Husker Q and A: Jordan Wilberger

Feature on middle blockers Jordan Wilberger and Brooke Delano from the Husker Volleyball Show.

Sophomore middle blocker Jordan Wilberger has enjoyed a solid sophomore campaign for the Big Red. The Scottsbluff, Neb., product is averaging 1.14 kills and 0.67 blocks per set in 18 contests. Wilberger has made seven starts this season, recording a career-high 10 kills in a win over Creighton and totaling seven blocks against No. 8 UCLA. A walk-on, she started Nebraska’s final seven matches in 2008, and totaled a career-high eight blocks - the most by a Husker freshman since 2005 - against Baylor to help NU clinch its fifth straight Big 12 title.

How would you describe your style of play?
I would say I try to stay pretty calm on the court and be very level-headed and be consistent throughout the whole game.

What motivates you in practice and in games?
Playing with my teammates and just watching them get excited for me and working on trust on our side of the court.

Did you look up to any other athletes?
Michael Jordan would be my athlete.

Growing up in Nebraska, did you have a favorite Husker volleyball player?
Well, Tracy Stalls would probably be my favorite, but I actually didn’t watch Nebraska volleyball growing up.

What is your favorite Husker volleyball moment?
Probably the Penn State game and how we played as a team and how the trust that we built all through the season showed in that game.

What do you do to pump yourself up before games?
I’m not a pump-up person. I would say I play a game on my computer before every game.

What game?
It’s a Chinese solitaire game. It’s the lamest game ever, but it’s fun. It’s like matching up tiles and you have to go through a pattern.

Who has been your biggest volleyball influence?
My uncle got me started in club when I was in high school, but I would say my entire family, immediate and extended, has always been very supportive of what I’ve done.

What is something Husker Nation doesn’t know about you?
The only thing I could come up with is that I’m very sarcastic, and I love making sarcastic comments with Coach Cook especially.

If you were to take the volleyball team to visit your hometown of Scottsbluff, where would you take them first?
I would take them to my house and then probably up to the monument because it’s Scottsbluff’s staple of the entire community. It’s actually very beautiful - the walk up there and when you get on top. 

Is it true you ran through a revolving door?
The one where I broke it? Yes, that is a true story.  We were walking up to the bank and I thought it would be funny to push the door a little harder and make everybody fly through. I pushed it a little too hard and it caught on someone’s heel and it folded in half.

Did you get stuck inside of it?
Some of them did and no one could get through so they had to use the side doors.

Favorite pre-match meal?
My favorite pre-match meal is Olive Garden because of the breadsticks.

Describe yourself in three words.
Quirky, unique and weird. They’re all three the same.

What are your post-graduation plans?
I’m going to hopefully teach and then eventually go to massage therapy school and open up my own business.