CHICAGO — After winning three straight Big Ten Conference championships, earning eight All-American awards, and compiling a 99-6 record, Nebraska’s senior class still has something to prove. 

The one gaping hole on their resume is the ultimate prize — a national championship. 

Bergen Reilly said ending the season on a positive note has been the theme of everything they've done this season, from beach season to lifting during workouts, practices, or even working at NU’s youth camp. Finish strong. 

“We all know how the last three years have ended, and we need to prove that we can do it. We can get it finished,” the senior setter said during Big Ten Media Day on Monday. “We need to finish because at the end of the day, it's not how we start the season; it's how we finish.”

The first few days of practice have carried that theme as they welcomed back the entire roster that was on campus for the spring. 

Middle blocker Andi Jackson said the senior class, which also includes outside hitter Harper Murray and libero Laney Choboy, has accomplished a lot during their time at Nebraska. Even though the Huskers have come up short in their first three years, they don’t want those failures to define them. 

"We have another chance to have another special season, but we don't want to put pressure on ourselves,” Jackson said. “We know that we play the best when we have fun, and we continue to build our relationship off the court, and so that's what we're doing right now.”

The seniors will also serve in an important role in the team leadership. Reilly and Jackson served as team captains last season and will likely factor into this year’s team leadership. NU hasn’t selected team captains yet. NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said they will have an important voice on the team regardless of whether they have an official title or not.

Even though this season could be their last one (but it might not because of the recent five-year eligibility clock ruling), Busboom Kelly said she hasn’t noticed the seniors acting differently than in the past, which is encouraging.

“We had a great season last year,” she said. “I didn't feel like we ever got complacent or we let pressure or being unbeaten affect the way we practiced or played. We don't need to change a lot. It's if we can maybe do a couple things different, maybe that lasts longer, and we can finish this year off.”

After seven months away, Reilly finally felt back at home. 

With John Cook Arena under construction to expand up to 10,000 seats and update the locker room, the Huskers were nomads during the offseason. After last playing on their home court in December, the Huskers finally returned to their usual training area last week when practices for the 2026 season kicked off Thursday. 

Reilly said the venue looks a little different, but being back in their old stomping grounds felt good. 

“I almost felt like a freshman again,” the senior setter said. “Like, ‘Oh my gosh. We’re in Devaney.’ I really found a new appreciation for it, not being able to be in it for eight months.”

While they are using the main floor for practice, the construction around them continues. The remodeled locker room isn’t ready yet, and the work in the stands is ongoing. NU moved its preseason Red-White Scrimmage on Aug. 15 to Pinnacle Bank Arena. 

Not having the locker room since the end of last season has been tough because it is a second home for the team. During their time away from Devaney, they made the best of the situation, and it also tested their responsibility because they had to pack the clothing and gear for every practice while living out of their bags. She said there might have only been two forgotten shoes all spring. 

Jackson said she’s seen the drawings of what the new locker room will look like and was blown away by the images. She said the only comparable spaces she has seen are football facilities. 

“It’s incredible, and I can’t even believe that I even get to have four months in a brand new, newly renovated locker room,” she said. “I just can’t believe that for a women’s volleyball program, we have the opportunity to be in a facility that nice and get to play in an arena that nice.”

With all the uncertainty swirling around the NCAA and granting all players five years of eligibility, Busboom Kelly confirmed that Virginia Adriano is still at three years of eligibility. 

The sophomore opposite from Turin, Italy, was granted three years to play three seasons by the NCAA when she enrolled at Nebraska last year. She was penalized one season because she delayed enrollment while playing volleyball in Italy. 

While Devaney is being finished, the Huskers will spend the first few weeks of the season on the road. 

This year’s home opener of Sept. 10 is the last for Nebraska since 2009. Jackson said she is confident the NU can handle living out of suitcase for the first portion of the season. It is out of the norm, but they will have to deal with the adversity of being on the road.

“In previous years we always just are a little bit spoiled and get to spend preseason at home,” Jackson said. “Who doesn't love being at the Bob? I know teams love getting to go and play there, but I'm excited to see how our team adjusts to being on the road for three weeks in a row at the start of season, as opposed to being at home the first four weeks.”

The time away from home won’t be a huge challenge in part because of the coast-to-coast travel of the Big Ten. In addition, NU annually takes 10-day road trips each spring as part of beach season; many members went to Brazil for 17 days in 2023, and almost all of the Huskers have participated in a national team tournament while training and traveling for several weeks at a time. 

Reilly said they are also working on mixing up practice times to be ready for back-to-back. NU opens the season at 9 p.m. Central Time against UNLV before taking on Texas the following afternoon. 

To help with the quick turnaround, the Huskers are mimicking the schedule with a night practice followed by a morning workout the next day. 

“We've been doing some things to just really make ourselves comfortable in the uncomfortable because we know that there's going to be a lot going on,” she said. “There's a lot of moving parts, a lot of really exciting and emotional games right at the beginning of the year, and not letting that get the best of us.”

Bergen Reilly said her favorite place on earth is her family’s lake house in South Dakota. 

The location was also the site for a major life event when Cale Jacobsen, an NU men’s basketball player, proposed to her there in May. Reilly said Jacobson caught her by surprise even though they had been ring shopping a few months earlier and she knew it would happen sometime during the summer. 

Earlier that week, Reilly was in California training with the national team. The plan was to celebrate her birthday, which was also earlier that week, with her parents and then return to the lake house. When they got there, Jacobsen had set up a blanket with several pictures and dropped to a knee to propose with both families present. 

“I didn't think he'd be able to surprise me, but he did,” she said. “He got me really good.”

Reilly now wears a Dutch Marquise cut diamond ring. She takes it off every day for practice and has only forgotten to put it on in the morning once. 

“We went shopping, but I tried on a different shape, and I liked it. And I just mentioned this one, and he ended up getting this one. He did really good.”