Tough Time for Nebraska NCAA Volleyball Team; End of Golden Era?
NCAA Women’s Volleyball players, Kenzie Maloney and Mikaela Foecke will end their career with the NCAA this year.
The two seniors played for the Nebraska volleyball team for four years. Currently they are captains for the Nebraska team-Maloney is positioned as a libero and Foecke is positioned as an outside hitter. Maloney and Foecke have created a distinguished history in the last four years for the Nebraska’s volleyball history. Most college level players never compete in a NCAA Final Four; Maloney and Foecke have competed in four! From their freshman year to their senior year, Maloney and Foecke have competed in a Final Four.
Kenzie MaloneyFoecke has even played in every match in her career, while Maloney missed one volleyball match during her first season.
Nebraska's Mikaela FoeckeThey have also accrued a number of other accomplishments ranging from: two national championships, a tournament win record of 20-1 and they have won two Big Ten titles. Foecke also was named the most outstanding player in 2015 after she helped Nebraska win a title match against Texas. Foecke got 19 kills and hit a .385 in that same match. In 2017, Foecke once again took top honors with 20 kills and 14 digs after helping her team beat Florida. She currently has a ranking of fourth in career kills and a ranking of eighth in aces since her time with the Nebraska team.
Maloney NCAA Volleyball player is currently ranked in the top 10 in both ace serves and digs.
Although Maloney and Foecke are great friends now, they did not really know each other that well in the beginning. They met in high school during their junior year as starters for the United States youth national team. In college, they got along, but never really hung out together. They were typically closer with other teammates in the beginning of their careers. It was not until they both became captains that their relationship grew closer and their leadership abilities grew stronger. Maloney and Foecke now see each other as best of friends; talking to each other during the good and bad days and meeting outside of practice to hang out.
Their coach John Cook claims he never would have guessed Maloney and Foecke would become such great friends and leaders of the Nebraska Volleyball team.
Maloney is said to have been a very quiet person when she began playing for Nebraska. She was often the receiver of the nickname “Pipsqueak” due to her size and shyness. Since then, Maloney has grown out of her nick name to become a strong leader, although her teammates still call her “Pip” for short. Foecke on the other hand cannot get enough social interaction. Her coach has had to limit the amount of time she has for interviews. Even after games, when most people have cleared off the court, Foecke will still find someone to talk to.
It will be interesting to see how Nebraska performs next season after their two star players have left the team. Nebraska still has great players, but Maloney and Foecke will be hard to replace.