Nebraska
Quotebook: Nebraska and Wisconsin VB coaches + players preview Elite Eight
Quotebook: Nebraska and Wisconsin VB coaches + players preview Elite Eight
It’s red vs. red. It’s powerhouse vs. powerhouse. It’s Nebraska volleyball vs. Wisconsin volleyball.
All for the right to net a trip to Louisville, boast yet another win in the rivalry series, secure another Final Four berth and an opportunity to win another national championship.
Ahead of today’s Elite Eight matchup between the two Big Ten foes (2 p.m. CT on ABC and WatchESPN), below is a Quotebook from Saturday’s pre-match press conference with the Huskers and Badgers.
Here are the key takeaways from Nebraska coach John Cook and Husker stars Andi Jackson and Bergen Reilly, plus Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield and Badger stars Julia Orzol and Anna Smrek.
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NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL
Huskers head coach John Cook:
Opening statement
“This is what ABC wanted. This is what everybody wanted, what the NCAA Tournament wanted was us and Wisconsin. Now they’ve got it. Huskers will be fired up.”
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On playing a team three times in one season
“Our mindset is that we take every match one at a time. I can’t even remember when we played them last because we’ve had so many other matches in between. We prepare just like we normally do. We break everything down and treat it like this is the first time we’re playing them.”
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On players stepping up in big moments
“That’s why they call it a team. Not everybody is going to be an All-American all-star every night. Our goal is to be a great team every night. We can win with somebody getting hot, we can win with our block and defense. We don’t have to be perfect every night. That’s one of the great things about this team. We’ve won a lot of different ways. Our goal tomorrow will be to have everybody play their best match of the year and our crowd to have their best match of the year.”
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On playing a regional final on national television
“TV is just really recognizing the interest in women’s volleyball, and putting it on ABC is a statement that they really think this is worth it. It’s a great product, it’s a great show, it’s a great sport. It’s exciting. We’ve been watching tons of volleyball. It was exciting watching the Texas A&M/Wisconsin match yesterday. This is a time of year where everything is on the line. To be on ABC, and ESPN2 is also televising, I wasn’t really excited about playing until midnight last night. I’m sure you guys aren’t either. The good thing is, we’re not playing at 9 in the morning, which we’ve had to do in the past. Women’s sports are exploding and this is a great statement to that.”
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On the seniors’ last match at Devaney
“I don’t even want to think about it. I’m not going there.”
Middle blocker Andi Jackson
On the team’s mindset going into the first two matches against Wisconsin
“I wouldn’t say it’s intimidating playing Wisconsin, I would say it’s exciting. I think they’re a really good program and a great team and getting to play such high level volleyball is super exciting for our team. I know that we really enjoy that. Preparing for it, it’s more just, go out and take it. We have nothing to lose. At the end of the day, it’s just another volleyball game. It’s volleyball versus volleyball. It’s not us versus Wisconsin.”
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On being vocal about what’s at stake
“This team does a really good job of not having too many chefs in the kitchen. We all understand that we have one common goal. Sometimes it can feel very overwhelming with how many people are throwing stuff out there, and I think we do a really good job of balancing, everyone pulling their weight, everyone is giving their 100%. That doesn’t mean everyone needs to give 100% vocally. It’s more like, you give 100% physically and we can have a couple people give their 100% vocally.”
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On Sunday being the last match at Devaney and sending the seniors out with a win
“I’m very motivated. It’s going to be a really fun game, a super fun environment. It’s the last game in the Bob for our seniors and Bergen and I’s sophomore year. Time is flying, so I want to absorb it and absorb the moment and play our best match of the year, to an extent.”
