Week 6 Volleyball Preview - #2 Huskers Aim to Remain Perfect

Week 6 takes Husker Volleyball on the road for just their third and fourth away matches of the season. After starting conference play off in a rather impressive way last week, the Huskers will travel to play Purdue in West Lafayette and Indiana in Bloomington on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The rankings show that these two teams aren’t what you would think is a powerhouse, but they can’t be taken lightly as they are good enough to sneak in a win if the Huskers start to drag at all.

Bergen Reilly was named B1G Setter and Freshman of the week on Monday. She averaged 12.67 assists per set, 1.67 digs per set, and 0.83 blocks per set in the wins against #21 Ohio State and 312 Minnesota. She hit .333 against the Buckeyes and then had 39 assists against Minnesota.

The Huskers will look to Reilly as well as Harper Murray and Merritt Beason to move to 13-0 on the year during this road trip.

Ally Batenhorst is someone who has really stepped up for the Huskers in the past few matches. Against Minnesota, she hit .333 on 9 kills. Against Ohio State she made a big impact on defense with 7 block assists.

#2 Nebraska Cornhuskers at #17 Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers are currently 8-3 on the season and have started conference play 2-0 just like the Huskers. Their only three losses come at the hands of #16 Creighton, Loyola, and USC. The Big Ten Preseason Rankings show Purdue finishing fifth behind Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Penn State.

Purdue returns one All-American in Eva Hudson. She was recognized as Honorable Mention last season and was the first freshman in Purdue program history to receive this award. Hudson, along with Chloe Chicione, will make immediate impacts at the net if they aren’t defended well. Hudson and Chicione lead the team in kills right now with a combined 358 kills. The rest of the team has only 221.

OH Chloe Chicoine, a freshman from Lafayette, Indiana, is having herself a season already. She is leading the team in kills with 185 and is hitting .264. She will look to lead the Boilermakers to a win over the Huskers on Friday night.

On the defensive side of the ball, DS Maddie Schermerhorn has 190 digs on the season. She will be someone Husker hitters will need to avoid hitting at to because of her digs stat.

Overall, Purdue will look to come out strong and not quit. They are a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team that could upset anyone at any time and the Huskers will need to contain their big hitters to ensure they pull out a win on Friday night and move to 12-0 on the season.

#2 Nebraska Cornhuskers at Indiana Hoosiers

Even though Indiana isn’t ranked, they still have a better record than teams like Minnesota and Ohio State, who are ranked. The Hoosiers are 11-4 on the season with losses to Long Beach State, UCLA, Washington, and #1 Wisconsin. The Hoosiers had no All-Americans last season.

Junior S Camryn Haworth was named to the 2023 Preseason All-Big Ten Team on July 28th. This season, she already has 109 digs and is averaging 2.18 digs a set. She is a solid part of their defense, and the Hoosiers will look to her to stop the Huskers’ heavy hitters.

OH Mady Saris leads this Indiana team with 142 kills. She is hitting .173 on the season so far and looks to improve on this along side MB Kaley Rammelsberg. Rammelsberg is hitting .371 on the season with 106 kills. She also leads the team in blocking with 52 total blocks. She will be a two-way player at the net that the Huskers will need to be aware of the entire match.

Indiana will look to get their first victory over a ranked team this season. After losing to the #1 team in Wisconsin, they will want to beat the #2 team in Nebraska and the Huskers will need to be ready for everything that the Hoosiers hit at them.

#2 Nebraska (11-0, B1G 2-0)

#2 Bergen Reilly 6’1” FR S
#5 Bekka Allick 6’4” SO MB
#6 Laney Choboy 5’3” FR DS/Libero
#7 Maisie Boesiger 5’6” SO DS/Libero
#8 Lexi Rodriguez 5’5” JR DS/Libero
#9 Kennedi Orr 6’0” JR S
#10 Caroline Jurevicius 6’2” FR OH
#11 Hayden Kubik 6’2” SO OH
#13 Merritt Beason 6’4” JR OH
#14 Ally Batenhorst 6’5” JR OH
#15 Andi Jackson 6’3” FR MB
#22 Lindsay Krause 6’4” JR OH
#27 Harper Murray 6’2” FR OH
#44 Maggie Mendelson 6’5” SO MB

#17 Purdue (8-3, B1G 2-0)

#2 Chloe Chicoine 5’10” FR OH
#5 Taylor Anderson 6’1” FR OH
#7 Raven Colvin 6’1” JR MB
#8 Maddie Schermerhorn 5’10” GR DS
#9 Lourdes Myers 6’3” R-JR MB
#10 Ali Hornung 5’10” JR DS/OH
#14 Grace Heaney 6’2” FR OPP/RS
#17 Eva Hudson 6’1” SO OH
#22 Emily Rastovski 6’2” R-SO OH

Indiana (11-4, B1G 1-1)

#3 Candela Alonso-Corcelles 6’2” SO OH
#4 Mady Saris 6’1” JR OH
#10 Camryn Haworth 5’10” JR S
#12 Grae Gosnell 5’11” SR OH/DS
#13 Avry Tatum 6’2” SO O/MB
#15 Savannah Kjolhede 6’3” SR MB
#18 Kaley Rammelsberg 6’2” GS MB
#22 Isa Lopez 5’6” SR DS
#32 Ramsey Gary 5’7” FR Libero