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Nebraska Volleyball 2024 Position Preview: Middle Blocker
By Abby Barmore,
6 hours ago
Nebraska Volleyball’s 2024 season is around the corner. The Huskers are coming off an incredible 2023 season, which ended with heartbreak in the national title match. NU had four players leave the program but added two very experienced and two freshmen.
HuskerOnline dives into each position group in this annual position preview series. Next is the Huskers’ middle blocker group, which added a transfer with three middles that started in 2023.
Rebekah Allick Nebraska Volleyball (Photo by Nebraska Communications)
What we know right now: It’s a battle
Nebraska has three middle blockers on its roster that started for their teams in 2023. Junior Rebekah Allick and sophomore Andi Jackson return to the Huskers after two strong 2023 performances.
NU added San Diego middle blocker transfer Leyla Blackwell for the 2024 season. The graduate transfer logged 310 sets over three seasons with USD. She helped the Toreros to the 2022 Final Four for the first time in program history.
Each player adds something different to the position. Allick is one of the best blockers nationally. Jackson is electric on the attack, especially on the slide, with a powerful, quick swing. Blackwell is a good combination of both – strong attacker and blocker.
Head Coach John Cook has three elite middle blockers on his roster. This will be a very tight competition in the middle and will likely carry on into the season. Depending on matchups, Cook will likely end up playing all three middles often.
Key stats and numbers from 2023:
Name
Sets
Kills
Kills per set
Hitting PCT
Aces
Rebekah Allick
105
185
1.76
.329
1
Andi Jackson
118
237
2.01
.399
0
Maggie Mendelson*
26
27
1.04
.317
0
Leyla Blackwell+
91
205
2.25
.329
0
* transferred, + stats from San Diego
Name
Blocks
Blocks per set
Digs
Digs per set
Rebekah Allick
158
1.50
31
0.29
Andi Jackson
129
1.09
17
0.14
Maggie Mendelson*
15
0.58
4
0.15
Leyla Blackwell+
113
1.24
17
0.19
* transferred, + stats from San Diego
Leyla Blackwell and Merritt Beason demonstrate a drill during Nebraska’s 2024 Dream Team Camp (Photo by Abby Barmore/HuskerOnline)
Biggest Question: Where does Leyla Blackwell fit with the power duo?
Blackwell has more experience than Allick and Jackson. But, she has never experienced the grind of the Big Ten, although she has played several Big Ten teams. She has played in many high-stakes matches and should adjust quickly to the physicality of the conference.
Last season, Maggie Mendelson , who transferred to Penn State, pushed Allick and Jackson. Competing against a very experienced, older middle will change the vibe.
In 2023, Blackwell averaged more kills per set than both Husker middles. She also averaged more blocks than Jackson in 2023, her freshman season.
The 6-foot-4 middle adds more motivation for Allick to improve her attack and Jackson to level up her blocking.
While it will likely be challenging for Cook to choose who starts, the Huskers have incredible depth. If someone is injured/sick or having a bad match, an All-American caliber middle is waiting on the bench.
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