Nebraska volleyball handled Penn State in straight sets Thursday night, 25-20, 25-17, 25-18, and there were a couple of milestones worth noting before we get into the rest of the week.
Dani Busboom Kelly picked up career win No. 250, making her the fourth-fastest Division I coach in NCAA history to reach that number. Harper Murray was excellent too, finishing with 13 kills on 29 swings with just one error for a .414 hitting percentage.
Not a bad way to start October. Speaking of volleyball…
1. Volleyball is already making plans for April
The women’s college volleyball’s spring season1 is not usually one for too much hype. The AVCA might be trying to change that in 2027.
Nebraska will be part of the inaugural AVCA Match Point on April 10-11 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, joining Louisville, Kentucky, Pitt, Stanford and Wisconsin. Two more programs will eventually complete the eight-team field.
The event will use a bracket, with every team playing three matches over two days. Teams will play twice on April 10 and once more on April 11.
For Nebraska, that potentially means three matches against high-level opposition in one weekend months before the regular season begins. For the sport more broadly, it is another attempt to create something meaningful outside the traditional fall calendar.
“Volleyball has tremendous momentum, and our partnership with Intersport will help us build on it by creating more opportunities for athletes, coaches and fans to engage with the sport throughout the year,” said Jaime Gordon, CEO of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. “AVCA Match Point is an important first step. It brings some of the best programs in the country together for meaningful spring competition and gives fans another reason to connect with our sport. We believe there is still tremendous room for volleyball to grow, and high-quality events like this helps move the sport forward.”
And while we are on the topic of the AVCA, Andi Jackson had herself a week too.
The Nebraska senior middle blocker was named AVCA National Player of the Week after already earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors. Jackson totaled 30 kills on .578 hitting and 14 blocks across sweeps of Missouri, Rutgers and Ohio State. Against Rutgers, she put down a season-high 14 kills while hitting .632. Against Missouri, she had 10 kills without an error.
Jackson is the first Husker to earn the AVCA national honor since Rebekah Allick in August 2025.
2. Sandfort and Frager are headed to Big Ten Media Days
Basketball season is getting close, which means media days are too. Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager will represent Nebraska alongside Fred Hoiberg at Big Ten Men’s Basketball Media Days in the Chicago area on Oct. 8.
Last season, Sandfort averaged 18.1 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 41.6% from 3. He led the Big Ten with 3.7 made 3s per game and finished fourth nationally in that category. Then he got even better in the postseason. Sandfort averaged 21 points while shooting 57% during Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament run, including 25 points in the Sweet 16.
Frager enters this season as the reigning Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. He also provided one of the defining shots of Nebraska’s postseason when he scored with 2.2 seconds remaining to put the Huskers ahead of Vanderbilt in the second round.
The Huskers went 28-7 last season, tied for second in the Big Ten and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Now six letterwinners are back, including two of the team’s top three scorers. Let’s just say there will be plenty to talk about in Chicago.
3. Britt Prince enters the season with another preseason honor
The Big Ten announced its preseason women’s basketball honors Thursday, and Britt Prince was one of 10 players selected to the all-conference team by both the coaches and media.
Prince enters her junior season after leading Nebraska in scoring at 17.9 points per game, assists at 4.4 and steals at 1.5. She shot 53.5% overall, 45.7% from 3 and a Big Ten-best 91.2% at the free-throw line. That 3-point number is especially notable. Prince owns the best returning percentage among power-conference guards who attempted at least two 3s per game last season.
She earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition from the media last year and second-team honors from the coaches. Now she heads into another season as one of the conference’s established names.
Prince and Logan Nissley will join Amy Williams at Big Ten Women’s Basketball Media Day on Oct. 7.
Before that, both Nebraska basketball programs will get a more public introduction tonight (Friday, Oct. 2). Opening Night returns to Canopy Street outside Pinnacle Bank Arena at 7 p.m., giving fans their first event of the season with both teams.
4. Nebraska wrestling has its 2026-27 schedule
Nebraska wrestling released its 2026-27 schedule this week and it’s going to challenge the Huskers quickly. Nebraska will see nine wrestlers who finished in the top 25 at last season’s NCAA Championships, and the difficulty starts early.
Nebraska opens at home against Wyoming on Nov. 6 before traveling to Oklahoma State a week later. The Cowboys finished second at the NCAA Championships last spring. Then comes a trip to Philadelphia for Penn and the Keystone Classic before Nebraska heads to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational in early December.
The Big Ten schedule is exactly what you would expect from the Big Ten too. Nebraska gets Rutgers, Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota at home, while road duals include Purdue, Maryland, Ohio State and Iowa. The conference season ends Feb. 12 in Iowa City.
Nebraska is still not finished after that. Arizona State comes to the Devaney Center on Feb. 21 for the final dual of the regular season.
The Big Ten Championships will be March 6-7 in Columbus, followed by the NCAA Championships in St. Louis beginning March 18.
5. Nebraska bowling starts in a familiar place
There has never been an NTCA preseason poll without Nebraska somewhere in the top five. That streak will continue for another year.
The Huskers are No. 5 in the 2026-27 preseason rankings, just six points behind No. 4 Arkansas State. Defending national champion Jacksonville State is the unanimous No. 1, followed by Vanderbilt and Wichita State.
Nebraska enters the season after winning one tournament last year, posting three third-place finishes and reaching the final of the NCAA Pittsburgh Regional.
The roster will look a little different without Jillian Martin, the 2025 NTCA Bowler of the Year, who had been part of the program for the past four seasons. That said, there is still plenty coming back. Karina Capron returns after earning third-team All-America honors, while 2025 second-team All-American Kayla Starr is also among eight returning bowlers. Nebraska added three freshmen to the roster.
The season starts Oct. 16 at the Chelsea Gilliam Penguin Classic in Struthers, Ohio. Nebraska won that event last season, so the Huskers will begin their latest attempt to get back to the NCAA Championships somewhere they already know pretty well.
It’s important to note men’s college volleyball plays in the spring. Their season runs January-April, with the championship in early May. I only mention it because I want to be clear that women’s college volleyball tends to be quieter in the spring, but the men are still playing.