All-American Lexi Rodriguez leads Latinas at Volleyball Final Four

Nebraska libero Lexi Rodriguez, a rare four-time All-American, leads a small but talented group of Latinas at the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship Final Four.

Rodriguez, a finalist for AVCA Player of the Year, and Nebraska will face Penn State. Nebraska, a five-time national champ, is trying to reach the title game for the second year in a row and third time in four years. Louisville will play Pitt in the first semifinal of the night at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville freshman setter Nayelis Cabello and Pitt outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez are also likely to play significant roles for their teams during the semifinals.

4x ALL-AMERICAN STATUS 🐐@Alexis14Rod is just the 3rd Husker in program history to have earned All-America honors all four years! pic.twitter.com/r0sfVVPW7q

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) December 18, 2024

Lexi Rodriguez is one of the biggest names in women’s volleyball. Nebraska’s three-year captain is a highlight reel waiting to happen with more digs than a Kendrick Lamar diss track. 

Defensive excellence

“She’s the best libero that I’ve ever watched play volleyball, and it’s just an honor to get to play with her and to set her passes,” Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly said of Rodriguez. “A lot of days in practice are pretty easy for me because she passes dimes right on my head.

“I can tell people that she passes good literally every single day. That would be my case, is it’s great to be a setter off of her. But it’s just so cool that she’s even in the position that she is. I know that a lot of times liberos get looked over, and she’s made a name for herself and made a case to not get looked over. I’m really happy for her, and I’m really proud of her.”

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Lexi Rodriguez has been an AVCA First-Team All-American three times. She was a Second-Team All-American in 2022 as a sophomore. Rodriguez is only the third four-year All-American in Nebraska’s rich history.

Lexi Rodriguez nears school record

With 1,882 career digs, Rodriguez is only eight digs away from tying U.S. Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes’ school record for career digs.

“I think it’s just really cool,” she says of being a four-time All-American. “I mean, it’s something that coach (John Cook) challenges everyone to come in and be their best and try and be an All-American.

“But ultimately I just think it’s really cool that everyone kind of believed that I could do it. And my coaches always believed in me, and my teammates did. They were just always so supportive of me. I owe it all to them for all that they’ve done to help me get to where I am today.”

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Sisters Nayelis and Naomi Cabello shared the court for the first time in their collegiate careers in our match against NC State!#GoCards pic.twitter.com/vvnELYb9Qe

— Louisville Volleyball (@LouisvilleVB) October 20, 2024

While Rodriguez is nearing the end of her brilliant career, Louisville features one of the best young Latina volleyball stars. 

Cabello was the AVCA South Region’s Freshman of the Year. The Louisville star was also the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year. Vazquez Gomez was a 2024 AVCA East Coast Region Team selection and an All-ACC Second Team pick.

Arizona transfer Sofia Maldonado Diaz, a native of Mexico, is also a key player for Louisville.

^{Featured photo courtesy of Nebraska Volleyball.}