How did former Nebraska Volleyball player Lexi Rodriguez perform in her VNL debut? All about her contribution to team USA

Former Nebraska volleyball star Lexi Rodriguez made her Volleyball Nations League (VNL) debut in the second Week of the tournament and registered a match-high 17 digs. Rodriguez is one of the 14 players selected to compete in the second week, along with Morgan Hentz, Madisen Skinner, and Logan Lednicky.

Lexi Rodriguez, who played libero, led the team to a 3-2 victory over Serbia with set scores of 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, and 15-11. In their five games thus far, this was the team's second victory. In set two, a perfect pass was delivered from Rodriguez, giving the team a 15-13 lead. She ended the match with a 56% positive reception and 54% dig efficiency.

After the win over Serbia and playing in front of a full house in the opponent's home court, Rodriguez expressed:

“The crowd was amazing and getting to play them on their home court, you could really feel the buzz. Going to five and battling with my teammates was really fun. It was a great day,” Rodriguez said via usavolleyball.

Reflecting on the five-set match, she added:

“After the fourth set, we just came out with a clean slate, being ready to adjust and play USA volleyball, and that’s what we did.” (via usavolleyball)

Lexi Rodriguez is one of four liberos named to the 30-player US Women’s National Team roster for this year. The top 18 teams in the world will compete in the VNL for three weeks, with each team playing four matches per week.

The top eight teams will advance to the Final Round, which is slated for July 23–27 in Poland.

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Lexi Rodriguez’s journey with Nebraska and her transition to pro

Lexi Rodriguez joined the Huskers in 2021 and represented the team for four straight years. She has received numerous accolades in her collegiate career, including Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honours, All-Big Ten, and All-America selections. She also broke the school's all-time digs record and led the Huskers to a 33-3 record in her final season.

Following her collegiate career, Lexi Rodriguez signed with LOVB Omaha for their inaugural season and helped the team finish as runners-up. Speaking with LOVB Style, she shared her experience making her pro debut:

"Yeah, it's definitely crazy. Very fast. I think I had 4-5 days off, and then it was right into a new season. But I mean, being in Omaha was super helpful, and then having familiar faces on the team and just a great group of girls, I feel like, was the best thing that I could have walked into," she said."

The US Women's National Team will play its next match on June 19 against Poland.

Edited by pranavsethii