 "Photo: Travis Beck and Chris Dorwart")
Smiles are a little easier to come by in the NU Coliseum these days.
Inspired by improvement and justified by wins, Nebraska has its swagger back thanks in part to Gina Mancuso’s “nasty” serve.
Leading the Cornhuskers’ recent serving upswing, the freshman has focused her way at the baseline to six service aces in the last two games, spurring confidence and even irritation in her teammates.
“I practiced with Jordan Larson for two years, and I’m telling you right now, Gina’s serve is ridiculous,” teammate Kayla Banwarth said. “I don’t want to try and pass her serve.”
Banwarth’s frustration is Nebraska’s gain and Mancuso’s chuckle.
Though fellow freshman Megan Pendergast takes the brunt of Mancuso’s knuckling deliveries in practice, junior libero Banwarth has had her share.
Regarded as one of the top liberos in the nation, Banwarth doesn’t look forward to handling her young teammate’s fluctuating serves in practice. Mancuso gets a kick from being able to bring a little extra intensity to practice.
“She just sticks it so well,” Banwarth said. “It jumps around and moves so much that it’s really just a crapshoot, and you’re lucky if you get it up in the air.”
Mancuso said she feeds off the irritation her serve brings to the floor.
“I guess she (Banwarth) thinks it’s ridiculous because it floats pretty well,” Mancuso said bashfully. “Kayla has given me many compliments saying how she hates my serves. That makes me feel pretty special.”
Mancuso’s “floaty” serve is one NU volleyball coach John Cook said is by far the best on the team. The 10th-year coach raved about the ball’s movement and unpredictability, comparing it to Mariano Rivera’s split-finger fastball.
It’s the result, however, that comes with quick points and the effective substitutions that translate to wins, but a little deceptive flare brings a smile to Cook’s face.
“It just moves,” Cook said. “It’s got a nasty movement to it; that’s how she hits it. It’s nothing we can coach, it’s just the way her hand hits the ball.”
Aces and smiles are things the Huskers are still getting used to. Prior to their two-service-error performance against Kansas State, NU totalled 49 service errors through four games.
The Papillion-LaVista graduate said her serve hasn’t been anything special until late. Her credit to the fix has been mental.
“It’s just pure focus,” Mancuso said. “I self-talk before my serve. I can just mentally prepare myself. Before, I would just bounce it five times and serve.”
The difference has resonated throughout the team, and the turnaround has setter Sydney Anderson excited about NU’s upcoming schedule. After the team heads to Missouri on Saturday and Iowa State on Wednesday, the Huskers will be set to run back through their Big 12 Conference schedule.
The next time around, Anderson said, teams should expect more confidence and aggression from the Huskers.
“I don’t think we realized it as much and how it feels,” Anderson said. “We had four aces and four errors (Wednesday). You can’t go wrong with that. You can tell in our team we’re beating teams now by five or six points, and that’s definitely a key.”
Mancuso has worked her way in as an integral part of that equation.
Not wanting to play freshmen was something Cook was adamant about from the beginning of the season. At the moment, confidence is something he’s had to have in Mancuso and his other first-year players.
“It’s the journey for her and the team,” Cook said. “All the freshmen have grown a lot; for her it’s just being more comfortable on the court. You can see her blending well with the team. You really get to see her grow every day in practice.”
davehoufek@dailynebraskan.com
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