LINCOLN, Neb. — In the midst of one of the most remarkable seasons in the history of Nebraska volleyball, the Huskers stood tall against numerous attempts to knock them from this perch atop their sport. A win against Nebraska this year, after all, means more than ever.

“We’ve been punched in the mouth a few times,” freshman setter Bergen Reilly said.

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Purdue, Wisconsin and Penn State took the Huskers to five sets.

Others in the Big Ten took their shots. All failed. In the final week of the regular season, No. 1-ranked Nebraska, at 27-0 and 18-0 in league play, has secured an outright Big Ten championship and likely the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. The 64-team bracket unveil is on Sunday.

Each time a threat arrived on the court, Reilly said, the Huskers knew where to focus. And on whom to rely.

Captains Lexi Rodriguez and Merritt Beason are much more than the digger and the hitter for Nebraska. They are the perfect leaders for a team that starts four freshmen. They are a perfect duo to stabilize a squad that has faced pressure at every turn since it sold out Memorial Stadium in August, setting a world attendance record for a women’s sporting event, and has since attracted record crowds at home and road venues almost weekly.

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They are essentially the perfect Nebraska volleyball pairing.

And they are, without a hint of doubt, the caretakers for these Huskers.

OURS. 🏆

YOUR HUSKERS ARE 2023 OUTRIGHT BIG TEN CHAMPIONS! #GBR

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) November 19, 2023

“When we get in those times that something goes wrong,” Reilly said, “they don’t have to do anything different. They do their jobs so consistently well that they have shown us in those big moments, we can be ourselves. They’re natural leaders. We needed to have those two leading our team.

“It’s a perfect mix.”

Beason transferred to Nebraska in January from Florida, where she earned first-team All-SEC recognition last year. All-America honors this year are a lock for the 6-foot-4 opposite hitter from Gardendale, Ala. She’s a six-rotation dynamo, equally as potent from the back row as an attacker as at the net. Her 4.44 kills per set lead Nebraska.

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Among Nebraska’s 99 All-America recipients, Rodriguez rates already among the most popular with fans. She produces a constant highlight reel with her floor defense and immaculate passing skills. A 5-5 libero from Sterling, Ill., Rodriguez was named the AVCA national freshman of the year in 2021. Her 3.67 digs per set this season direct a defense that ranks No. 1 nationally in opponent hitting percentage.

"She makes the difficult balls looks easy!" –@emilyehman

Oh yes, @Alexis14Rod does. 🤯

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) October 15, 2023

Together, Rodriguez and Beason can appear unstoppable.

But talk to coach John Cook and the Huskers about the 20-year-old juniors, and no one at first mentions the physical talents of Rodriguez and Beason.

“Those two,” Cook said, “are very, very gifted leaders.”

Rodriguez and Beason take care of each other, so they can then take care of everyone else — including the 67-year-old Cook.

Rodriguez recognized at an early age that players at her position rarely got noticed for anything but making a mistake.

“I was very serious,” she said, “very hard on myself.”

That is until she learned to play with the joy evident in her game as a collegiate star.

“I know we have big goals,” Rodriguez said. “And trust me, I’m very focused going into every match, but at the same time, I want to make sure everyone is enjoying it and getting to fully experience what it’s like to play in all these big matches.”

Beason cares so much about the people around her that sometimes she forgets about herself.

“That’s a balance I’m still working on,” she said. “I’ve learned that I have to be honest. I don’t have to pretend like I’m OK all the time.”

The road to Nebraska for Beason included a two-year detour, but she said she’s grateful to feel comfortable in expressing herself.

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“I’m allowed to use the gifts that God gave me,” she said, “and use them without having to change who I am. I’m able to play how Merritt is. I’m able to carry myself how Merritt is.”

Rodriguez and Beason met in 2022 as teammates on the U.S. under-21 national team at the Pan American Cup in Mexico.

Rodriguez captained the team, which also included Nebraska middle blocker Bekka Allick. Beason was named MVP at the five-match event, won by the United States.

Both Huskers struck a friendship with Beason.

“Watching her there,” Rodriguez said, “I learned how great of a leader she was.”

After the 2022 season, a roster spot opened at Nebraska as Beason entered the transfer portal. She reconnected with Rodriguez, who hosted her on a visit to Lincoln. The decision came fast.

