The "wow" factor for the newest player to commit to the Nebraska volleyball program is that she’s been a starter for a high school volleyball team since she was in the seventh grade.
In Minnesota, students in seventh and eighth grades are eligible to compete for high school teams, and that’s what Kennedi Orr has done.
Orr is from Eagan, Minnesota, and recently committed to the Huskers. She’s now a high school freshman and will be part of the Huskers’ 2021 recruiting class. She’s a 5-foot-11 setter.
Any of her credentials at this point seem minimal after noting that by the end of her seventh-grade season she had earned a starting job for Eagan High School, which plays in the state’s largest classification. And that team won state championships when Orr was on the team in the seventh and eighth grade.
Those titles came while playing on the same team as her old sister, Brie, who is the starting setter for Iowa this season as a freshman.
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Orr plays her club volleyball for Northern Lights near Minneapolis, which is one of the top club programs in the country.
Orr made her decision to commit to the Huskers last week, but didn’t go public with her decision until Tuesday. She had a big tournament with her high school team last weekend, and she didn’t want the reaction to her commitment to be a distraction. Her team won the tournament.
She was also considering playing in college for Iowa and Minnesota, which has been able to recruit several players from the Northern Lights club. But Orr did what she thought was best for her.
“I think I decided to make my decision now because recruiting is kind of stressful, but I always knew that I wanted to go to Nebraska, and why wait if I already knew that,†Orr said by phone.
She came to a Lincoln for a match this season. She was also part of the Huskers’ dream team camp this summer that has now netted three commitments. The others — libero Alexis Rodriguez from Sterling, Illinois, and outside hitter Lindsay Krause from Papillion — are also in the 2021 class.
At Nebraska, Orr said it had an impact on her how the coaches discussed how they could help her have a volleyball career after college.
“All coaches tell you how great you’re going to be, but at Nebraska they put it in perspective for me, and what I could do at Nebraska and beyond,†she said.