Is this the year the Huskers break through?

It has been nine years since the Nebraska Cornhuskers lifted the national title trophy. Now, for most programs, that may not seem like too long of a drought, but for the Huskers, it feels like a lifetime. Sitting with five national titles, the Huskers are third all time in titles, only behind Stanford with nine and Penn State with eight. Since Big Red reached the mountaintop in 2017, they have never lost more than 8 games, but they have also notched an L in their final game of the season. They have watched Stanford extend its lead by two to overtake Penn State, watched the Nittany Lions get one more to try to keep pace, watched Texas nab a pair to push themselves into the top 5 all time and watched three programs, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Texas A&M, hang their first banners. Despite all of the watching from the sidelines, the three seasons prior to the current one have been the most painful. A roaring 120-6 record in the last four years, but not even one set victory in a national title game. Now, in the year of our lord 2026, the Huskers sit in an all-too-familiar position: 21-0 and just four sets lost all year. Only undefeated team in the country, No.1 nationally in total offense and defense, projected No.1 overall seed, four players with player-of-the-year aspirations and No.2 in RPI and KPI, second only to Pitt. On paper, no one should be able to down the Huskers, but the game is not played on paper; it is played on hardwood (or Taraflex). What signs are the Huskers showing that they could finally get over the hump, and what is holding them back?

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The Good

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In with the new, out with the… well, not that much

The old adage states: “Good teams don’t rebuild, they reload.” The Huskers did not really have to do either of those things. After building a squad that did not lose a game all regular season before losing to eventual title winner Texas A&M in the regional finals, Nebraska only lost four players, all seniors. Rebekah Allick took her talents to LOVB, Taylor Landfair was drafted to the Indy Ignite, Allie Szcech eventually made her way to the Nor Cal Rumble, and Maisie Boesiger has seemingly put her volleyball career on pause, gotten married and works as a high-up for She Sports Inc. For most programs, this would seem like a major blow; they recruited so well that the holes were quickly filled. Headlined by Diamond prospect Jayden Robinson, the Huskers had the No.2 overall recruiting class just behind Texas. They also brought in gold prospects Keoni Williams and Gabby DiVita to beef up the front row. Even with the strong additions, that is not what most people highlighted. It is who the Huskers kept around in scarlet and cream.

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The three-headed monster

Last season, Andi Jackson and Bergen Reilly both won best at their positions; on top of that, they, as well as Harper Murray, were player of the year semi-finalists. Every single one of them made their way back to Lincoln to avenge the loss taken. This year, they have not disappointed at all. All three were on the preseason player of the year watch list; Jackson is third nationally in hitting percentage and Reilly is top five in assists. Murray is not having as much of a blockbuster year, but a .276 hitting clip and a dozen games with double-digit kills is nothing to scoff at. Even with this trinity playing the way they are, they are not the only returning pieces that have pushed the Huskers to where they need to be.

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The breakouts

The Huskers have the good and the Huskers have the old. But what about everything in between? Well, they have that too. The most notable of these returning breakout players is Manaia Ogbechie. Even though she shares a position with the illustrious Andi Jackson, she has still managed to make her way onto the midseason player of the year watch list. With a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award and an overall Big Ten Player of the Year award, she’s earned every bit of it. With a .423 hitting margin, 74 total blocks and 119 kills, she has filled the hole left by Allick very easily. The offense is not the only place where new strength is present. During the off-season, a lot of questions arose about whether junior Olivia Mauch would be able to keep pace with senior Laney Choboy and those questions have very much been answered. Choboy continues to make her presence known with nearly 150 total digs; she sits behind Mauch, who has put up well over 200 total digs and leads the team in digs per set with 3.37. The Huskers look good from top to bottom, but even with near perfection, there are some questions and concerns. 

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The Concerns

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The Strength of Schedule

Out of the top 20 teams in the volleyball RPI, the Huskers have the second-easiest strength of schedule at 38th hardest nationally (BYU is the only team in the top 20 with an easier schedule ranked 54th). Part of it is out of their control. The Big Ten has a lot of solid teams but no world beaters like in previous years. Wisconsin, Washington, Minnesota, Purdue, Michigan State, Oregon and Indiana all have hopes of hosting but are going to be hard-pressed to get above a 3 seed. But part of it is that the Huskers did not beef up their non-conference schedule. According to @vbbracketology, Nebraska has the 42nd-ranked non-conference strength of schedule as of October 26th. They sit behind teams like Northern Kentucky, FGCU and Lipscomb. They dodged a lot of the good teams they usually schedule. No Kentucky, no Louisville, no Stanford, no Pitt and so on. This raises the question: have they been battle-tested enough? Yes, it is impressive they have only lost four sets all year, but they only lost seven last year before running into the Aggies. The lack of world-beater-level opponents may come back to bite them. 

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This year feels different

Last year and the year before, it really felt like it was Nebraska, Pitt and then the rest, even though neither of them managed to make it to the title game. This year, the regular season seems so much more top-heavy than in years past. Pitt, Florida, Louisville and BYU have just a combined six losses; SMU, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin and Kentucky have all taken wins off of those aforementioned teams and teams like Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Oregon and Washington are all having some of their best seasons ever and are looking to be more than a feel-good story. Every one of these aforementioned teams has been part of a major upset one way or another and the Huskers have managed to stay clear of that. But can that last all the way to a title? The volleyball world is changing; can the Huskers change with it? 

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Simply doing the dang thing

Writers like myself can sit here and break down the stats, talk about what we think and break down every little piece of the game until we are blue in the face, but only one thing matters at the end of the day: simply doing the dang thing. This is not the first year everything has looked perfect for the Huskers, this is not the first year they have all the players; this is not even the first year they have run the table, but they have to simply do it. But it is not easy; it never has been, but there is no reason the Huskers cannot do it and they hold their destiny in their hands. Can they finally put it all together and reclaim the crown? 

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