Big Red peaking

As Husker volleyball announcer John Baylor always says, “You don’t want to peak in August!”
Texas found out the hard way late Saturday night in Austin in front of a record crowd as Nebraska saved their very best last, for their 10th consecutive regional final appearance, taking an exciting 3-1 win over the Longhorns in what no doubt will be viewed as a top 10 program win of all time.
It was also sweet revenge for a loss in this same round to Texas this past April in Omaha.
And for all of you who stayed up late to witness the match, 3-1 might sound easy on paper but it was anything but, which makes it all the sweeter.
What proved to be the difference, in part, was the coming out party of freshman outside hitter Ally Batenhorst from, you guessed it, Texas. She was the National High School Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020, but has been in and out of the lineup all year long because of her inconsistent play.
The Texas crowd saw the light bulb go on as she recorded 15 kills (six in the final set), to help turn the home team back into Cinderella just before midnight.
But her explosion near the end of the match proved to be the deciding factor, getting monstrous kills on points, 16, 18, 19, 21 and 22 as the ‘Horns were clawing their way back to make things interesting.
Looking back to earlier this season, I remember vividly following Louisville’s dominating sweep of the Huskers in Lincoln on Sept. 19. Coach John Cook was experimenting with different starting lineups and the team was trying to find their way. I also remember thinking that this team would do well just to finish the tough conference season at .500.
Now they are one win away from the championship.
Cook probably won’t win many coaching honors this season with seven losses minimum and no conference championship, but he deserves something special for having to deal with his six freshmen day in and day out.
As Dick Vitale always says, “The best thing about a freshman is they become sophomores.”
And the Huskers wouldn’t be where they are without them.
The biggest takeaway for me from Saturday night was both schools’ team chemistry, and how opposite they appeared.
Nebraska, after every point win or lose, would laugh and smile together as they would huddle up. Texas players rarely smiled to each other, period.
That says something about culture, and NU setter Nicklin Hames said following the match that the Huskers “out-hearted and out-teamed” Texas.
Well said.
The burnt orange student section tried and tried with all their might to jinx Nebraska servers all night long, but our girls stood tall and played bullet proof, this year’s team motto.
And in my opinion, one of the best highlights of the entire night came on match point when Nebraska dog piled and took over the court. Lexi Sun, a former Longhorn and a former All-American but now a Husker reserve, was seen nearly in tears despite not playing a single rally in the tournament so far.
That’s what makes Nebraska special. That’s what makes this team and program special.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if they have one more peak in them? 
DAVE BRADLEY can be reached at advertising@hamilton.net.