Lindsay Peterson Talks Nebraska Volleyball Weekend Wins, Harper Murray, The Week Ahead and More!

[Music] this is the dig on the Huskers radio network podcast powered by ameritus featuring Nebraska volleyball director of operations Lindsay Peterson here's your host Jessica [Music] cudy welcome back into another episode of The Dig powered by ameritus I'm Jessica Cy and this week joined by director of operations Lindsay Peterson her first time on the podcast this season welcome back great to have you here in studio yeah it's great to be back I feel like you know we were here not too long ago last year talking about a stadium match and think that all of this has come about since then but um it's exciting to be back in this time of year and fall and you can feel the energy around Lincoln for sure absolutely big weekend over the weekend for you guys picked up a couple wins uh here at home but I did want to Circle back and go to the loss at SMU how did you guys see the team respond from that and and want to bounce back from that well we always talk about a loss like you have something to learn from it and if you don't learn anything from it then um obviously it beat you twice basically so uh we really we really talked about Hey what how did we get in the situation we let uh SMU get a lot of momentum in that first set we were up and then they came back and you could see them just get a lot of Hope and momentum and think that they had a shot to win this and um we did didn't respond how we wanted and we saw maybe a little more fear and timidness in our team than what we had we had hoped for or anticipated but um you know credit to SMU they they played an incredible match they were very tough defensively and you could see it wore on us um and our offense and shut down our offense and um we also saw the importance of serving and passing I mean they their servers were hot they had one server that was a very tough server and she got really hot and that can really change the match and it did on Tuesday so our Focus was when we came back into the gym Wednesday was hey we got to learn and move on we know where we need to get better we saw the importance of serving and passing but we also saw the sense of urgency we need to have when we're up or how to play each point we can't play the last point we have to have an urgency that when we're up we need to finish that that game out and so um there was a lot we could take away from that that will definitely help us and it was it was like you said it was a great match to start on the road and to see that environment I mean it was a packed house we knew they were going to be excited to play in that they don't get that how you know that uh many fans every night and we do and so it was it was um really everything was in their favor they were coming out to have fun and and uh we needed to be able to respond and it was great for us to see because we'll face that a lot this year especially on on the road in the Big 10 you know you had mentioned the serving and they had I think seven service service Aces how do you address that and how do you stop that in match when you do have somebody that that's got the hot hand like that well when somebody's serving like that your focus turns to we just got to get the ball in the air um and then everyone has to have the mindset that they're going to better the ball and do something with it so you know take a little pressure off our passers if they get the ball up then we need to do our job offensively to get them out of that rotation um the quickest way to get a hot server out is you know not let him go on a run and unfortunately if they start going on runs it just builds their confidence and they start to feel a little more confident from the service line and and makes it tougher for us for the passers so um the biggest key is we got when you find a hot server you got to find a way to S out quickly and get them out of their Rhythm and not let them start to get in the flow from the service line and um so we we address that of you we got to do a better job on our end not fighting not to get AC and just getting the ball in the air and then everybody taking a little bit of responsibility not just our passers and trying to get out of that rotation and get that server off the service line how much of it was a good reminder to I know you know this is nothing new for this program but hey you're probably going to get everybody's best night and night everybody is fighting to play their very best against Nebraska how good of a reminder is that that hey everybody's coming out and they and they are going to be fired up to play Nebraska I think it was a good reminder early especially because we have new players um we have some players that have been here before but in last year with the experience but it's good for them to see it's not just in the Big 10 we're going to get everybody's best shot it's everybody's Best Shot no matter whether it's at home or away and they have to understand that the target's on them and and I think some sometimes that can cause some pressure so you think well if you lose a match maybe it takes a little bit of pressure off and they understand hey that will take the heat off of trying to attack beat Nebraska but when you wear Nebraska across your chest and you decide to come to this program and be part of this team that's an expectation and and a pressure you're going to have to face because because of the tradition that you know that our program is built and just everyone wants to have a shot at Nebraska and it's you know you see that in all sports you know the basketball top basketball teams they Duke had it for a long time North Carolina everyone just if you can say you beat those teams it's big for your programs and that was probably smu's mindset you know Tuesday that's huge for their program to say whether whatever our ranking was going into that they beat Nebraska and that's something that their players will use to thrive on to get them through the season and it also is a great thing they can use for recruiting like look what we've done our program has done and so you know it's part of being on our team and part of you know being in this program and they understand that expectation um and it's a good reminder that every night you have to be at your best cuz you can't just look at what the name is on the uh play the team across the court what's on their uniform you have to play Nebraska volleyball every single night absolutely well how did you guys like the way that they responded then getting back home inside the Jaan center with the the two matches back at home yeah it was a good response um you know