Women's volleyball: North Aurora native Albrecht thriving in senior season at Nebraska

North Aurora native Annika Albrecht's favorite number these days is six.

Albrecht, a 6-foot senior outside hitter and co-captain on the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team, became a six-rotation player this year, meaning she's on the court the entire match, contributing both offensively and defensively.

"This year I basically have a new role," she said. "I worked with Tyler Hildebrand (Nebraska assistant coach and a former men's standout at Long Beach State) and studied how men play and the various shots they have and basically what I could do to make myself a little bigger and help myself out. I watched some international matches where there were some undersized guys who were 6-2 on the outside going up against 6-8 people and getting up and bouncing it. I learned how to take speed off, hit it high or scrape elbows."

Albrecht, who was home-schooled during high school and played club for Aurora-based Sports Performance, takes great pride in now being that six-rotation player.

"It's always been a dream of mine," she said. "It's easier to connect with your teammates when you are out there connecting the whole time."

Speaking of connecting, Albrecht, an all-Big Ten Conference selection this season and an AVCA all-North region pick as well, has been doing plenty of that this season as part of a Huskers team that made the NCAA Final Four where it played Thursday night against Penn State in the national semifinals on national television in Kansas City. Heading into the semifinals, Albrecht was second on the team in kills with 357 (3.08 per set), while hitting .266. She also ranked second on the team in aces with 32 (against only 20 errors) and was the team leader in digs with 508, more than libero Kenzie Maloney's 451 and defensive specialist Sydney Townsend's 448. Albrecht was more well-known for her defensive statistics her first three years in Lincoln, Neb. Her previous single-season high for kills was 66 (sophomore year).

"We've had a lot of depth at my position at Nebraska," she said when asked what had previously held her back from playing six rotations. "If you look at the girls who have played outside they are so talented and had so much experience. It's what the teams need at the time. I was OK with it."

Now in her senior season Albrecht, who played on a home-school volleyball team during her high-school years and helped that Chicago Crusaders team to three straight home-school national titles, helped Nebraska get to 30 wins, earn a share of the Big Ten title with a 19-1 record (Nebraska's second Big Ten title in a row) and notch yet another trip to the national semifinals.

"We're so excited," she said earlier this week on the bus ride from Lincoln to Kansas City. "This is our third year in a row doing this. It's a cool thing to have happen. We've worked so hard for this and have earned it. This environment with the Final Four is so fun to experience."

Albrecht said playing big-time college volleyball was something that was stuck in her head from a young age.

"Ever since I was a kid I wanted to do this," she said. "Coach (Nebraska's John Cook) always tells us to dream big. As a kid, I really did dream big. I had this dream and I achieved it. It's so special to me."

Albrecht is studying family-consumer science education at Nebraska where she has been cited numerous times for academic excellence - a four-time academic all-Big Ten honoree (indoor and beach combined) and a six-time Nebraska scholar-athlete honor-roll member.

"I graduate in May,' she said. "I'm going to wait until then to decide (on a career path). I do want to work with people. I would like to play professionally after I graduate."

But first, Albrecht is soaking up her final days as a college player on the biggest stage of them all.

"I don't know if I can put into words what volleyball has meant to me," she said. "Volleyball has been a huge blessing for me and my whole family. It's still a sport that brings the family together. I'm so appreciative of the opportunities I've had. I've met so many awesome people through my experiences. To say I couldn't imagine life without volleyball would be a huge understatement."

Loberg at Wisconsin: Another former Fox Valley-area volleyball standout playing at the major Division I level is Geneva alum Grace Loberg, who recently completed her freshman season at the University of Wisconsin. Loberg played in 53 sets and had 93 kills (1.75 per set). She also had 18 total blocks. Wisconsin finished 22-10 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 round where it lost to Final Four qualifier Stanford.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley-area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at mjm890@gmail.com.