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On how she handles it when things aren’t clicking
“That’s the incredible thing about our team. When I’m not having my best night or if any of our hitters aren’t having their best night, we’re such a balanced team. Not that it doesn’t matter, but they can carry your weight. If you’re having a 60% night, then they have your 40%. I think that’s what makes this team so special. If I’m struggling one night, I know that I can control the controllables. Maybe hitting isn’t going well, but what can I do blocking-wise, what can I do defensively to help the team still? There are so many ways you can show up. That’s what makes volleyball such an incredible sport. It’s not just one thing. There’s so much that goes into it and all those different factors. So it’s just, what can I do right now even if this isn’t working?”
Setter Bergen Reilly
On the benefits of playing a team they’re familiar with
“It definitely helps. We have their tendencies in our head and we kind of know a little bit about what’s coming. Each game, they’ve made little changes, so we have to adjust to those too. Having this day in between will be really good for us to refresh on that and get back used to it. It definitely helps that we already have a scouting report in our head and don’t have to start from scratch.”
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On Harper Murray and finding her hand when she’s hot
“I like to set the hot hand. This season, luckily, we’ve had a lot of hot hands pretty much every game. It’s been easy to balance. Like you said, she was on fire last night and finding her as much as you can is really all you can do, while also trying to keep everybody else in it and not let the block just go to her. It’s a balance of wanting to feed her a lot, but also keeping the other team honest and keeping the rest of our team in it and running a normal offense, too.”
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On being vocal about what’s at stake
“I think we do a good job of preparing that in advance. We can just talk about meetings that we’ve had, keywords that we have for our team to just bring us back to the moment. Like Coach said, every game is one game at a time. We’re not necessarily thinking ‘we want to win this so we can play on Sunday or we can get to Louisville.’ It’s more like, ‘let’s win this next point and then we can go from there.’ I think we do a lot of that communication and that prep in advance, so it helps us a lot in the moment.”
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On running the offense when Wisconsin is familiar with it
“I think just keeping the balance. It’s hard to defend any team that has a really good balance, no matter what kind of scouting report or anything you have on them. If everyone can put a ball down at any time, they’re going to be a tough team to stop. I think focusing on that going in, and we have our little wrinkles to our offense too. Keeping a balance and keeping them on their toes.”
WISCONSIN VOLLEYBALL
Badgers head coach Kelly Sheffield
Opening statement
“This is a special group. They’ve accomplished a lot. We’ve got two seniors here that have been a part of a lot of great seasons. It’s a group that I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoy being around, on and off the court. We’re certainly looking forward to the challenge we have tomorrow, playing a great team in a great venue.”
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On playing on national TV
“We’re certainly excited about playing the match. It’s pretty cool that it’s on ABC and I’m sure there will be a lot of people that are watching. No matter what the result is, it’s usually pretty compelling volleyball when the two teams meet up. It’s usually pretty high level. I’m sure that’ll show. The matches so far in this tournament, the number of really high-level, compelling, tough matches, it’s been an unbelievable tournament so far. It’s kind of interesting because you see almost all 1s and 2s. I think you have one third seed. You would think that it’s just the favorites that are going, but man, everybody has had to grind and dig in and fight. It’s been awesome, and the fact that you have one of these on that network is pretty cool.”
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On how challenging it is to beat a team three times in a season
“When you’re the team that has lost the first two, the obvious question is, do they believe that they can win? That’s the obvious. When you get to this stage, I think when maybe there’s a thought that somebody is going to take somebody for granted, that just doesn’t happen with competitors. There’s too much at stake. The opportunity to go to a Final Four is a dream for anybody. When that’s right in front of you, you’re going to get everybody’s best, no matter how many times you’ve beaten somebody. I think our players believe and I don’t think that’s going to be a problem on our end. On their end, they’re pretty driven to get to that next step again. I think you’ll see two really highly driven teams. Should make it a lot of fun.”
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On how much scouting they’ll do
“We didn’t stick around. That would be a little bit unusual, but there was a lot going on here. Sometimes you’re not able to really watch too much with distractions. We thought it was more important to go and get a good meal and get a good sleep. I’m sure everybody was watching last night as we were getting ourselves cleaned up and all those things. If it was an environment we wanted our players to get used to, we probably would have stayed here, or if it was a team we didn’t know much about. You’re right, it was pretty late. The turnaround is pretty quick. It’s a day and a half. You’re immediately just trying to think of, how do we get our minds right and our bodies right? It quickly gets into that mode.”