it's it's tough it was a lot in one week for them and and we knew that and our non-conference has been tough so we wanted to try to get back back and get in a flow and and you saw that each of our matches as we start out the teams we fac in Montana State and the Citadel like the first set was maybe a little bit shaky but as the match went on you saw Improvement throughout the match and you saw you know us start to settle down get in our Rhythm both offensively and defens defensively and put that pressure on those on the opposing teams and that's what we needed to see and that was a great response and what we were expecting and and what we need to use to build off of because each week you know the Annie goes up a little bit this week's a really going it's going to be a really tough week again for us and then um you know you don't want to look ahead but when you look ahead it doesn't get easier and I think you know that's why we have to have the mindset we have to continue to get better each week and not play to the opponent on the other side you know Lauren and JB were talking on the broadcast they seem to really love the way the play of Lila Blackwell and when she got her opportunity how big of a bright spot was she for you guys especially against the Citadel yeah Lea is is such a fun player to have on our team she's super mature very experienced with um you know what she's has have coming from San Diego she's played at a high level uh she just is has a calming factor out there but you can see she has a you know a light and a passion out there that really rubs off on our team and so it was really fun to see her come out and make an impact in the match and um she's she's very talented and so it's great to know that we have those options and um it gives a team a different look you know the they haven't seen Lila play a lot so it's hard to prepare for her she's a different type of hitter than what you see in and Rebecca and and um that plays to our strengths and so Leila's going to get a lot of time and she did a great job this weekend for us and you saw that she came in we didn't miss a beat and she had a huge impact on us offensively and then in terms of like the hitters too you just you guys just have so much depth that how are you going about figuring out who's playing when and do you feel like you're getting closer to figuring out what you need and wi yeah that's the magic question and it's and it is um you know having depth is a blessing but sometimes it also can be a curse too and how you look at it but we love the fact that we have a super super competitive gym and we know that we have if it's an off night for somebody we have somebody else that's ready to come in and be a game changer and make an impact and so um that's what we're excited about and everyone's really working hard and trying to figure out what their role is I as we continue to get through this non-conference I think roles will start to be a little more settled in and people understand what what's needed from them for this team and that'll only help us be get more in our Rhythm and smooth things out but um we have a lot of depth and that's that's a good thing because uh you don't have to rely on if somebody's struggling hoping they get out of it if they need to take a break we have somebody that can come in and still be at the exact same level and and that puts a lot of stress and pressure on the opposing teams is they have to continue to prepare for more than just one or two players there's a lot of players they got to prepare for because we could play several On Any Given night you know you had talked earlier about you know receiving the serve against SMU but how do you guys feel like the progress is being made about what your guys are doing from behind the service line yeah we you know we like to have our Ace to air ratio about one ace to every two airs and and you know we came back in our first match the Citadel we started out missing a few uh serves early I think some of it was nerves being back home and we settled in and um but we've we've got to continue to be a better serving team and put pressure on them we saw what you know service pressure can do to us and we're going to face teams where we're going to have to put do the exact same thing to get them uncomfortable and out of their rhythm offensively so that's been a big focus in practice it'll continue to be we saw you know we had I think seven Aces against uh Montana State the other night and so that's signs to show you know signs showing that we're progressing and we're serving tough now we just need to continue to serve tough and if we we don't want to air we want we have a really good defense you know we want to let our defense if we can't get an ace then we need to let our defense win it and not give the team and easy out by air and honor serve absolutely okay so one of the things I wanted to get into with you a couple different things but first of all we heard Lauren talking the other day about this drill that you guys do um you know focusing on digs and the Caleb banworth drill can you tell us about that and why that's been an important Focus for this team well it's just a a bro dig drill where you know they they're in there and they're getting hit at from all different angles and it's tough there's no block so it's an open net you know and um you have people swinging away at you and and defense is really about grit and it's mentality and effort and that's what our players need to understand understand and a lot of them have that but it's good to continue to reinforce it because you can't just rely on the Block to slow it down and um a defensive play is such momentum changer in the game of volleyball and so it's a tough drill it's a very tough drill to get out of and you have to be extremely gritty and you know be willing to you make a play that is you know is it is it one that you're going to make all the time so you have to find ways to get the ball up and and that's something that it puts stress on our Defenders but also helps build their confidence because if you get out of that drill and you find your way out of that drill then you know that hey you're you're pretty good in defense and so the block doesn't do their job or gets past the block our our back court has it handled and that's that's a way you really frustrate teams and we saw that a little bit against SMU I mean they were digging the ball and and coming back at us in transition and we got to be able to do the same and um we have a great back court and that drill just continues to improve them I assume Kayla was the epitome of that then if you if you name the drill after her Kayla