NU volleyball team turns focus to itself

For the Nebraska volleyball team, it’s time to start figuring things out.

NU coach John Cook said the time for experimenting with the roster rotation is over as the Big 12 Conference schedule quickly approaches. It’s time to solidify a core group of players that will lead the team through this season.

Cook said this weekend’s Ameritas Players Challenge will be a good indicator of which Cornhuskers will receive the most playing time.

“We’re trying to narrow down and simplify who we want on the court,” Cook said.

Fifteen different Huskers were given the opportunity to play in last weekend’s tournament in Baton Rouge, La. This number will most likely go down as Nebraska welcomes a tougher crop of competition to Lincoln this weekend.

The No. 5 Huskers (5-1) will take on the Virginia Cavaliers at the NU Coliseum tonight at 7. The Cavaliers have won four straight matches and are coming off a three-match weekend sweep at the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup in Charlottesville, Va.

“This week, it’s going to be tougher because the chips are a little higher this week to get in the game,” Cook said.

With such a young team that has so much talent, narrowing down playing time can be a difficult task. The youth for the Huskers can also have its drawbacks.

Cook said the team spent all of Monday’s practice focusing on getting the team where it needs to be, making it difficult to look ahead and prepare for the weekend’s opponents.

“Last year’s team was much different. We could spend a lot more of our time preparing,” Cook said. “Most of our energy right now is going to Nebraska. We’re still tweaking some things and changing some things around.”

Junior libero Kayla Banwarth said it is better to get the team figured out now rather than look too far ahead.

“I think it’s a process because we are a young team,” Banwarth said. “If we look ahead, then that is just more things we have to worry about, and it can just weigh down on you. Taking it one play at a time, one drill at a time, one practice at a time is really the way to go for us so we don’t have too many things to worry about.”

The Huskers may be better off spending time on their own game. NU has no previous history against Virginia and hasn’t played Brigham Young University – its opponent on Friday – since 1996.

The highlight of the weekend will be a Sunday match-up at the Devaney Center against No. 8 UCLA, a team the Huskers have a much more recent history with. NU is 3-0 since 2005 against the Bruins. Cook said part of the off day Saturday will be focused on the Bruins, but his young team still has work to do on itself.

“Each year, we take it differently,” Cook said. “But we’re really focused on us right now.”

dougburger@dailynebraskan.com