LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska volleyball standout Lindsay Krause is a throwback. She’s a relic to another era in college sports, back before 2018, when the transfer portal had not yet materialized and athletes typically finished their playing days at the schools where they began.
Yes, even the athletes for whom obstacles emerged and playing time was not assured.
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Krause came to Nebraska as the No. 1 recruit nationally in her class, as rated by Volleyball Magazine. A 6-foot-4 outside hitter, she played and trained in the Team USA program through high school while at Omaha’s Skutt Catholic. Krause made the All-Big Ten freshman team in 2021.
Challenges surfaced. Injuries and setbacks occurred. And while transfers in the first portal generation redefined the landscape of her sport, Krause chose to run toward the competition.
“Lindsay loves Nebraska,” coach John Cook said. “She loves school. Her dream was to play here. She bleeds Husker red.”
GO DEEPERFrom cowboy to coach, Nebraska's John Cook fuels a volleyball riseA senior in her fourth season as a mainstay in the Nebraska lineup, she’s still fighting daily. Friday in the second-ranked Huskers’ win against UCLA to open Big Ten play, Cook sat Krause after the first set.
Finishing the match? Taylor Landfair, the No. 1 recruit nationally in 2020. Landfair transferred to Nebraska this year from Minnesota. There, she was named a first-team All-American and the Big Ten player of the year in 2022.
The Huskers didn’t have an open spot in the lineup when they pursued Landfair in the portal. She plays one position, the same as Krause. But the appeal for Landfair to join a collection of talent that played for the national championship in two of the past three seasons, losing in 2021 to Wisconsin and to Texas in 2023, was too great to overlook.
“You don’t play to have everything handed to you,” Krause said. “That’s why we’re such high-performing athletes, because we’re driven. We have inside motivators. The competition is what fuels me. It would be ridiculous to shy away from that competition just because of the idea that you might not win.”
Krause returned to the lineup Sunday night as the Huskers swept 20th-ranked USC, a 12th win in 13 matches for a program in search of its sixth national championship and seventh trip in 10 years to the final four.
“I look forward to the fight,” Krause said. “It’s fun. I love it.”
STRAIGHT UP POWER. 💪 @lindsaykrause_ pic.twitter.com/IYBZPWKztc
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) September 30, 2024
No good moment exists to get in a car accident. But for Krause, last year in the middle of September could not have been timed more poorly.
She started hot for a team on a heater like no other in volleyball. Nebraska drew 92,003 fans, a world record for a women’s sporting event, at its Volleyball Day in Nebraska event at Memorial Stadium in August 2023. Two weeks later, it took that momentum on the road and beat Stanford for the first time in 15 years.
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The next afternoon in Lincoln, Krause was rear-ended while driving on a busy street. Soreness and shoulder pain from the accident caused her to miss three matches over two weeks. She picked up where she left off, meshing well with freshmen who injected new energy into the team, in addition to Florida transfer Merritt Beason and libero Lexi Rodriguez — both eventual first-team All-Americans.
But after six matches back in the lineup, Krause suffered a serious ankle injury during practice. She tore multiple ligaments. She was hitting .285 when hurt and had recorded a per-set kill average of 2.5, third on the team behind Beason and Big Ten freshman of the year Harper Murray. Both marks set career highs for Krause.
The injury ended her season.
“It was extremely hard to watch her struggle,” Rodriguez said.
Meanwhile, the Huskers thrived. They took an undefeated record into late November and lost just one set in five NCAA tournament matches before Texas swept them out of the championship match.
“It was really sad how the season ended,” Krause said. “But now that there’s so much time removed, it’s easier for us to see how successful of a season we had.”
Krause played in 14 matches, 40 percent of the season — a figure too high to earn her a medical redshirt. If available, she would have taken it and returned next year for a fifth season.
As it stands, this is her final season. Krause graduated in three years at Nebraska and has begun work on a master’s degree in English.
She’s treasuring each opportunity to play.
“Every day last season when I was hurt just put in perspective for me of how much I love being here,” she said, “how much I love the sport of volleyball, how much I appreciate this environment.”
The Nebraska roster included no seniors a year ago. Seniors this year include Beason at opposite hitter, Rodriguez, Krause and backup setter Kennedi Orr. The four returning freshmen from last year, Murray at outside hitter, setter Bergen Reilly, middle blocker Andi Jackson and defensive specialist Laney Choboy, are improved across the board. Junior Rebekah Allick is back as a star in the middle.
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Freshman defensive specialist Olivia Mauch adds another weapon, alongside Landfair and San Diego transfer Leyla Blackwell, a middle blocker.
Nebraska undeniably possesses a higher ceiling in 2024 than a year ago.
“I’m grateful every day that I get to be here,” Krause said.
She’s grateful even on days when she loses the competition, like Friday.
“Taylor’s an excellent player,” Krause said. “I think very highly of her. But at the same time, it’s just like, ‘Yeah, we play the same position.’ So every day, we go into practice, and it’s a battle. That’s the beauty of team sports and competition.
“Why play college volleyball if you’re not in it for the competition, if you’re not in it for that drive and motivation? That’s something I’ve never had a problem with.”
Cook described Krause as a “great learner.” In a three-set victory against Stanford on Sept. 18, Krause scored a point by staying patient until a window opened in a long rally. The coach showed video of it to her teammates last week, calling it maybe the “play of the year” by the Huskers.
Patience in a single rally is nothing for Krause, who stayed patient on the sideline during a magical season a year ago and fought to regain the spot she had earned three times before.
It’s a price she expected to pay when Krause picked Nebraska. She grew up in this state and watched the Huskers win three championships in her lifetime. Before Krause’s time on the court ends in less than three months, she wants to be part of another.
“More than anyone on this team, Lindsay is playing for something bigger,” Rodriguez said. “She’s playing for the state of Nebraska. I think everyone around her can feel that.”
(Photo courtesy of Nebraska Athletics)
Mitch Sherman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering Nebraska football. He previously covered college sports for ESPN.com after working 13 years for the Omaha World-Herald. Mitch is an Omaha native and lifelong Nebraskan. Follow Mitch on Twitter @mitchsherman