“The connection happened because of how similar we are,” Beason said. “We don’t even have to talk about it. We relate in the way we give to the team the same way.”

Beason integrated with the Huskers last winter. The freshmen, Reilly, Harper Murray, Laney Choboy, Andi Jackson and Caroline Jurevicius, arrived in January, too. They practiced in the spring, competed in beach season and traveled as a team to Brazil in May and June.

There, several Nebraska players emerged as candidates to captain the 2023 team. All of them presented their cases. Rodriguez and Beason won over teammates.

With no seniors, the Huskers required strong leadership, according to Cook.

“They’re good people-people,” Cook said. “They connect really well with their teammates.”

Regularly amid the competitive atmosphere, Rodriguez and Beason talk. They discuss their teammates’ needs — conversations, Rodriguez said, that players on many other teams aren’t willing to have.

“We’re trying really hard to figure out what each person needs at each moment,” Beason said. “You have to be able to adapt when you’re a young team. That’s why I love leading with her. And if I’m struggling, I’ll say to her, ‘Hey Lex, I need you a little bit.’”

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Rodriguez and Beason get support in their roles from assistant coaches Kelly Hunter and Jordan Larson, former Nebraska All-Americans and national champions.

“We take it very serious that we’re instilling belief and confidence into the rest of the team,” Rodriguez said. “We like to say that confidence is contagious. If we can set a good example of believing in ourselves, we set a good example that bleeds into the rest of the team.”

Beason, set to graduate in May, wants to teach second or third grade.

She loves working with kids. In a way, the Huskers are like her students. “We haven’t talked about it,” Reilly said. “But I think that’s kind of how the dynamic works.”

New at Nebraska last winter, Beason helped Reilly understand her coursework.

“It’s the same way on the court,” Reilly said. “She’s like a mom out there. She’s always there for us. We know that Merritt is going to have our back, no matter how she’s playing.”

Beason plans to student-teach next year while working on a Master’s degree during her senior season at Nebraska.

Her care is genuine, Rodriguez said. Like a true elementary school teacher, Beason wants everyone around her to succeed, teammates said. She’ll do whatever is needed to enable their success.

“I think that’s a very rare trait,” Rodriguez said. “Even some people who try to be like that have to force it. She has such a big effect on everyone just because of how big her heart is.”

As for Rodriguez, the Huskers love her just as much as their tens of thousands of fans.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Lexi have a bad day,” Reilly said.

Rodriguez receives the loudest cheer during introductions before every match. She often gets messages from fans who tell her of their appreciation, she said, simply that she plays with “a joy and a light.”

Rodriguez signed NIL deals this year with Adidas and Panini America, a trading card company, as its first female college athlete. Her interactions with children mean the most to Rodriguez. After the Huskers play, she tries to take a moment to say hi and offer hugs.

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“I can just see what that does for them,” Rodriguez said. “And every single time I do it, it lights up my world.”

To see a libero embraced, it’s extra special for the Huskers who received attention for their big arm swings and thundering blocks.

“The kind of player she is speaks for itself,” Beason said. “But who she is as a person, a well-rounded woman and the way she carries herself, there’s no one in the country who deserves it more.”

A new season is upon the Huskers. They play Friday at No. 5 Wisconsin, the former top-ranked team that nearly beat the Huskers five weeks ago in Lincoln. Nebraska closes the regular season Saturday at Minnesota.

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First- and second-round NCAA tournament matches are headed to the Devaney Center next week. If the Huskers win, they’ll surely be at home for regionals to bid for a 17th trip to the final four since 1986. Nebraska has won five national championships, most recently in 2017. Rodriguez and Beason were freshmen in high school then.

Gone now is the attention on the Huskers’ wild ride since the stadium match. Starting next week, one defeat, even if it’s the first for this team, ends it all.

Rodriguez and Beason will be ready for the next bout with an opponent intent to knock Nebraska from its perch — to make their season because they beat the Big Red.

The captains’ secret? Turn the focus outward.

“When all hell is breaking loose,” Cook said, “everybody looks to them. And it doesn’t matter how well they’re playing, they’re still able to take care of everybody else.”

(Top photo: Dylan Widger / USA Today)