Nebraska Volleyball Preview: SMU

No. 2 Nebraska hits the road for a Tuesday night showdown with SMU after winning the Ameritas Players Challenge over Labor Day weekend.

Oct 21, 2023; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers middle blocker Bekka Allick (5) reacts after a point against the Wisconsin Badgers during the fifth set at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 2 Nebraska Volleyball team locked up its 25th straight home win with a 3-1 victory against TCU to win the Ameritas Players Challenge over Labor Day weekend. Earlier, the Huskers cruised past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, overpowering the Islanders en route to a dominant sweep. 

The Horned Frogs proved to be a tougher affair, hitting shots in between NU’s block and getting the Husker defense out of sync with touches and roll shots. TCU wiped away a 22-21 deficit in set three to take the game 25-23 and force the second four-set match of the season for Nebraska. The Horned Frogs fell apart in a 25-13 fourth-set loss, but for a moment the Huskers looked vulnerable. 

In what can be called a rare matchup on the road, Nebraska flies down to Texas for its fourth match of the season with a Tuesday night showdown with newly sworn in ACC member SMU. 

Here’s all you need to know for Tuesday night. 

How to Follow Along 

Matchup: No. 2 Nebraska (3-0) at SMU (1-1)

Where: Moody Coliseum, Dallas, Texas

Time: 7 p.m. CDT 

Watch: ACC Network on ESPN 

Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Florida State Seminoles middle blocker Emma Clothier (16) attacks from the right side. The Seminoles beat the Miami Hurricanes after a hard fought four set game on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019. Fsu V Miami Volleyball031 / Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat, Tallahassee Democrat via Imagn Content Services, LLC

SMU Scout

Head Coach: Sam Erger | 3rd Season | 49-18 record at school | 2023 AAC Coach of the Year

2023 Record: 26-7 (18-1 AAC, 1st) | Two AVCA All-Region Members, Five All-AAC Selections, AAC Player of the Year | Swept by eventual National Champion Texas in NCAA Round of 32

Record Against Nebraska: 0-1 (2023) 

Key Returners: Celia Cullen, S, GR. | Jamison Wheeler, OH, SR. | Natalie Perdue, OH, GR. 

Key Departures: Emma Clothier, MB (Eligibility) | Sina Uluave, L (Eligibility) 

Outlook: It’s going to be hard for SMU to replicate the success they achieved under head coach Sam Erger in her second season in 2023. The Mustangs were the class of the American Athletic Conference, going 18-1 in league play for their first conference title since 2016 as well as winning four of the five major conference awards. Erger won coach of the year while middle blocker Emma Clothier won AAC Player of the Year. SMU rode a 15-match winning streak into the NCAA Tournament and extended that to 16 wins with a sweep of Texas State in the first round, but their season came to a halt with a bitter defeat to eventual national champion Texas in the second round. 

The Mustangs lose a ton from 2023 as they enter their first season in the ACC. Clothier ran out of eligibility as well as 2023 AAC Libero of the Year Sina Uluave. Despite losing all-time program leaders, SMU is projected to finish sixth according to the ACC preseason poll. 

Michigan State's Celia Cullen sets the ball to a teammate during the first set against Michigan on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, at the Jenison Field House in East Lansing. Michigan won the set 25-22. 210217 Msu Um Vball 072a / Nick King/Lansing State Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Riding the experience of fifth-year setter Celia Cullen will be key for the Mustangs. Cullen was named the AAC Setter of the Year last season after ranking first in the conference in both assists (1,207) and assists per set (10.59). Cullen, a transfer from Michigan State, will have a good pair of returning hitters to set for in Jamison Wheeler and Natalie Perdue. Wheeler was named a First-Team All-AAC member in 2023 after leading the team with 367 kills on a .249 hitting percentage. She also tallied 291 digs in a six-rotation role along with 39 blocks and 21 aces. Perdue earned Second-Team All-AAC honors in 2023 following a senior campaign with 2.95 kills and 1.77 digs per set mark. Naya Shime is the starting opposite, putting up a combined 26 kills in the team’s first two matches of 2024. The Casper, Wyoming native posted 300 kills, 215 digs, 84 blocks and 15 aces last year. 

Replacing Clothier will be no easy task, but that duty goes to Wichita State transfer Natalie Foster. The graduate student spent four seasons with the Shockers, earning all-conference nods in three of her four seasons including First Team All-Conference and AVCA All-Region honors in the last two. In fact, she led the AAC with a .413 hitting percentage which was also 12th in the country. Enger brought in another middle blocker from the transfer portal in Florida’s Nnedi Okammor. She led the Gators in blocks (120) last season and was third on the team in hitting percentage (.342). Another starter from the portal, Ellie Bolton comes from Creighton to start at libero. Bolton played in 26 matches for the Bluejays in 2023, recording a career-high 295 digs for a 3.6 digs per set mark. 

From a Nebraka perspective, a lot of thought went into scheduling SMU for two-straight seasons with it supposed to have been the battle of the Batenhorst sisters. Casey is the backup setter for the Mustangs while former Nebraska outside hitter Ally transferred to USC after three years in Lincoln. SMU seems to be finding its footing with a roster full of transfers as they went 1-1 in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. The Mustangs lost to Hawaii in five sets before earning their first victory of the season in a four-set win over San Diego. Nebraska should be expected to roll in this one, but crazy things tend to happen on the road.

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