John Cook’s office at the Devaney Sports Center has a large window where he can look down to the arena floor where the volleyball court is set up.
That’s one of the cool features added when the program moved to that arena eight years ago.
Several years ago, Cook was in his office when he heard balls bouncing on the court. Cook’s daughter, former Nebraska All-America setter Lauren West, had a young setter from the area she was giving a private lesson to.
“I’m like, ‘Who is that?'†said Cook this week while telling the story. “And Lauren told me it was Anni Evans.â€
Fast forward to today, and Evans is still playing at the Devaney Sports Center, but now the sophomore from Waverly is doing so as a member of the Nebraska volleyball team.
Evans’ biggest moment as a Husker came last weekend when she helped Nebraska make a big comeback in the fourth set to finish off a 3-1 win against Kansas State in a match that seemed destined for a fifth set before Evans came on the scene at setter. Nebraska trailed 12-6 when Evans took the court, but then won the set 25-22.
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She did so as the No. 3 setter on the roster. Nebraska was playing Evans because returning starter Nicklin Hames was injured, and freshman Kennedi Orr was struggling in the second part of the match. Orr was the starter but is still working back into form after knee surgery last year.
Cook said it’s a night Evans will never forget.
Nebraska probably doesn’t have a setter controversy, but it does have three setters it feels confident in playing, and that hasn’t always been the case.
Some years the Huskers have only two setters on the roster, and the coaches may not have been overly confident if No. 2 had to play during a big match.
This weekend, Nebraska plays three matches over two days in the Ameritas Players Challenge. Hames should be able to play some this week, but Orr and Evans also might play.
In a football game, if a team was on its No. 3 QB, it’d probably keep the offense pretty simple. That’s not what happened with Evans. She aired it out.
“Every set was on the money,†Cook said. “She took a couple of risky sets, which typically when a setter comes in, they’re just going to set the easy ball. She set two what I call high-level sets that we got nice kills on. She just executed.â€
After the match Cook said Nebraska’s hitting percentage with Evans had to be “astronomical,†and he was right. Her hitters had 11 kills on 17 attempts with no errors for a .647 hitting percentage (Nebraska’s team hitting percentage is .238).
After the match, Evans said she got lots of hugs from her teammates. Cook gave her the team’s pro wrestling belt that serves as a traveling trophy for one of the Huskers’ best players each week.
“He just said, ‘I think this goes without saying,’†Evans said.
Evans’ high school coach, Terri Neujahr, was at the match, and they got to talk when it was over.
Evans knew she was going in about one minute before she did. Entering the match after standing on the sideline for two hours can be difficult, but Evans knows if she’s going to play, that’s how it’s going to happen.
“My goal when I went in was just to try and be really free and play like I know how to play,†she said. “And then also just bring a lot of passion and energy to the team.â€
This was the second memorable moment of her career. Last season, Evans served an ace on the very first point she played for Nebraska.
In high school, Evans committed to Colorado State with plans to begin her career as a walk-on with a chance to earn a scholarship later.
But after Evans attended a Nebraska volleyball camp before her senior season, she was offered a chance to be a Husker walk-on. She accepted one day later.
Lauren West gave Evans setting lessons until she was a senior in high school.
“(Lauren) was someone I always really looked up to, and someone that I strived to be as an undersized setter,†Evans said.
In-state players fill Omaha roster: Nebraska’s first match Friday is against Omaha at 11 a.m. The Mavericks have 11 players from Nebraska on the roster, many of whom grew up attending matches in Lincoln. They include Marriah Buss, the former state player of the year for Lincoln Lutheran who transferred to Omaha after one season at Wichita State.
Stivrins times two: Nebraska’s second match Friday is against Georgia, which has Amber Stvrins on the roster. She’s the younger sister of Nebraska’s Lauren Stivrins.
Lauren Stivrins won’t be able to play after having offseason back surgery. She did hit for the first time in practice Thursday. Cook doesn’t know how many weeks she will need to practice before playing in a match.
“It just depends on how fast we can progress her,†he said. “So today was a baby step, and we’ll see how she feels (Friday).â€