As LOVB Omaha locked horns with LOVB Salt Lake at the Maverick Center on Sunday, all eyes were on Lexi Rodriguez. The Omaha squad has no dearth of talent in the likes of Olympic gold medalists Jordan Larson and Justine Wong-Orantes, both of whom are Nebraska Huskers alums. And yet, watching the young libero in her natural habitat had been long overdue.

Considering how Rodriguez’s pro debut kept being stalled in favor of other stars on the roster, fans waited eagerly to see if John Cook‘s star student would get any play time tonight. She did. It was a dream start of sorts to her professional career, even if it wasn’t a lot to go over. For Lexi, however, it was the perfect opportunity to thank her former Nebraska colleague.

In her recent Instagram story from February 9, Rodriguez shared a snippet from tonight’s match against LOVB Salt Lake. Sharing the original post by the official LOVB Insta account, the libero gleefully showed off her first ace as a professional volleyball athlete. What made the ace serve even sweeter was that it came in a winning cause as Omaha beat Salt Lake 3-2. The words of gratitude? Right underneath the video.

“@kennediorr taught me everything i know,” Rodriguez hailed beach volleyball star and serving specialist Kennedi Orr, who she spent four seasons with in Nebraska, in her recent social media update.

What’s interesting is that Rodriguez chose to thank Orr instead of Larson, who not only is a Huskers alum and an Olympic champion but was also among Nebraska’s assistant coaches for several seasons. Larson left her job at Lincoln only a few days ago, and former head coach John Cook admitted that Jordan’s departure would be sorely missed by the squad. However, does it automatically make Orr a bad choice? Not at all, considering the 3x Tom Osborne Citizenship Team honoree had served an ace in seven different matches in her junior year.

But while Lexi credited her successful debut to her Orr, there was a time, not too long ago, when she was a teacher in her own right.

John Cook wanted everyone to “watch” Lexi Rodriguez

In the halls of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lexi Rodriguez demands a sort of respect that is unrivaled. With 1,897 career digs and numerous All-American honors, the libero has established herself as one of the greatest Huskers volleyball stars of all time. Veteran coach John Cook said about what she brought to the table for her locker room colleagues, “I tell all of our passers, ‘Just watch Lexi. We don’t even need to coach you. Just watch Lexi.’ When you watch some of our other passers who shank balls up and sideways, it’s because their arms are tight to their body. But this is what she does and is a master at. I’ll repeat this again. I tell our passers, ‘Just watch Lexi.’ ”

For obvious reasons when LOVB Omaha kept Lexi on the bench night after night, fans got confused about whether it was because of the presence of Olympic champ Wong-Orantes on the team that Rodriguez couldn’t play. “Lexi desrves better than this, especially after that brilliant season at Nebraska,” complained one fan in late January when Omaha opted to play Justin once again in the match against LOVB Madison. But with Rodriguez finally making her pro debut, will this change?

Omaha’s next LOVB action awaits in Kansas City next Sunday. Will we again see Lexi Rodriguez in the starting lineup? Or will the Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes’ wisdom once again trump Lexi’s rookie status? Tell us your predictions below!