NEB VB: vs. UCLA & USC Preview & Notes
Thursday, Oct. 22 – No. 1 Nebraska vs. UCLA
First Serve: 6 p.m.
TV/Streaming: FS1/FoxSports
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers App, Huskers Radio Network
Friday, Oct. 24 – No. 1 Nebraska vs. USC
First Serve: 8 p.m.
TV/Streaming: BTN/FoxSports
Radio: Huskers.com, Huskers App, Huskers Radio Network
Follow the Match
• Thursday’s match against UCLA can be seen on FS1, with Kelsie Kasper and Anna Connelly on the call.
•The Huskers’ match against USC on Saturday is Nebraska’s annual “Pink Match” for breast cancer awareness and can be seen on BTN, with Larry Punteney and Mac Podraza on the call.
• 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. UCLA
• Nebraska holds a 15-5 advantage through 20 all-time matchups with UCLA.
• The Huskers have won six consecutive matches against the Bruins since falling to eighth-ranked UCLA in five sets in a top-10 battle in 2009.
• In the Big Red’s 3-1 win last season, the Bruins snapped the Huskers’ runs of 48 consecutive sets won and 15 consecutive sweeps.
Nebraska vs. USC
• Through 11 all-time meetings, the Huskers trail 7-4 in the series against USC.
• The Huskers have won three consecutive matches against the Trojans, including the last two matches as Big Ten foes.
• Saturday’s matchup will be first of six meetings in the rally-scoring era where the Trojans are unranked.
Huskers At No. 1 in Latest AVCA Poll
• The Nebraska volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll released on Oct. 19.
• The Huskers collected 1,575 points in the poll and came in ahead of No. 2 Pitt (1,512), No. 3 Louisville (1,420), No. 4 Kentucky (1,389) and No. 5 Florida (1,283). Nebraska got all of the 63 first-place votes.
• It marks Nebraska’s 132nd week all-time at No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the most of any program in the nation.
Sigler, Mauch Collect Big Ten Accolades
• Nebraska’s Teraya Sigler and Olivia Mauch earned Big Ten weekly conference awards on Monday. Sigler was named Big Ten Player of the Week, while Mauch was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
• Sigler led the Huskers to a 2-0 week against Northwestern and No. 13 Purdue, averaging 3.29 kills per set on .391 hitting with 2.57 digs per set across the two matches. Sigler tallied a career-high 15 kills in Nebraska’s 3-1 win vs. No. 13 Purdue on Saturday, hitting .355 on 31 swings while adding six digs and a block.
• Against Northwestern, the sophomore posted eight kills on .467 hitting and recorded 12 digs, three blocks and a pair of service aces in the road sweep.
• Mauch anchored an NU defense that held the Wildcats and Boilermakers to a combined .091 hitting percentage last week. Mauch recorded a career-high 21 digs and helped the Huskers limit No. 13 Purdue to .133 hitting on Saturday night. Along with the 21 digs, Mauch posted eight assists and an ace to become the first Husker libero since Lexi Rodriguez in 2023 with at least 20 digs and eight assists in a match.
• The junior libero picked up seven digs in the Huskers’ road sweep of Northwestern on Thursday.
Huskers Search for 10th 20-0 Start
• With a 19-0 start, the Huskers have posted an unbeaten record through the first 19 matches of a season and are searching for the program’s 10th 20-0 start.
• This is the first time the Big Red have recorded consecutive 19-0 starts since a four-season run from 2005-08.
NU Rides 50-Match Regular-Season Win Streak
• Nebraska is on a 50-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 19 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 four of 35-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.
Home Sweet Home
• Nebraska has won 61 straight regular-season home matches, including 59 matches at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, going back to the start of the 2023 campaign.
•The Huskers had a 63-match home win streak snapped in the Regional Final against No. 6 Texas A&M. It is tied for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA history.
• The Huskers’ recent home court win streak was their longest since moving into the Devaney Center in 2013, and it’s tied for the second-longest home court win streak in program history.
• Nebraska’s longest all-time home win streak was 90 matches from 2004-09. Nebraska also won 63 straight at home from 1999-2002.
• Penn State holds the all-time record of 94 from 2006-10.
• The Huskers went 22-0 at home in 2024, a school record for home wins in a season.
Big Red’s Sweeping Statement
• Nebraska has recorded sweeps in 26 of its 28 Big Ten victories combined since 2025, which is more sweeps than any other Big Ten team has in conference victories.
• The Huskers have swept seven of their eight matches in their 8-0 start this season after sweeping 19 of the 20 matches last season.
Defending the Big Ten Discover Challenge Title
• Select conference matches played during the month of October will count toward the Big Ten Discover Challenge, which is in its second season. Each team will play five designated challenge matches throughout the month, with the winner determined by the highest win total across the five matches.
• The top three tiebreakers in order are: head-to-head results that were part of the Big Ten Discover Challenge, winning percentage against common opponents, and highest percentage of total sets won.
• Nebraska is looking to defend its title after capturing the Big Ten Discover Challenge title in its inaugural season in 2025.
