Red-White Scrimmage Shows Nebraska’s Depth — and the Decisions Ahead

For four sets Sunday afternoon, Dani Busboom Kelly could look across the court at Pinnacle Bank Arena and see options everywhere.

There were established All-Americans and players trying to expand their roles. Veterans who have played in the biggest matches in college volleyball and youngsters experiencing a Nebraska match day in front of more than 10,000 fans for the first time. And because it was the annual Red-White Scrimmage, Busboom Kelly could shuffle those pieces around.

The Huskers didn't simply divide into two teams and leave them that way. Instead, the rosters changed throughout the match, allowing the coaching staff to see various matchups both against and alongside each other. 

Red ultimately won the scrimmage 27-25, 25-21, 25-19, 17-25, but determining which color won was hardly the point. For the preseason No. 1 team in the country, one of the more significant questions coming out of Sunday might be how Busboom Kelly eventually decides which combinations should be on the floor together when the matches start counting.

"It honestly feels a lot different this year for me," Busboom Kelly said earlier in the week. "Maybe it's because I was so new last year and had a lot going on, but this feels a little bit different. It feels like a new team."

The names aren’t that new, but the competition might be. Nebraska returns the core of a team that finished 33-1 last season, but Busboom Kelly believes the separation throughout the roster has narrowed. 

"We still have great depth, but I think the margins are even closer this year than they were last year as far as starters, non-starters, who's going to contribute and what kind of roles players are going to carve out," Busboom Kelly said. "I think our staff — we've been together now a year and a half and have a little more cadence — and it just feels different."

Sunday offered a glimpse of just how many directions Nebraska could go. Teraya Sigler and Virginia Adriano tied for the match lead with 11 kills. Manaia Ogbechie had six kills and 13 blocks, which even surprised her during her post-match press conference. In total, seven different Huskers finished with at least seven kills.

Some of the individual hitting numbers weren't pretty. The Red team hit .121 and White hit .023 as Nebraska's block and back-row defense made scoring difficult, but even those numbers illustrated part of Busboom Kelly's challenge. On this roster, evaluating players isn't as simple as opening a box score and ranking the best performances, especially during Red/White matches. 

"I think the Red/Whites are hard because when you look at the stats, you can be disappointed in one thing, but it's probably because of something else you're doing well," Busboom Kelly said. "It does get tough to evaluate."

Nebraska's evaluation will continue well beyond Sunday, as Busboom Kelly has made it clear that she isn't simply searching for the six players with the most impressive individual numbers. On a roster this deep, the question becomes which combinations allow Nebraska to play its best volleyball.

"I don't think you're going to keep everybody happy every day – that’s just reality," Busboom Kelly said. "But if, as a coach and as a staff, we can be honest and truthful, I think that helps. Players can read right through you if you're not."

Sunday provided plenty of combinations for Nebraska's coaching staff to study thanks to the ever-changing rosters. The result was something closer to an experiment than a traditional preseason depth-chart reveal. 

Busboom Kelly said she has mixed lineups throughout preseason practices as well, so this wasn’t exactly a big culture shock to the players. Frankly, the versatility throughout the roster gives Nebraska the freedom to do it.

At outside hitter alone, Harper Murray is an established star, but she didn’t top the box score for most kills. There are choices in the middle, too, where Andi Jackson returns as an established force while the depth of the position showed Sunday in how much they have developed.

That depth can be an advantage, but managing it will require communication. Busboom Kelly said before the scrimmage that the fact that nobody left the program after last season was meaningful, even if she hadn't spent much time reflecting on it. 

"It would have been sad to see somebody leave after last year," she said. "If they love it here, why would you leave? I do think they believe with my coaching style that they'll get a chance, and we're all going to get a chance and their role will be meaningful."

Getting a chance and getting the role a player wants, however, aren't necessarily the same thing. That’s where Nebraska's preseason competition gets interesting. Bergen Reilly said the Huskers have embraced an "iron sharpening iron" mentality in practice. When Nebraska emphasizes serving, its passers have to improve. When the blockers get better, the attackers have to become more creative in finding kills.

"We push each other every day in practice, and we know that some of our practices might be harder than games," Reilly said. "Really just priding ourselves on coming in every day and pushing each other."

Soon, Busboom Kelly will get to see how all of it translates against somebody wearing a different uniform. Nebraska has another week of practice before the school schedule changes the Huskers' routine. Then comes a trip to Texas and an exhibition against No. 17 Florida at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Aug. 27. After that, Nebraska heads to Las Vegas for a match with Texas.

Those matches should provide considerably different information than Sunday did. For now, though, Nebraska's coaches have four sets of film from PBA to examine and no shortage of possibilities.

Busboom Kelly's task isn't simply identifying Nebraska's most talented players, but she will need to figure out which ones make Nebraska's considerable talent fit together best.