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On the senior class and what it means to Wisconsin volleyball
“They’ve elevated it. Can you leave a program better than when you walked into it? Certainly, that’s a focus of mine as a coach and that’s something we talk to our players about. I don’t think there’s any question about these two and any other seniors. They’ve elevated the program and they’ve inspired a lot of people along the way, as they’ve played. They’ve represented the university and athletic department with a lot of class and enthusiasm. These two and everybody in that class is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be. I’m proud to be their coach and excited to get after it with them tomorrow.”
**********
On the Big Ten season with four new teams
“It was an awesome challenge. It’s always hard to win a Big Ten championship. That’s just really impressive seasons by both Penn State and Nebraska to be able to do that. You have the travel element. Compression has gotten to be even more of a thing. The level of play and the style of play, all four of those teams bring a different style. It was a fun year. When it’s all said and done, I’ll say it was an exhausting year. Right now, I’m pretty energized. John (Cook) has mentioned numerous times over the years, how much harder winning a Big Ten championship is than winning a national championship. I haven’t seen any stats on that or anything, but it is really hard to do. You just have so much respect when somebody is able to do it. And it just got worlds harder this year. If you’re a competitive junkie, there isn’t anything better, and adding those four teams has just elevated it.”
Outside hitter Julia Orzol
On the mentality of the team going into Sunday
“I feel excitement. There’s excitement that we get another chance to meet this team and show better volleyball. That’s what we’re focusing on. For now, for preparation, what we can do during this one day of transitioning from yesterday. We know what’s waiting, neither team is going to lose this game. Somebody will have to go and grab that win. We are preparing for a great fight and great volleyball.”
**********
On the Nebraska/Wisconsin rivalry
“It’s just good volleyball. It’s so fun going into these games and knowing that you’ll get their best every time. I would say it’s just fun.”
Opposite hitter Anna Smrek
On playing a team they’re familiar with when there’s a quick turnaround
“I think it comes in handy, but each team is going to look a little bit different trying to get that upper hand on teams. I think it’s just, how can we get better from each time we’ve seen them and learn from our own game? Also, what were they trying to do against us? It’s about still finding ways to get better and not just staying stagnant with the information we do already know.”
**********
On the Nebraska/Wisconsin rivalry
“That’s one of the reasons that we all love the game of volleyball, is the competitiveness. Each side is just so driven with that. A lot of people sometimes question what goes on through the net or that little back and forth banter, but that’s some of the fun, and the competition that just drives even more. Especially being able to do that as a team, having backup, it’s just so fun.”
Nebraska
Starting fires helped contain a Nebraska wildfire — and ignited another – Flatwater Free Press
This story is made possible through a partnership between Flatwater Free Press and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
As the fast-moving blaze rolled toward Fire Chief Jason Schneider’s district in Cozad, he and his crew faced a literal uphill battle.
The Cottonwood Fire was tearing through the Loess Canyons, an area defined by steep slopes, narrow valleys, few roads and pockets of invasive eastern red cedar trees, which can throw embers and ash — and even explode — when they burn.
“You think you would have it put out, and you keep on moving north, and you’d look back south and it’s just going again behind you,” Schneider said.
But the situation started to improve when they connected with a prescribed burn group. They had equipment and showed Schneider and his volunteer crew how to use fire to contain the wildfire.
“It would have burned a lot more if they hadn’t showed up and helped us get it stopped where we did,” Schneider said.
Already, 2026 has marked Nebraska’s worst year on record for wildfires. As of May 6, wildfires have burned about 981,502 acres and dealt a blow to ranchers. They also have brought to the forefront the best arguments for and against a controversial and centuries-old land-management practice: Using fire to fight fire.
