Andi Jackson poised to be ‘scary’ good for Nebraska volleyball

Nebraska volleyball reached the national championship game without any seniors last season and the play of middle blocker Andi Jackson was a big reason why.

The second-team All-Big Ten selection averaged 2.01 kills per set and 1.09 blocks per set. She also hit .399 as a freshman, which ranked third in the Big Ten and was the best ever for a Nebraska freshman.

During the offseason, Jackson continued to challenge herself. She and the other Nebraska volleyball players are motivated by their national championship loss against Texas, but Jackson won a gold medal with Team USA in the NORCECA Women’s U21 Continental Championship.

The 6-foot-3 standout from Colorado was credited with 10 kills, three blocks, and an ace in the gold medal game. Now, she’s focused on the upcoming Nebraska volleyball season and the sophomore met with the media on Wednesday following practice.

Scary and dangerous are used to describe Andi Jackson’s game

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

In her session, she talked about how having more of a leadership role this summer boosted her confidence.

“Coming off the last season, in an amazing season, but you are a freshman, you’re an underdog,” she said via Husker Online. “So going somewhere like U21 where you’re considered an upper-classman in a sense because you’re one of the few girls who are in college, it was just a huge confidence booster, because I felt like I had a role. Not that I don’t have a role in the team here, but I had a super important role, just like leading the girls and helping the other middles there.”

Bergen Reilly, another standout freshman for Nebraska volleyball last season, was the Big Ten Setter of the Year after averaging 10.51 assists per set in 2023. She talked about how strong her connection is with Jackson, and also how the Huskers’ middle blocker is “scary” and “dangerous.”

“I saw a lot of good things,” Reilly said. “She was scary. I was scared she was going to hurt somebody on the other side of the net. Like she said, I think all the other middles learned a lot from her. It gave us time to work on our connection too. It’s helped coming into this season. I think our connection has been really strong so far. She’s going to be dangerous this season.”

Nebraska volleyball opens the season on August 27th against Kentucky.

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. You can also find our podcast on Apple or Spotify.