Kayla brought a lot of good drills when she came back as coach and um you know just pick her mind to see what helps you as a Defender what helped you as a labero in passing or in defense and and those were some of her suggestions is you got to put yourself in a situation that is is really tough to get out of but it helps yes it's tough in that point but your mentality going into the match changes because you have a new sense of confidence because of what you did in practice yeah absolutely okay well the other thing I wanted to really dive into with you it's been a couple weeks now since the E6 came out on Harper Murray well it focused on Harper Murray and and just her journey and you were a part of that I know but um you know just the importance of her sharing her story you know I know that was important for her to be able to share that with the platform that you know your players have how big was that for her to be able to to be brave enough to share everything that she went through because it was not an easy Journey it absolutely wasn't an easy journey and I think it really opened a lot of people's eyes to what these student athletes go through these days it's a different world being you know division one athlete and especially being a high-profile division one athlete and I think sometimes it's easy for fans just to see what's on the court and maybe the you know the glory and fame that comes with the win or being the top recruit or whatever and don't understand really what's going on behind the scenes or or what it's like to walk a day in in one of these athlet shoes and I think Harper really opened the door um and shed some light for not only here athletes here at Nebraska but across the you know nation is to see what these athletes go through how social media has changed um what the pressures they face these days and and being able to handle the stress and pressure of being one a student to a student athlete at this you know at a place like Nebraska and then three handling the outside distraction and pressures and trying to live up to all that and um we have to remember you know they're 17 to 21 22 years old and that's a lot and um we do we have a lot of resources to try to help and do what we can because we understand it's a it's a great amount of pressure and it's a big change and um and I think you know the whole story with our team showing our scam and everything that Harper battled through and how the team support her is it's not just Nebraska you know going through this and I think that is what was important and and Harper being vulnerable to show that that hey maybe the image and perception people think and see of what you see on the court isn't the dayto day and understanding the dayto day really makes people connect with the athletes and I think gives them more empathy and and hopefully more support to know what they're doing is are really great feat what they accomplish out on the field in the court every time they get out there for a match and and then understanding that they're human they're human beings and we all have good days and bad days and just because you know you're Harper Murray or whoever that is you know wear in Nebraska cross your chest and you're highly touted athlete and you have all these followers doesn't change that you're a human being and still have good days and bad days yeah how how important you you played here and then you've been with Coach hook for a long time and I know he's evolved and he's talked a lot about that and the importance of the mental health how important has that been for you guys as a program to be able to have those resources to have evolved to understand the needs and just the pressures that has come along with the the growth of the sport and the growth of this program yeah I think like you said the growth of the sport I mean look look at the attention volleyball's getting these days I mean that wasn't the cas 15 years ago so yes there were still pressures there but it was a different it wasn't at the national level that it is now and um and how now female sports in general is trying to catch up to where they you know the men's sports are and just that growth and pressure is then has opened up more doors to what people feel like they can say and do and how people treat these athletes um it just it's really changed and I as as we think about it when we're recruiting athletes and I mean as a parent as a Mom myself I'm if somebody were to tell me hey we have all these resources in place to help because it is a lot think of all the transitions they're going through leaving home trying tojust you're coming to you know just the transition of being a high school athlete to a college athlete at this level is a huge transition and then all the other pressures on top of that and and so the the mental side of it has been a huge huge Focus for us and we've talked to people outside that have in the professional landscape and they talk about the importance of it too and developing that now and those skills now how that only helps them in the future and we have so many of our athletes that want to play a professional future on the national team and so it is our job to make sure we give them those skills and try to help them so when they're in that situation because the higher the level and the more Elite you are the more pressure and the more me mental toughness you're going to have to have and so um it's been a real Focus for us and and we feel like it's a real asset to our players and our program you know one of those resources too that you guys have tapped into is working with with Sue L linquist tell us about that in that process and what she's been able to provide for this program well Sue is just um she's one of a kind and she's at a whole different level she just has a um tremendous way of um really reaching out to the team and the staff and trying to see you know how to get us on the the same page finding just those little small details those little things that would help us get over the hump in this area or to um be more confident from the service line or whatever and she and it's it's her her involvement with our program has been a real relief um just because she's been there at an extremely high level she's worked with very very high level athletes and understanding that um is helping our athletes know that it's not just the coaching staff here that's saying this it's somebody else that's outside has no ties um seen from a different lens is coming in and and providing a voice and um it's been it's been big for our program but I also think it is important to understand she's working with you know our n she worked with our national