SB Nation • 10 min read

Husker Volleyball Hosts Arizona For Their Final Non-Conference Match

The Huskers will close out their non-conference slate on Saturday night when the Arizona Wildcats take a trip to Lincoln. Their schedule has been nothing short of hard thus far and it won’t really get any easier as they enter B1G play on the 24th.

5 of their 9 opponents are ranked in the Top 25 in the country and they only dropped 6 of the 21 sets played against these top teams. They also have yet to drop a set to a team that isn’t ranked in the Top 25. The Huskers will look to continue this streak

against Arizona on Saturday night.

After a tough match against Creighton, hopefully the Huskers were able to get lots of rest and rehab done on lingering injuries that they might have. They truly needed everyone on the team for that match whether they played or just kept the bench upbeat and going.

Virginia Adriano was finally able to break through and have herself a match. She really stepped up when the team needed someone to take the reigns. Doing that as a freshman was pretty cool to see especially on a team like Nebraska. Adriano had 13 kills and hit .320% for the match. She also had 2 service aces at a critical point in the match.

A Look at Arizona

2024 Record: 24-9 (9-9 in Big 12)
Ranked Wins in 2024: #20 BYU, #8 Kansas
NCAA Tournament: N/A. Won NIVC Tournament

In 2024, the Arizona Wildcats did a 180 of the season they had just a year prior in 2023. In 2023, they finished 8-23, but turned it around in 2024, their 1st year in the Big 12, and finished 24-9. They managed to get 2 ranked wins last season with 1 of them being a Top 10 win. They took out #20 BYU then #8 Kansas.

Through 9 matches this year, they had started 6-3, but none have been really impressive wins as they haven’t played any Top 25 teams until Saturday night in Lincoln. They even got swept by fellow B1G companion, Washington. They also recently lost 3-1 to UTEP on September 16th.

The Arizona roster is a pretty young one, like the Huskers a few years ago, as they only have 7 upperclassmen on their roster. This means that their roster is about 59% underclassmen. This team looks to their younger girls to play big parts in key matches for them.

The Wildcats only landed 1 person on the Big 12 Preseason Team this season and they were also picked to finish 7th out of 15 teams. Senior OH Jordan Wilson is the lone Wildcat on the preseason team and is already showing why she is one of the top players on their roster.

Wilson leads her team in kills with 146 and is also hitting .269% on the season for the Wildcats. She is averaging a team high 4.42 kills a set. Wilson is their main contributor at the net both offensively and defensively. She averages 2.27 digs a set and also has 18 blocks this season.

SO MB Adrianna Bridges is Arizona’s other main defensive star. She has the team high in blocks, with 28. Being 6’4” gives her big advantage at the net just like it does for Nebraska’s Adriano.

SO OH Carlie Cisneros is also a big part of their offense as she follows Wilson in the stat line. Cisneros has played all 33 sets this season, like Wilson, and has hit .216% so far this season. If the ball isn’t going to Wilson, look for it to go Cisneros’ way as she will be a big target for Setter Avery Scoggins.

Rounding out their starting lineup is JR MB Sydnie Vanek, SO Libero Brenna Ginder, and SR OPP Ana Heath.

Heath is 3rd on the team in kills with 62 of them on 136 attempts, and 21 errors, to give her a hitting percentage of .301%. Along with Cisneros and Wilson, Heath rounds out the Wildcat attacking threats at the net.

Saturday’s match will be a late one so make sure to get those naps in, after the 2:30pm Husker football game, and get ready for an 8:00pm CST start time. The match will be televised on the B1G Network. GBR!