Husker volleyball has added the best 2021 recruiting class in not only the country but in Nebraska Athletic's history. Head coach John Cook said these six athletes will bring great competition and talent to his team.
As the first game gets closer, HuskerOnline talked to all six of the freshman to introduce fans to the newest additions to Nebraska volleyball.
Defensive specialist/libero Lexi Rodriguez is the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2021 class and the top-ranked DS/L. She was named the Illinois Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year in the 2019-2020 season.
Q: Where are you from?
A: Sterling, Illinois.
Q: What high school did you go to and what was your high school volleyball experience like?
A: I went to Sterling High School, it's a pretty small, small town. But in high school, we made it to two state championships and we won. We won two state championships, my sophomore and junior year and then my senior year actually got postponed to the spring. But then I was already here in the spring, so I didn't get to play my senior season.
Q: What did you learn from being able to enroll early and practice with the team?
A: I think it taught me a lot of time management, like schedules, and then in the gym, just getting to see what practices are like and getting to be on the sidelines for some of those big games. I think it really taught me a lot. And it's kind of prepared me for what might come next season.
Q: What are you most excited for as practices start and the season kicks off?
A: I think just competing, it's been a while since I've been able to really get on the court and go after it. So I think I'm really excited just to get there and play with all these girls. They're so much fun, and it's just gonna be high-intensity practices. So I'm really excited.
Q: What's your personal goal for this season?
A: I think just to learn and grow every day. I feel like there's gonna be a lot of maybe tough patches or challenges or just any of that. So I think just taking them as they come at me and just really trying to learn from them.
Q: How excited are you to see Bob Devaney full?
A: I'm so excited. I think we literally talked about it every day like 'oh my god, there's gonna be so many people in there watching us' and I think everyone's excited to finally have all the fans back because it's a really big part of Husker volleyball.
Q: What would you like Husker nation to know about you?
A: I have two golden doodles and I'm a really big dog person.
Q: What are their names?
A: Reggie and Ferg.
Q: What is your favorite movie?
A: I have lots of favorite movies, but the one that I could watch over and over again, would probably be Coach Carter, just because it's really inspirational and I really get into it.