In March, the Cottonwood Fire, contained by prescribed burn techniques and past prescribed fires, made the case for the practice. In the Nebraska National Forest that same month, heavy winds turned the smoldering remnants of a prescribed burn into the Road 203 wildfire, bringing to life some landowners’ and managers’ worst fears.
The debate over prescribed burns had been simmering long before those wildfires and has grown louder in recent years as more Nebraskans turn to the practice. The Nebraska Prescribed Fire Council estimates that during modern times, 2025 saw the most acres burned in a single year by prescribed fire.
But in areas of the state like the western Sandhills, the practice has sparked backlash.
“There was a (prescribed burn) group that tried to establish a couple of years ago up around the Tryon, Mullen area up in there. And they almost lynched that group,” Keystone-Lemoyne Fire and Rescue Chief Ralph Moul said. “They said, ‘No, we do not want fire in the Sandhills,’ because there’s nothing to stop it up here.”
Despite the fear, there is overwhelming evidence that prescribed burns, when done correctly, can help prevent massive wildfires by burning up volatile fuels like cedar trees. They can make the land ecologically healthier and save ranchers money.
“The wildfires you’ve seen here in Nebraska the last few years are also a consequence of removing fire from the landscape,” said Kent Pfeiffer, program manager for the Northern Prairies Land Trust. “You don’t get rid of fire, you just change the nature of it … instead of having frequent, low-intensity fires, you end up with infrequent, high-intensity fires.”
The issue may be growing more urgent as the state faces dual threats. Large swaths of Nebraska’s native grasslands are in danger of becoming cedar woodlands — an already costly headache for ranchers. Meanwhile, climate change is bringing more extreme conditions, including intense stretches of drier and hotter weather that can lead to more destructive wildfires.
“It’s time to innovate a bit more on the wildfire and prescribed fire side,” said Dirac Twidwell, a rangeland and fire ecologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “What we know is that overall, our fire management is not working.”
‘I burned them’
Tucker Thompson was in his 30s when he first helped out on a prescribed burn on another person’s property near Gothenburg back in the early 2000s. The rancher, who summers cattle in the Loess Canyons, knew some neighbors would be upset, but cedar trees were starting to sprout across his land. He wanted to get ahead of the problem, and he was curious.
By today’s standards, the group’s equipment was basic and their knowledge limited. Even though everything went fine, Thompson left thinking the entire practice was insane. He went home and took a chainsaw to the cedar trees across about 400 acres of his property.
“And then five years later, they all start coming back. Ten years later, it’s like, I have no choice. There’s no way of killing these dang things, so I burned them,” Thompson said.
Now, Thompson continues the practice and is a member of two burn groups. He helped firefighters contain the Cottonwood Fire, even as it ravaged his grazing lands.
Prescribed burns “decrease the fuel load in these canyons, so we can control these fires to some degree,” Thompson said.
The Loess Canyons area has one of the most advanced prescribed fire cultures in the entire country, Twidwell said. It has reduced the risk of catastrophic fire and made the land more suitable for grazing, which has boosted landowners’ profits, he said.
Up until the last 150 years, fire was common in Nebraska. Wildfires would naturally control species like eastern red cedar. Indigenous peoples have also used fire for a variety of reasons in this region.
Prescribed burns are common in other Great Plains states like Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. In Nebraska, it’s more prevalent in the eastern and central parts of the state. The benefits extend beyond fire protection — it also increases biodiversity and wildlife. Even the grass that comes back after a burn is preferred by the cattle.
More than 92,700 acres burned in prescribed fires between Jan. 1 and June 30 last year, according to a survey of 26 organizations by the Nebraska Prescribed Fire Council.
But conducting these burns requires a lot of planning, post-burn monitoring, money, machinery and manpower. And even when it comes together, a change in weather can cancel the whole operation at a moment’s notice.
