By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Some athletes specialize in a single sport with hopes of playing at the college level.
Not Sydney Davis.
The Dannebrog native wanted to do as much as possible. She competed in volleyball, basketball and track at Centura Public Schools and even squeezed in club volleyball during the spring.
“I’ve always appreciated that I was able to do that,” Davis said. “I definitely stayed busy, but I’m so grateful for all of that experience and the opportunity to meet new people. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
That background made Davis exactly the type of athlete University of Nebraska at Kearney head volleyball coach Rick Squiers likes to recruit.
“In a lot of ways, she’s your typical small-town, multisport, good-at-everything sort of athlete, which has been a big part of our recipe for success here at UNK over the years,” he said. “She fits that mold to a T. Any sport that she participated in during high school she could have played in college.”
Davis certainly had the credentials.
A four-year letterwinner in all three sports, she was an all-state selection in volleyball and basketball, setting school records for career kills in the former and career blocks in the latter while leading the Centurions to their first-ever state basketball title. In track and field, she was a three-time state qualifier in the high jump, finishing second as a junior, and twice qualified in the long jump.
She continued competing in two sports after arriving at UNK in 2023, joining the track and field team along with volleyball. As a freshman, Davis placed third in the high jump at the MIAA Outdoor Championships and qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships.
She spent two years with the track program before ankle issues forced her to focus solely on volleyball.
“I would still be doing it today if I could, but my body just told me to stop, so I needed to move on from that,” Davis said. “But I really enjoyed my time with track. I don’t regret that at all.”
Asked whether clearing a big height or delivering a key block feels better, the 6-foot middle blocker couldn’t pick a favorite.
“They’re kind of even,” she said with a smile. “It’s so fun clearing a height and having everyone cheer you on.”
The same feeling comes at the net.
“In pressure moments when you need a block, that’s a very special thing,” she said. “It just feels like you’re shutting down the other team and really shifting the momentum.”
Davis has delivered plenty of those moments for the Lopers.
After seeing limited action early in her career and redshirting in 2024, she emerged as one of UNK’s top middles last season. Davis appeared in 30 matches with 14 starts, recording 126 kills while ranking third in the MIAA with a .325 hitting percentage and 108 total blocks. She was named to the MIAA All-Tournament Team as the Lopers went 30-4, shared the regular-season conference title and won the MIAA Tournament championship before hosting the NCAA Division II Central Regional.
Squiers saw Davis’ game take off late in the season.
“She was a big part of the reason that we were able to get a share of the regular-season title and then go play so well in the tournament,” he said. “That was the best volleyball she had played as a Loper.”
Her progression, the UNK coach noted, reflects the adjustment many standout athletes from smaller schools make when they reach the college level.
“It’s hard to go from small-school dominant athlete and step right in and do the same thing at the college level,” he said. “Usually there’s a little bit of an adjustment period, and I think she went through that.”
Davis agrees. The college game was faster, and she needed time to become comfortable with the pace and develop confidence.
Her redshirt season proved particularly valuable.
“There were girls ahead of me, and I think that benefited me a lot,” Davis said. “During my redshirt year, I feel like I developed a lot as a player and built more confidence in myself.”
That patience is paying off.
Davis has established herself as UNK’s top middle and best blocker, according to Squiers, and she’s become an important part of the offense, as well.
“She’s the fit we’re always looking for,” he said. “She’s got all the physical tools – long, lanky, jumps well, moves well, sneaky competitive. She’s kind of just played her way up every year to the point where she’s a really critical part of our rotation right now.”
Through nine matches this season, Davis has 51 kills and ranks fifth in the MIAA with a .393 hitting percentage and 33 total blocks. The Lopers are 8-1 and ranked No. 7 nationally.
Squiers believes there’s another level Davis can reach.
“If we’re going to do anything this year, she’s going to be one of our best players,” he said. “I think she gets that. We’ve communicated that to her. And I think she wants to take that on.
“She’s potentially an All-American if we have a great year. That’s what she’s capable of and that’s what we need her to do.”
Davis’ goals include becoming more consistent as a blocker, winning another MIAA Tournament title and bringing the NCAA regional back to Kearney. Hosting last year’s regional reinforced what she already knew about playing in front of Loper fans.
“The amount of community support that we receive is just incredible,” she said. “The atmosphere is crazy. Especially during the tough games and the tougher competition, having that energy in the gym really helps. You want to play good for them and put on a show.”
Davis and her teammates will have another chance to perform in front of their home crowd this weekend when UNK hosts the annual Rosella Meier Fall Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Health and Sports Center. The Lopers will face Northwestern Oklahoma State, William Jewell and Hastings College during the two-day event.
Now a fourth-year player, Davis has become one of the veterans younger Lopers can lean on. She describes herself as calm and collected, someone who tries to stay even-keeled when matches get tense.
Squiers sees something else underneath that calm exterior – the competitive drive that helped Davis excel in just about everything she tried growing up.
“If you can get a whole bunch of Sydney Davises from this part of the state,” he said, “you’d love to build a roster like that.”
