For former NCAA volleyball star-turned-pro Lexi Rodriguez, making her Volleyball National League debut was a dream come true. While Rodriguez has played for Team USA in the past, it was a Pan American contest with no European teams. “To come to five and battle alongside my teammates was so much fun. It was a wonderful day,” Rodriguez said of her VNL debut. Things become even more interesting when you realize who those teammates are.
Besides Rodriguez, her NCAA contemporaries like Sarah Franklin, Madisen Skinner, and others are also part of the 15-woman USA roster. Needless to say, these are the cream of the crop of their NCAA batch, and less than a year ago, harbored fierce rivalries on the court. So naturally, seeing former rivals team up for the Stars and Stripes was a special moment for fans. What many were not ready for was what happened off the court.
Lexi Rodriguez, who turned heads with her leading 17-dig performance, just collaborated with Sarah Franklin. The Nebraska Huskers’ record-setting libero dropped the video with Franklin just ahead of the USA’s triumphant 3-2 showing against France, and the fans were clearly not ready to see the former Wisconsin Badgers star be friends with a former Nebraska libero. Yet Rodriguez did one better.
“Started as rivals, and now we’re roomies and teammates,” the Huskers’ all-time digs record holder revealed in the closed captions. It’s safe to say that the fans who’ve seen Wisconsin and Nebraska compete fiercely on the NCAA level for decades couldn’t handle the exposition. “My Wisconsin brain can’t handle this,” one fan, who couldn’t fathom the two former rivals being “roomies,” commented on the LOVB Omaha libero’s TikTok video.
Credits: Instagram/Sarah Franklin
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