The Nebraska volleyball team has never been afraid of tough non-conference schedules and that hasn’t changed in 2025.
Fresh off a trio of dominant wins over No. 3 Pittsburgh (3-1), No. 6 Stanford (3-0), and Lipscomb (3-0), the No. 1 Huskers cap off the season’s opening two weeks with a Sunday battle versus No. 7 Kentucky in the Broadway Block Party. Staged at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Nebraska seeks to build on its stellar start to the 2025 campaign with yet another top 10 win.
Nebraska Volleyball Season Central. dark. Next. Nebraska Volleyball Season Central
Here’s all you need to know for Sunday’s Husker-Wildcat battle in Tennessee.
How to Follow Along
No. 7 Kentucky Scout
Head Coach
Craig Skinner | Entering 21st Season at Kentucky and as Head Coach | 468-155 (.751) Career Record | 2020 NCAA Champion, 21x NCAA Tournament Appearances | 8x SEC Champions | AVCA National Coach OTY (2021), 3x AVCA All-Southeast Region Coach OTY, 7x SEC Coach OTY | Previous head coach at U.S. Junior Women’s National Team | Previous assistant at Nebraska, Ball State (Men’s) and Wisconsin.
2024 Finish
L, 3-0 to No. 1 Pittsburgh in NCAA Regional Final
2024 Record & Awards
23-8 (14-2 SEC, 1st) | Eighth-Straight SEC Championship | AVCA All-Americans: 1x First Team, 1x Second Team | SEC Player & Coach OTY | All-SEC: 2x First Team, 1x Second Team, 2x Freshman Team.
All-Time Series
Nebraska leads 12-2 (August 27, 2024 last matchup; 3-1 NU)
Returning Production
Points: 66% | Kills: 68% | Service Aces: 56% | Blocks: 59% | Assists: 11% | Digs: 57%
Key Returners
Impact Transfers/Newcomers
Key Departures
Outlook
Kentucky’s breakthrough 2020 National Championship win under head coach and former Nebraska assistant Craig Sinner remains the only Final Four appearance in school history. With eight-straight SEC Championships dating back to 2017, the Wildcats are yearly contenders, and that’s no different entering 2025.
After getting swept in last season’s regional final, Skinner and the Wildcats became aggressive in NIL and the transfer portal, securing three-time All-American outside hitter Eva Hudson – who alongside her teammate Chloe Chicoine, shocked the college volleyball world when they announced their departure from Purdue after the 2024 season. The 2024 Big Ten leader in kills, Hudson teams up with first team All-American and reigning SEC Player of the Year Brooklyn DeLeye.
They’re backed by the return of both starting middle blockers from last season in Brooke Bultema and Jordyn Dailey. Bultema earned a spot on the All-SEC Freshman Team with 217 kills and a team-high 1.02 blocks per set (104 total) in her redshirt freshman season. Daily was solid in her first playing season, recording 186 kills and 82 blocks across 29 matches. Molly Tuozzo took over the starting libero job as a sophomore last season and she dazzled, racking up 423 digs (3.85 per set) en route to being named All-SEC.
The most intriguing question for Kentucky is at setter, where the Wildcats have to replace four-time All-American Emma Grome. Redshirt sophomore Ava Sarafa has learned behind Grome for two years, but she’ll be pushed by true freshman Kassie O’Brien, who comes from the prestigious Houston Skyline volleyball club.
Skinner and the Wildcats have loaded up for 2025 in hopes of reaching their first Final Four since winning the national title five years ago. Hudson’s addition makes UK lethal, but their new setter will likely determine just how high the ceiling is for the Wildcats. I wouldn’t want to match up with this team in December, but for such an early-season game, give me Nebraska to win this in four sets.
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