Nebraska volleyball hosted its 2025 alumni match on Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers’ final preseason match ended in a victory against 10 of their most decorated alumni in four sets.
Ally Batenhorst, Lindsay Krause and Lauren Stivrens each put up 10 or more kills for the alumni team. Five Nebraska players finished the match with at least six. Junior outside hitter Harper Murray led the Huskers with 12 kills. Sophomore libero Olivia Mauch finished with nine digs, and Jordan Larson matched her for the alumni team.
Gina Mancuso-Prososki said it felt like a dream being back at Nebraska.
“I’m 34 now,” Mancuso-Prososki said. “I never thought I’d get to play in front of the Husker crowd again. That was an unbelievable opportunity that I’m forever grateful for.”
Krause recorded the first kill and point of the match. The alumni team proceeded to take a 3-0 advantage to start the first set.
The Huskers stormed back and scored four of the next five points to draw even. However, despite an early run by each team, neither group scored more than two points in a row again until Nebraska took a 23-20 lead in the later stages of the first set.
Batenhorst said the experience reminded her of playing against Nebraska at USC.
“It was super fun to be a Husker again and to be around so many leaders that I’ve looked up to… and to be across the net from my best friends again,” Batenhorst said.
The Huskers ended up taking the set 25-21 over the alumni team.
The second set began the same as the first, with the two sides knotted at four. Nebraska followed by scoring the next five points to take control of the set and force the alumni team into calling a timeout.
Nebraska went on to score eight of the last 10 points and win the second set 25-14. During that stretch, junior middle blocker Andi Jackson registered two kills, and freshman outside hitter Teraya Sigler put up a kill and two block assists.
Jackson said playing against some of her former teammates felt like being on the team again last year.
“It was really cool to get to play against them,” Jackson said. “When you’re getting recruited by Nebraska, those are the girls that you watch, and you look up to and you honestly learned so much from… getting to just have a full-circle moment and play a full match against them is really awesome.”
Four kills by Batenhorst in the first 12 points of set No. 3 helped the alumni team take a 9-3 lead. They extended their advantage as the set went on and led at one point 21-10 against the Huskers. The 11-point advantage was the alumni team’s largest of the match.
Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly said it was good for the team to face some adversity.
“(The alumni) were excited to play,” Busboom Kelly said. “They played great, and we got tested and kind of felt some pressure which was amazing going into next week.”
The alumni team won the third set 25-17 and defeated the Huskers for the first time in the match. Then, they carried the momentum gained from their third set victory into the fourth and managed to take an 8-2 lead.
However, Nebraska used a 4-0 run to get back within two. The alumni team, fueled by multiple kills by Krause and one by Batenhorst, retook its six-point advantage 10 points later. But the Huskers scored seven of the next eight points to draw even at 15.
Batenhorst and Mancuso-Prososki each said they felt like they were on the team again going into the match.
“It was like reliving the past,” Mancuso-Prososki said. “It was so special. You can’t really find anywhere else like Nebraska.”
Nebraska finished the set on a 10-to-7 run to win the set 25-22 and the match.
Nebraska will take on Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 22, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in its first competitive match of the season.
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