Can Wisconsin SLOW DOWN Nebraska Volleyball in Big Ten Play? | Jacob Padilla | Hurrdat Sports Live

Nebraska volleyball’s DOMINANCE will be tested with the ULTIMATE BIG TEN TEST on Friday night. Jacob Padilla of Hurrdat Sports and Hail Varsity joins Hurrdat Sports Live to discuss how the Huskers will matchup with No. 11 Wisconsin for one of the season’s FINAL tests before the postseason. Is Texas the ONLY threat remaining in the Huskers’ path for a national championship? Will Dani Busboom Kelly’s set rotations CHANGE as the postseason nears for the Big Red?

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We also probably need to get some team DBK shirts out here with the uh Nebraska volleyball team. That’s what you call transition folks. Um with the Nebraska volleyball team having not lost a set um it seems like ever. They’ve lost I believe six sets on the year in 20 matches which seems pretty good. Jacob. Yeah, that’s uh it’s pretty incredible. and teams were barely even reaching 20 against them. They’re playing at such a high level. And that’s that’s the impressive thing is even early in the season, we saw them get off to get off to some slow starts and um while they’re not winning wire to wire every single one of these matches, even that’s improved where um like they’re not they’re falling behind, it’s not by much and it doesn’t take long for them to kind of click into gear and turn it around. Um, so a lot of these aren’t even that competitive. And part of it is like the the schedule and they haven’t played other top 10 other top Big 10 teams, but uh and the last time they did was Purdue and they did almost drop that set, but again, they they found a way to to come alive and and take over down the stretch and uh and then they rolled in in the the last two sets of that one and they’ve been rolling ever since. So, um, yeah, this will this will be a fun week for them to kind of test themselves against a Wisconsin team and to see just how locked in they have been and how um they’re able to handle it if they do run into some um resistance this time. Jacob, as you see it right now, I I had this argument maybe once a week with Dr. Fiance about it where the field is right now for I guess the title contenders in college volleyball. I make the argument that it’s Nebraska and the field and she likes to say it’s Nebraska and Texas and then the rest. Do you see it that way or is it closer in either argument? Yeah, I think uh it’s probably probably best for you to just agree with her and not in this case, but uh in in general um I I think Texas they are the the one team at this point. I mean, Nebraska beat the other teams that are in contention. Um, and Texas is the one they haven’t played. And you just look at kind of the the depth of talent they have and they’ve got a lot of young players too that um I think are probably continuing to get better as the season goes on in important roles. Um, so like they that’s the only team that you look at balance and um like difference makers across the board. I think that’s the only team that can come come close to Nebraska. So, I don’t know if it’s Nebraska and Texas in the field, if it’s Nebraska one, Texas in a second tier, and then everybody the rest of the way. Um, but Texas is clearly separated itself uh from everybody else. I think just not quite to the same degree that Nebraska has in terms of like consistency and overall dominance from from start to finish. JP, when you look at this Nebraska team, is there any part of you that is, you know, I think about this in basketball a lot and kind of the es and flow of the season, which I think is a lot more similar to volleyball in terms of just the number of games you’re playing and sort of the different kind of roller coasters you go on through the season. Is there any part of you that worries about either peaking too early or anything that you’ve seen from the past years where it’s like, hey, Nebraska’s had some pretty dominant stretches over the last few years and then wasn’t able to get it done when it came to getting, you know, the Final Four time. Like, is there any part of you that has that creeping in the back of your mind or how do you how do you view this stretch of dominance considering where it comes in the season? Yeah. No, I think that the players have kind of talked through that and and coach has as well just about how they’re combating that and the complacency aspect of it and all that. um just with the way they approach approach practice and what uh Bergen I think said it uh yesterday like they’ve got two of the best teams in the country in the same gym regardless of how they regardless of how they uh they organize those teams because they’re constantly moving around and changing it. So they’re all facing each other and so like they they’re they’re continuing to face even if they don’t get pressed in in matches they’re get they’re uh they’re facing difficult uh difficulty in in practice because of how good uh their Bside is and um and kind just the depth of talent they have. So, like they’re having to bring their best in practice every day if one they want to hold on to their jobs because they know how good those players behind them are. Uh but but two to I think they’re they are focused on accomplishing that goal. Like they uh these the veterans on this team know what it’s like to have a great season and to come up short. And that’s been the case for Nebraska for a while now. And I think the these juniors leading the way, Rebecca Alec leading the way, they they they’re they don’t want to see that happen again. Um I mean, they they know what that that match felt like two years ago against Texas and uh coming up short again last year against Penn State. So um I I and I think I think the balance of the team probably helps offset that as well in that they’re not relying on anybody. uh as talented as they are at so many different positions, anybody can have an off night and they can just go to somebody else. I mean, you look at up and down the the lineup like Harper’s hitting over 300. They’ve got three middles hitting over 400 and averaging over two and a half kills a set. Uh you you’ve got Taylor Lanfair who’s close to 290 now and is starting to to become more effective and uh miss a little bit of time with a a slight ankle injury, but she should be fine. Uh you’ve got Virginia Adriano