In order to conduct a land management burn, a landowner or tenant has to apply for a permit and submit a plan to their local fire chief, who decides whether to waive Nebraska’s open burn ban. By law, the plan requires serious documentation, including a list of on-hand equipment and a description of weather conditions needed to burn safely.
Fairbury Fire Chief Judd Stewart’s jurisdiction is filled with landowners and managers who use prescribed burns. Stewart says he had to cancel almost 50 burn permits in March when Gov. Jim Pillen ordered fire chiefs statewide to temporarily stop issuing them during the wildfires. Stewart wishes the governor would have given more consideration to areas like southeast Nebraska, where fire danger was lower. Those areas still have heavy fuel loads, and the window to burn is closing.
“As we approach mid- to late summer, when we start getting high temperatures … that vegetation will carry fire again, and now we’ve got those heavy fuel loads that are going to be hard to contain,” Stewart said.
Austin Klemm, a board member of the burn group that helped Schneider and others contain the Cottonwood Fire, said he is working with about six landowners who have invested roughly $250,000 to $275,000 to plan a burn that might not happen this year due to the ban.
“Some of these guys have invested tens of thousands of dollars in prep work to be able to burn,” Klemm said. “These guys have deferred grazing, did not graze at all last year, had to go find a place to stick cows or feed cows all last year.”
‘It’s dangerous’
Becky Potmesil doesn’t have to look far to see the devastation wildfire can cause. Potmesil raises cattle in the Alliance area of the Panhandle, on the western edge of the Sandhills. To the south, the Morrill Fire burned an estimated 642,000 acres, making it the largest on record in the state’s history. To the southeast, the Ashby Fire burned another 36,000 acres.
The winds have blown away the black, burnt grass, leaving behind only sand dunes. It looks like a moonscape, she said.
“Anybody who’d do a prescribed burn out here in the (western) Sandhills in western Nebraska is crazy, and it’s dangerous,” she said. While she sees how there could be benefits in some Sandhills meadows, she doesn’t think it’s worth the risk in her area.
Moul, the Keystone-Lemoyne fire chief, is cautious about issuing burn permits in his Sandhills district. He likes for there to either be snow or green grass on the ground. The Sandhills have fewer fire breaks, less infrastructure and more extreme weather conditions like high-speed winds than other parts of the state, Moul and Potmesil noted.
Moul, an incident commander on the Morrill Fire, understands that prescribed fire has its place. But after seeing the damage caused by prescribed burn escapes over his career, he said fire chiefs shouldn’t allow them on or right before red flag days in their districts. Most of the burn groups know what they’re doing, Moul said, but a few have convinced local fire chiefs to issue permits on red flag days so they can “get the best kill of the trees.”
“But it was my experience when I worked with the state that we went to a lot of escaped fires because of prescribed burns that got away,” Moul said.
The Road 203 wildfire started as a prescribed burn in the Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest. More than a day after the fire ignitions ended, heavy winds created a spot fire outside the original boundary as firefighters mopped up and patrolled the area, according to the Forest Service. The agency said 99.84% of its prescribed burns go according to plan. This one didn’t.
According to the Nebraska Prescribed Fire Council’s survey last year, 1.6% of burns escaped and required outside assistance, primarily from volunteer fire departments. Changing weather patterns and the spread of cedar trees are the primary reasons for escapes, the Fire Council said in an email.
“When the gap between prescribed fire acres and fuel load increases, it also increases fire behavior in both prescribed fire and wildfires causing us to adapt to riskier burns with increased planning and equipment.”
When Twidwell came to Nebraska in 2013, he was told prescribed fire would never be used in the Sandhills. Since then, he has seen multiple burns happen there as the culture continues to shift. Some of this is due to the spread of eastern red cedars in the area.
He knows some landowners will never be convinced, and he understands their concern. But beyond protecting the grasslands, Twidwell believes Nebraska needs to have more conversations on how to mitigate large wildfires by using fire.
“Everybody understands … the wildfire risk playing out,” he said. “Fewer understand the benefits and why certain groups are using prescribed fire.”
