If the Nebraska volleyball team is practicing this spring, the Huskers should have a really good scout team, with two top-10 national recruits joining the team early for the spring semester to get a start on their college careers.
Lexi Rodriguez, ranked No. 10 in the 2021 recruiting class, will graduate from high school early and join the Huskers in January, Rodriguez told the Journal Star on Wednesday evening.
She’s the second player from Nebraska’s six-player recruiting class who plans to join the team early. The other is Kennedi Orr, a setter and the nation’s No. 1 recruit, according to .'
Orr and Rodriguez will be able to practice with the Huskers, who may be preparing to play a season sometime after January. The fall season was canceled, with hopes that the Huskers will play a Big Ten season and in a rescheduled NCAA Tournament in the spring.
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Orr and Rodriguez being able to play in matches during the spring would require the NCAA to grant midyear enrollees immediate eligibility.
Rodriguez is a libero/defensive specialist from Sterling, Illinois. By enrolling early, she’ll have to skip her senior season of high school volleyball, because in Illinois the season was postponed to the spring (Feb. 15-May 1) due to COVID-19.
Rodriguez holds school records for digs in a match, season and career. In the three years she was a starter on the varsity team, Rodriguez helped it to a 112-10 record, three conference titles and two state championships. She was chosen as the Gatorade player of the year for Illinois last season.
After the high school volleyball season was postponed in July, Rodriguez joined the tennis team, so she could play a sport this fall.