hitting almost 250 on that right side and she’s been a little up and down, but playing her first season and we we’ve seen her at her best. So, I I think just kind of the nature of their practices and the way they approach that in addition to their balance kind of help offsets that to where um I I think they can win so many different ways that um I don’t that they can necessarily peak too early. I don’t think. Jacob, do you think that there is are we past the point where DBK knows exactly, you know, how to remedy any of her rotations or which players fit the best and and how starting lineups would look, you know, per matchup, or do you think that there is still something to be said about finding kind of that that set rotation and moving forward with that for the rest of the season into the postseason and beyond? Yeah, I think for the most part, we’ve kind of settled into what it’s going to be. um when the the matches are really competitive and every win counts. Um outside of that libero spot, that that’ll be the one to watch kind of the the rest of the way is obviously we’ve switched we’ve seen them switch back to Laney Choy at libero for the last two weeks after Olivia Malc had settled in there for a handful of weeks in a row. Um, so that’s probably going to continue to be kind of a week- toeek thing just based on practice, based on matchups. And, um, I think that they’re both playing well regardless of what role they put him into. And I think that makes it easier for Danny is the fact that yeah, even if um, one isn’t getting the libero jersey, she still has a chance to really impact the team and play well and I think um, be be happy with that. Um, so like that’s the one I think for the most part they they if she needs to like break glass in case of emergency, we haven’t seen that in a while. The we know that she has options to change things up if someone is struggling. Um whether that’s Alichek on the right side. Um we saw that recently whether if if somebody maybe gets banged up and needs to miss a match at middle, they’ve got Manioche who’s continuing to play at a ridiculously high level every chance she gets. um like that that’s crazy like she’s she would start at almost any team in in the country and she’s cool with just playing whenever coming in and helping them get better and I think that’s what makes this team so special is you have players like that that are happy in their roles and um that’s how you get the like Bergen said two two of the best teams in the country in the same gym um because players really are bought into the greater good for the team. Uh, Jacob, as you look forward through the schedule, obviously the big one with uh with Wisconsin coming up on Friday, but as you kind of, you know, we’re allowed to look forward a little bit because we’re not actually playing or coaching. As you look through kind of the the remainder of the regular season, are there any places where you look at and you go, “Okay, here might be a potential hiccup or a place where Nebraska could be tested in a way they haven’t been yet this year?” Yeah, I mean, you got the the the three-game trip um Minnesota and then UCLA and USC out on the West Coast. Um I know those teams have tripped up some of the other uh they’re not top 10 teams, but they’re top 25 teams uh in that range and have kind of tripped up some of the other better teams in the league. And again, three straight on the road. Um that’s I I think probably like if you get you get past this Wisconsin match, that’s probably the most treacherous part of the schedule remaining. Um because once you get past that well um then you got Indiana uh on the road as well um who who’s been good this year, but then you got Penn State and Ohio State to kind of round at at home. So you get past th this next stretch on the road. Uh, and that’s kind of the interesting thing is like Nebraska, most of their big matches, just based on the way teams have worked out this season, most of their big matches are on the road. And so, um, we we’ve already seen them win at Purdue, who is what, I think right now the the second highest rated team in the Big 10, just ahead of Wisconsin. Um, so yeah, it’s they they’re not facing the uh the other top five, top 10 teams like they did in the the non-conference, but they are facing top 25 teams mostly on the road. Um, so we’ll continue to to see them get challenged and just kind of that maturity aspect of it, like are are you ready to go every single night? Do you are you able to do what you need to um w with travel and all that to get your body ready to play at at the highest level? Um so we’ll see that like this winning 30 plus matches in a row like that’s that takes a ridiculous level of consistency and ability to to fight through when you you don’t have your best. And so that’s probably kind of the the biggest obstacle that we’ll see from Nebraska this season because they don’t have any other top five teams in conference play that they’ll run into. JP, this is a sports equinox season, but it’s almost your local sports equinox for you because you’ve got the high school football playoff starting. You have Kraton basketball next week. You’ve got Nebraska and Kraton volleyball still going on. Uh, and you’ve got kind of everything all loading up here. How do you differentiate your time? I mean, you you I know you’re wanting to go every which way. So, where where are we going to be over the next couple of weeks? Well, I got state volleyball coming up, too, as well to try to factor in. Yeah, it uh I think Nebraska start with Nebraska volleyball because obviously they’re the best team in the country. Uh and then Kraton basketball andor state sports uh playoffs there and volleyball and thenraton basketball from there and whatever’s left over like it uh that’s I think probably how I’m going to have to hire I have not try to plan beyond this schedule. Just kind of waiting for um the postseason stuff to play it play its uh way out so I can see what it’s going to look like. But, uh, not really looking forward to trying to figure out where I’m going to be when next week because, uh, it’s, uh, it’s going to going to be very complicated. But, uh, I’ll do my best to cover everything as best I can and, uh, rely on our wonderful team to, uh, kind of help us provide some coverage of the stuff that I can’t be at myself. Get it up. Get it up.