Nebraska Volleyball’s Rebekah Allick ‘Staying Present’ During Championship Chase

Rebekah Allick focuses on staying present as Nebraska volleyball eyes a championship, balancing mental resilience and standout performances in their title pursuit.

Rebekah Allick celebrates a point after a long rally. / Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska junior Rebekah Allick was spotted crocheting in the stands during the Texas A&M, Wisconsin match. It was a simple moment yet hundreds of thousands of fans have seen it on social media.

While the teammates around her were focused on the match, Allick was "staying present" while making presents for her volleyball family.

Allick never thought she'd be asked about her hobby during a press conference following an NCAA Tournament match victory. The Huskers defeated the Dayton Flyers 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13) but the tender-hearted moment went viral.

"It's a mixture of things," Allick responded when asked about what she was making. "I'm working on ear warmers. They're a gift to the girls right now. I find it more entertaining and I'm more committed to a project when it's for someone else. It's been fun trying to match my project to the personalities.

"It's a headband, ear warmer type of thing. The girls like their hair so got to honor that."

crochet queen 👑 🧶 pic.twitter.com/NWeltuYWM4

— sasha ౨ৎ 32-2 (@sushiskers) December 14, 2024

There is a challenge to staying warm and focused on the upcoming match when there's one playing out before and the Huskers had to wait even longer when the Aggies and Badgers went to a fifth set.

That is where crocheting comes into play for Allick. She worked on her projects during the the first match of the night and a little bit more when her nerves were running high while waiting for the final set to wrap up.

It isn't just about making gifts. Crocheting is way for Allick to stay in the moment and not let her mind wander too far from the task at hand.

"The biggest thing is staying present," she said. "The A&M and Wisconsin match obviously is something easy to take up a lot of our attention. But the biggest thing is being able to separate ourselves from that match and not looking too far into the future.

"I remember I popped into the ready room and Coach was in there with me and I was doing some mindfulness but yeah, I'd say the biggest challenge overall is just staying present kind of finding out where your feet are and figuring out what you need, staying external, sometimes even grabbing a snack is good but it's hard. You're waiting, you're thinking, sometimes the strategizing can turn into worrying so just staying present is probably the hardest part."

Allick won't have as much time to crochet on Sunday because the Huskers take on the Badgers at 2 p.m. CST with a trip to the Final Four in Louisville on the line.

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