive points vs. No. 2 Texas and New Mexico.
• The Huskers have scored five consecutive points on 22 occasions, six straight points eight times, a seven-point streak three times, two eight-point runs, a nine-point streak and three runs of 10-or-more points.
NU Offense Racking Up .400 Sets in Last Two Seasons
• As of Tuesday, Nebraska ranks second nationally with a .319 hitting percentage. The Big Red have hit .300 or greater in all but four matches this season.
• Against Rutgers in the Big Ten opener last week, the Big Red hit above .400 in the first and third sets to fuel a dominant sweep, attacking at a .412 (17-3-34) clip in the first set and at a .444 (15-3-27) pace in the third.
• This season, Nebraska has 16 sets hitting .400 or greater. Dating back to the beginning of Dani Busboom Kelly’s tenure last season, the Huskers have hit .400 or greater in 57 of 153 sets played, or 37.3 percent of sets.
• Last season’s total of 41 sets of .400 or greater rose from 30 in the 2024 season, where the Huskers hit .400 or greater in 30 of 122 sets (.246).
Block Party for the Big Red
• Through 13 matches, Nebraska ranks second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally with an average of 2.88 blocks per set.
• The Huskers finished with 10 blocks against Ohio State on Saturday, their sixth match with 10 or more blocks this season.
• Manaia Ogbechie leads the Huskers with 47 blocks, averaging 1.27 per set. Andi Jackson closely follows with 46 blocks but leads the team with 1.28 per set.
• Nebraska recorded a season-high 16 blocks in a 3-1 win over FGCU on Sept. 20, the most for the Huskers in a match since recording 20 at Maryland in the 2024 season.
• Through Monday, Jackson (1.28, 6th) and Ogbechie (1.27, 7th) rank inside the top 10 in the conference in blocks per set.
• Nebraska’s block is helping hold teams to a nation-low .078 hitting percentage.
Dynamic Duo in the Middle
• Andi Jackson and Manaia Ogbechie have led the Big Red at the net and on offense this season.
•Jackson ranks third nationally with a .490 hitting percentage, while Ogbechie is attacking at a .438 clip and sits 15th nationally as of Tuesday. They are the only pair of teammates in the Power Four to rank inside the top 15 nationally in hit percentage.
• Jackson, who was named Big Ten and AVCA Player of the Week, totaled 30 kills (3.33 per set) and 14 blocks (1.56 per set) last week against Missouri, Rutgers, and Ohio State.
• On Sept. 23 against Missouri, Jackson hit a season-best .667 with 10 kills and zero errors on 15 swings (10-0-15). She has hit .500 or better (min. 10 att.) seven times this season after hitting .632 (14-2-19) vs. Rutgers last Friday.
• Ogbechie hit .778 (7-0-9) against the Tigers Wednesday. Against Baylor on Sept. 11, she hit .571 with 12 kills and zero errors on 21 attempts. In matches with 10 or more swings, Ogbechie has hit above .500 three times.