team so Jordan is very familiar with working with her and having Jordan then on staff is just a great connection and tie to help continue to really push the athletes and help them build that muscle and that CIS that their bodies are ready to take over to let their minds relax and not try to think too much um they've put in the hours and they should be confident when they step out there to perform great s a great reminder too that it is so much more than just practicing and playing the physical part I mean the mental part of it has just become so important to be able to to separate yourself as an elite athlete right absolutely I mean when you look at the the the teams we're competing against I mean the top five to 10 really the difference in athletic ability and talent and volleyball Talent is not that great it's it's the mental Edge the what the team has that you know the attack mentality and not being afraid and and that mental toughness that really separates those teams and that's what makes the elite very elite and it's just it's a little bit but it can cause a huge jump in how a team performs overall through the season you guys were honored on uh Saturday at the football game got a huge Roar how fun was that how special was that to be able to be celebrated in in front of husker nation in the Huskers win over Colorado yeah Saturday night was a really fun night you could feel the energy and and our players were really excited to one get to attend a football game that doesn't happen very much and understanding that it was a big game and then to know that they were going to be recognized and celebrate for their efforts from the previous year in the Big 10 and um it's just it's really cool to see how Nebraska fans you know you're at at this big football game but how much they really like to celebrate all the successes of the programs within the university and the department and um really see the support across the board and um what a what a fun night and it was our our players were all smiles I know that and it's it really is a reward for everything they went through last year and their accomplishment Big 10 and it it it's kind of a motivating factor too as we get ready to we're going in our final two weeks of non-conference and getting ready for Big 10 to remember what we did last year and we were celebrated and let's our mission is to go try to do the same thing this year we talked about the Annie Rises with each week uh this week you got a big one starting with kraton on Tuesday night tomorrow night uh as we record this uh man talk about that matchup kraton's obviously a ranked team going to be a good test for you guys kraton's always a great test for us um that inate rivalry and they they've played some good teams they they beat USC and four this um over the weekend and they're playing at a really high level right now um they've always been a gritty defensive team we know they're um you know noris CIS is back their main attacker on the outside and she's she had a big career or Big Year form last year and she's continuing the same this year and so they're very well coached coach Booth does a beral booth does a wonderful job and come in and they're always going to put up a great fight and so we're going to have to be at the top of our game and and ready to go and we expect it to be a great match and um it it's it's good for our players to see this and have so many highlevel matches day in and day out because that definitely does prepare us for what lies ahead in the Big 10 how have you seen the Rivalry grow with Katon and how how important is it for the state how great is it for this state it's it's awesome for the state I mean to think of the level of volleyball in our state whether it's Division One Division 2 nii we have teams that are in the top five in every Division and I think that just speaks volumes to what um volleyball means to this state Also it talks you know it speaks to the the coaching that we have in the state the talent that we have developing those athletes but um you know we we root for kraton we want kraton to have do great things throughout the year it just it really puts a uh Shining Light on what Nebraska volleyball is about across the board and throughout the State and and they they compete I mean they pack it with some top teams through the non-conference and and it's good to see because we know they're going to be a team to reckon with as you head into the end of the the season in in December so it's it's fun to play them and that that rivalry is definitely develop more and more over the years because they've continued to be better and better and finish at a high level every single season so I know all focus is on on kraton right now but you come uh looking forward to this weekend you got Arizona state witw state it's crazy the last weekend before you guys play Big 10 play right right that's we have one more non-conference y yeah um but what what are some of the things you're looking for for this uh team as you move closer and closer to the Big 10 play well I think like we said we got to continue to put pressure on teams from the service line um we need to get in a rhythm offensively uh more and feel more comfortable offensively out there and our defense is and our block still has some things to work on but it it is early in the year and we don't want to be at our best right now and so we need to see us continue to go on this upward trajectory and and that um our team is starting to settle in and look comfortable out there and starting to feel comfortable in the role that they have for the team this year and so that'll be the biggest thing that we need to see this weekend and um we know we're going to face some tough tough competition this week and then next week in our final two with Stanford and you know Louisville on the road before we hit big 10 so it's each week it's you got to take it game by game you can't look ahead because there is no easy match there is no easy week from here on out and so that's really the mentality we're hoping our team you know really Embraces and and steps onto the court tomorrow night against kraton and then going into this weekend with the same mentality of one match at a time and understanding that no team is you can't take a night off there's no nights off when you're here at Nebraska oh great stuff as always Lindsay Peterson appreciate your time here with us on the Dig thanks for having me the Dig is powered by ameritus ameritus is proud to power this pod and all of husker women sports make sure you subscribe and like wherever you listen to never miss an episode right here on the huskar radio network podcast [Music]