Amidst Nebraska Volleyball’s Lineup Change, John Cook Gets Honest About Young Star’s Future

The Huskers’ thunderous momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing down one bit! On Saturday, Nebraska volleyball swept Grand Canyon clean to advance its 2025 season record to 8-0. With that, they have achieved the feat for only the third time in the last 13 years. Seeing how the team is looking comfortable in its shoes, former head coach John Cook thinks this could be the beginning of a stellar career for one new Husker star.

Dani Busboom Kelly is still experimenting with the lineup, and tonight, she gambled a little too audaciously. In a bid to give the new athletes a chance to show their worth, the hosts announced their starting lineup without almost any regulars. But, boy, did the freshmen live up to the expectations! Among them, libero Olivia Mauch put forth a special show with nine digs, and John Cook couldn’t help but note his awestruck feelings, as shared via an X post by KETV‘s Lauren Michelson from September 13.

“John Cook said on the NPM broadcast that Nebraska freshman libero Olivia Mauch is ‘very close to where Lexi Rodriguez was last year.’,” the social media update shared how the former Nebraska volleyball coach thinks the world waits for Mauch to grab it by its scruff. “Incredible compliment,” is how Michelsen’s X post justifiably calls Cook’s words.

It is indeed something special to be compared to Lexi Rodriguez, to be honest. The former Husker star played for Nebraska under Cook’s guidance for four years, 2021-2024, and finished her collegiate volleyball career with an incredible 1897 digs, a program record. Goes without saying that Mauch’s prompting of Cook to draw parallels with his poster girl could be a testament to her incredible potential as a volleyball star.

But then again, Rodriguez had an incredible final season with the Nebraska volleyball team. Starting as the libero in all 36 matches, the ex-Husker averaged 3.88 digs per set with 127 set assists and 17 service aces, making her one of the best-performing seniors in the US. Lexi was also named a finalist for AVCA National Player of the Year and for the Honda Sport Award for Volleyball in 2024, and became the first athlete from Lincoln to win the prestigious AAU James E. Sullivan award. A four-time AVCA All-American, Rodriguez also boasts several international caps, representing the Stars and Stripes at the Volleyball Nations League and the FIVB Championships.

In contrast, Mauch is only beginning her career. As a member of Bennignton High School, the libero posted an 8.5 average digs per set and served 83 aces in her junior year, while averaging 7.1 digs per set and had 49 service aces in her senior year. She was also a part of the gold medal-winning U.S. Girls U19 Team, which triumphed at the 2023 FIVB U19 World Championships in Croatia, and has also trained with the national U-21 team.

For obvious reasons, a player like Mauch should only have the world to conquer. But she wasn’t the only star tonight who would help coach Kelly have a good night’s sleep.

Nebraska volleyball to finally end its long wait?

After taking over the baton from John Cook, DBK has shown incredible coaching acumen so far. Before tonight, the Huskers have already bagged major wins against ranked opponents like Pittsburgh, Stanford, and Kentucky, further highlighting what Kelly brings to the table for the Nebraska volleyball program. But today, it was indeed extra special. Along with Mauch, Campbell Flynn, Skyler Pierce, and Maiana Ogbechie all put out top-tier performances, almost never making it feel like the Huskers were playing with stars like Harper Murray and Andi Jackson.

But Busboom Kelly knew it was a risky move. “It was literally a gut feeling. Last night we talked about it as a staff and I didnt think it was a good idea. This morning I woke up and was like, let’s do it. We stuck with. Just working to get every player ready for when their name is called,” the coach said about the line-up shake-up after the thunderous win at the John Cook Arena in the Bob Devaney Sports Center in front of 8,502 fans. Truth be told, though, the former Louisville head coach had probably anticipated that her team would brush aside any challenge she threw at it.

In July, Kelly had admitted that her roster was stacked. She even noted how she had plenty of choices to go around and make her pick. And now, after tonight’s masterclass by the freshmen, do you think Kelly could be eyeing her chances of guiding the Huskers to their first-ever NCAA title since 2017? Tell us in a comment!