“Joining LOVB felt like the right move for kicking off my professional career, especially being surrounded by seasoned players who have been through this grind before.” That’s how Lexi Rodriguez set the tone as she waved goodbye to her Husker days and stepped into the pro volleyball world with LOVB Omaha. But as the season kicked off, the vibe wasn’t exactly what fans expected. Everyone—especially Nebraska diehards—were holding their breath for her grand debut, which finally arrived on February 9.

And after that, instead of lighting up the court, Lexi found herself clapping from the sidelines more than anything else… and yeah, folks noticed. Cut to February 28—Avid Volley jumped on X and dropped a spicy stat that basically lit the fanbase on fire. “We’re two months into the LOVB season and the only liberos to not start a match are Omaha’s Lexi Rodriguez and Annie Cesar. What a waste of opportunity and resources.”

And just when the tweet started cooling off, they followed it up with even more heat: “This isn’t about JWO either (who is the best). But placing Rodriguez on a team that has the best American libero is??? Lexi brings as many eyes to the sport as any American right now and for what? To do fashion shoots and dances on the bench?” And yeah… fans were feeling that one. Now, after weeks of sideline stares and restless energy from her supporters, Lexi Rodriguez is finally speaking up and clearing the air on why LOVB Omaha was still the move—even if it didn’t play out like the fairytale start everyone imagined.

In a cozy little clip shared by Nebraska fan-fave page sushiskers, Lexi Rodriguez peeled back the curtain a bit and let fans in on the real reason behind her LOVB Omaha pick. And yep—it all came down to a name every volleyball lover knows: Justine Wong-Orantes. Lexi kept it real and straight from the heart, saying, “LOVE knew I wanted to play in Nebraska, but they brought it up You know Justine’s on the team and I was like, yes, I know and I want to play with her. In my mind I didn’t think there was anyone who was gonna teach me more than (her)—she’s a real leader.” Like, c’mon, how do you say no to that?

And guess what? Back in December, Lexi Rodriguez stamped her name in Husker history, breaking Nebraska’s all-time record for career digs during a clutch NCAA National Semifinal match against Penn State. She needed just eight to tie Justine’s legendary 1,890 mark and nine to take the crown—Lexi went ahead and dropped 15, because of course she did.

That bumped her up to 1,896 career digs and landed her a shiny 2024 First Team All-American nod. And let’s be real—when your idol is also the one you’re rewriting records against? Yeah, that’s a full-circle flex. So naturally, when LOVB Omaha came calling, and Justine was already on the roster? Lexi Rodriguez didn’t even blink. But as poetic as that reunion sounded on paper, the season itself didn’t exactly go down like a fairytale.

Lexi Rodriguez and Omaha’s inaugural season doesn’t go as planned…

Lexi Rodriguez’s rookie ride in the pro volleyball league didn’t exactly hit the fairy tale beats she or the fans were dreaming of—and honestly, the whole Omaha squad kinda rode the bumpy bus through their inaugural season. League One Volleyball wrapped up its wild first-ever postseason this Sunday, and somehow, someway, the bottom two seeds—Omaha and Austin—ended up battling it out for the crown. Yup, talk about underdog chaos. Omaha clawed their way up from the depths of last place, flipping the playoff script by knocking out Madison and then reverse-sweeping Houston in a dramatic semi. But that magic ran dry in the finals.

Austin came in hot and shut the door—hard. They didn’t just win; they swept Omaha 3-0 like it was a clean-up mission. The set scores? 25-19, 25-22, and 25-23—close, but never quite close enough. Former Texas stars Madisen Skinner and Logan Eggleston went full beast mode, racking up 17 kills each and leading Austin to the league’s first-ever title. Omaha gave it all they had—Jordan Larson and Sami Francis both dropped 10 kills—but the spark just wasn’t strong enough this time. Still, from dead last to league runner-up? Not bad for a debut season, even if it didn’t end in confetti and champagne. And for Lexi Rodriguez? Just the beginning of a longer, grittier grind ahead.