• Through three matches, Nebraska is in a five-way tie with teams with an unblemished record with two matches to go.
Jackson Nearing 1,000 Kills, 400 Blocks Club
• As of Oct. 21, Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson has 976 kills and 454 blocks in her career.
• Jackson needs 24 kills to become the fourth Husker in the rally-scoring era with at least 1,000 kills and 400 blocks, joining Sarah Pavan, Lauren Stivrins, and Melissa Elmer.
• Jackson would become the 13th Husker in the rally-scoring era with 1,000 kills or more. She would also join teammate Harper Murray (5th, 1,375) as active Huskers with 1,000-plus kills.
• In the rally-scoring era, Jackson’s 454 blocks currently ranks seventh. She needs six to pass Pavan for sixth.
Reilly Pulls off Rare 40-15-5 Feat
• Senior Bergen Reilly recorded 44 assists, 15 digs and five blocks in Nebraska’s 3-1 win against No. 13 Purdue on Saturday for her fifth double-double of the season.
• Reilly became the second Husker in the rally-scoring era with at least 40 assists, 15 digs, and five blocks in a match, joining Kelly (Hunter) Natter in 2017 against No. 1 Penn State in the NCAA Semifinal.
Cogill Fastest to 25 Blocks in Rally-Scoring Era
• With a career-high seven blocks in a sweep at Northwestern on Oct. 15, sophomore Kenna Cogill picked up her 25th block of the season in her 14th set of action to become the fastest Husker to reach 25 blocks in the rally-scoring era.
• With 1.86 blocks per set through 14 sets, Cogill surpassed Kaitlyn Hord in 2022, who reached 25 blocks in 15 sets.
• Additionally, Andi Jackson and Manaia Ogbechie reached the 25-block mark in 19 sets, which is tied with Briana Holman for seventh-fastest.
Stingy in Every Set
• Along with holding opponents to a low hitting percentage, the Husker defense has kept opposing teams off the scoreboard.
• Nebraska has allowed 17.0 points per set through 19 matches, the fewest through 19 matches since sets moved to 25 points in 2008.
• The Big Red have held opponents to 15-or-fewer points in 27 of 61 sets this season.
Block Party for the Big Red
• Through 19 matches, Nebraska is averaging 2.96 blocks per set to lead the Big Ten and rank eighth nationally.
• The Huskers totaled 25.5 blocks at an average of 3.64 per set last week in a road sweep of Northwestern and 3-1 win over No. 13 Purdue.
• Nebraska has nine matches this season with at least 10 blocks, including a season-high 16 against FGCU on Sept. 20. The Huskers’ 13.5 blocks in the sweep of Northwestern last week were the most in a three-set match since recording 14 against Rutgers on Oct. 4, 2025.
• Andi Jackson leads Nebraska with 73 blocks, while Manaia Ogbechie follows closely behind with 69. Both are averaging 1.33 blocks per set to tie for the second-best mark in the Big Ten.
• Nebraska’s 16 blocks against FGCU were the most for the Big Red since recording 20 at Maryland during the 2024 season.
Ogbechie Closing in on Block No. 100
• Sophomore Manaia Ogbechie comes into the week one block shy of reaching the century mark for her career.
• With a block on Thursday against UCLA, Ogbechie will become the 15th Husker in the Big Ten era to reach 100 blocks in 34-or-less matches.
• Additionally, Ogbechie will become the third-fastest in sets played if she records a stuff against the Bruins, trailing only Callie Schwarzenbach (61 sets) and Kaitlyn Hord (66 sets).
Dynamic Duo in the Middle
• Andi Jackson and Manaia Ogbechie have led the Big Red at the net and on offense this season in multiple stat categories.
• Jackson’s hitting percentage of .469 leads the Big Ten, while Ogbechie’s clip of .440 ranks her second in the league. Those percentages also rank third and eighth nationally, respectively. They remain the only pair of Power Four teammates to rank inside the top 10 in hitting percentage.
• Jackson has nine matches this season with at least a .500 hitting percentage in a minimum of 10 attacks, while Ogbechie has five. Jackson tallied a season-high 14 kills on 19 swings (14-2-19) vs. Rutgers on Sept. 25, while Ogbechie is coming off a season-best .714 hitting percentage (10-0-14) vs. No. 13 Purdue last Saturday.
• Ogbechie has at least five blocks in three straight matches, the longest streak of her career. Against No. 13 Purdue, the duo each finished with five or more blocks in the same match for the first time.
• With five or more blocks against UCLA, Ogbechie would become the first Husker since Rebekah Allick in 2023 with five-plus blocks in four straight matches in the same season.
• Both players have been named the Big Ten Player of the Week this season, as Ogbechie took home the award on Sept. 14 and Jackson won honors on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5.
NU’s Race to the Red Zone
• Nebraska is 153-0 in sets under head coach Dani Busboom Kelly when reaching the red zone (20 points) first.
• The Huskers are 57-0 when reaching the red zone first in 2026 after posting a 96-0 mark last season.