You’ll also see elite players who have already earned All-American honors in college volleyball.

At Nebraska, this has happened before with players like Kelsey Robinson (second-team All-American at Tennessee) and Briana Holman (first-team All-American at LSU), and now it’s happening again with Taylor Landfair.

Yet most of Nebraska’s most successful players spent their entire college careers at Nebraska – Jordan Larson, Sarah Pavan, Allison Weston, Christina Houghtelling, Nancy Metcalf, Kadie Rolfzen, Kelly Hunter, etc.

Landfair joined the Huskers in May as a graduate transfer from Minnesota. In 2022, the 6-foot-5 outside hitter was one of the best players in the country – the Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-American while averaging 4.91 points per set.

On Saturday, Landfair will take the field in her Nebraska uniform. The Red-White scrimmage will begin at 6 p.m. at the Devaney Sports Center and will be televised by Nebraska Public Media.

Since training began two and a half weeks ago, Landfair has stood out both on and off the pitch.

At a team meeting, each player is asked to tell his story – why he plays volleyball, why he is at Nebraska, etc.

“We want them to find out what their why is because I think that helps them get through difficult times,” coach John Cook said.

Landfair impressed her new teammates with her message.

“I said my ‘why’ is definitely luck,” Landfair said. “And also gratitude, just because I’m part of a team where I feel like I can succeed in this challenging environment.”

Landfair said it’s important to know each other’s motivations so you can support your teammates and tell them what they need from you.

“I’m just super happy and super grateful to be in an environment where I love my teammates, love the coaching staff and they love me back,” Landfair said.

Landfair has had a lot of success in the sport. Of course, Cook still tries to help Landfair improve as a player.

“I definitely take advantage of every single day and every piece of feedback that they give me, just because I feel like there are some aspects of my game that I really want to get better at,” Landfair said. “They’ve definitely pinpointed those certain areas of my game and given me so much feedback and encouragement and reassurance as I try to make those changes. Basically, every single skill, there’s something that I want to improve on.”

Landfair is particularly focused on improving her power on out-of-system plays and her consistency on serving and receiving.

She is part of a competition in the starting lineup at outside hitter that also includes senior Lindsay Krause, sophomore Harper Murray and freshman Skyler Pierce. Murray finished second for the Huskers in kills last season and was named to the third team All-American.

Landfair says the outside attackers supported each other, even though they knew in the back of their minds what was coming for each of them.

“We do a really good job of encouraging each other, even though the level is extremely high and we are all competing for a place at some point,” she said.

It was fun training Landfair.

“The girls love her and she is trying to help this team be great,” Cook said.

Although much more than one practice game is taken into account when deciding the starting outside attacker position, fans can follow some of the evaluation.

“They’re all rotating,” Cook said. “We haven’t set a lineup yet. We’ll probably look at a few different lineups on Saturday night. That’s what we’ve done so far.”

During the 2025 season, Nebraska will likely play at least one game at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the downtown Lincoln arena where the Husker basketball teams play. A move for a week could accommodate at least 5,000 more fans than can attend games at the Devaney Sports Center.

There has been discussion in recent years about joining the PBA, but Cook has been hesitant to do so, in part because it would mean Nebraska losing some of its home-court advantage since the team practices at the Devaney Sports Center and plays so many games.

“I just think we’re under a lot of pressure to get in there,” Cook said. “We’re talking about doing a (multi-team event) early in the season. PBA is open. We’ll see. But if I had to bet money right now, I’d say yes.”

However, it would be a surprise if Nebraska played a really important game there against a top-10 team like Wisconsin.

“Devaney is our home,” Cook said.

“I followed (middle blockers Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick) like a puppy for three weeks and they were so helpful. I feel like I’m finally getting into my stride.” – Middle blocker Leyla Blackwell, who transferred from Nebraska.