Nebraska
No. 1 Nebraska ready to open NCAA Tournament against Summit League Champion South Dakota
NCAA Tournament softball returns to Bowlin Stadium this weekend as top-seeded Nebraska prepares to host its first regional since 2013.
The Huskers enter the postseason ranked No. 1 in both the NFCA and USA Softball polls for the first time in program history. Nebraska (46-6) earned the No. 4 overall seed after a historic season that included both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships.
Nebraska opens regional play Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT against Summit League champion South Dakota.
“It’s time to funnel it back down,” head coach Rhonda Revelle said. “We had a good day and a half after winning the Big Ten Tournament where the players could enjoy it, but now it’s time to focus.”
The Huskers bring the nation’s longest active winning streak into the tournament at 21 games and have established themselves as one of the country’s most complete teams. Nebraska owns 10 wins over current top-25 opponents this season, including victories over then-No. 1 Texas and Texas Tech.
A major reason for Nebraska’s success has been its pitching staff, led by back-to-back Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Jordy Frahm and freshman standout Alexis Jensen, the conference’s Freshman of the Year.
Frahm, a former national champion at Oklahoma, enters the postseason as one of the nation’s top two-way players, while Jensen leads all freshman pitchers nationally in wins and strikeouts.
“Coach has really emphasized taking it one pitch at a time,” Third Baseman Samantha Bland said. “We’re trying to slow ourselves down and stay in the moment.”
South Dakota enters with a 20-34-1 record but arrives in Lincoln with momentum after capturing the Summit League Tournament title — the first conference championship in program history.
“Forty-eight years and we’d never won a championship of any kind,” South Dakota head coach Robert Wagner said. “To be the first is really special.”
The Coyotes are led offensively by Brooke Carey, sister of Nebraska baseball player Dylan Carey, while Madison Evans has handled the bulk of the pitching duties this season.
On paper, Nebraska holds the advantage in nearly every category, including offense, pitching depth and postseason experience. Still, the Huskers know the NCAA Tournament leaves little room for error.
“Anything can happen,” Revelle said. “The key is mastering the little things and sticking to what got us here.”
Louisville and Grand Canyon will meet in the regional’s opening game Friday at 3 p.m. CT before Nebraska takes the field Friday night in Lincoln.
Nebraska
Nebraska QB has high expectations heading into 2026 season
Nebraska’s new quarterback has high expectations for the upcoming season. Transfer Anthony Colandrea spoke with Pete Nakos of On3 (subscription required) about his decision to transfer and his goals for the Huskers this year.
Colandrea comes to Nebraska following a breakout junior year with the Rebels. The St. Petersburg, Florida, native finished the 2025 season throwing for 3,459 yards, 23 touchdowns, and nine interceptions with a 65.9 completion percentage.
The former Rebels’ play earned him the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year award. Before UNLV, Colandrea played two seasons at Virginia. In 19 games, he totaled 4,083 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
The new Husker told Nakos that he has high expectations and is looking to play in big games at the end of the season.
“Expectations at Nebraska are to win. Like, you’re not here to just not win a national championship. I’m not coming here to just win eight or nine games. I want to win a national championship; I want to go to the playoffs. I have high expectations, and we have high expectations as a team.”
Colandrea joined a Nebraska team that was looking for a new opening day starter after Dylan Raiola transferred to the Oregon Ducks. The Husker quarterback room also includes sophomore and bowl game starter T.J. Lateef and former Virginia quarterback Daniel Kaelin. He also expressed excitement about playing in front of Nebraska fans.
“It’s the craziest fan base I’ve ever been around. My first impression was I went to a wrestling match. I would never think a wrestling match would be sold out. I walk in, and it’s like 35,000 to 40,000 people. I’m like, this is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. They bring the juice. I’m excited to play for them.”
Nebraska opens the 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, when the Ohio Bobcats visit Memorial Stadium. Kickoff time and broadcast network are still to be determined.
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