Alli Wiese has brought experience to the UNK volleyball team this fall. The graduate transfer libero is the leader in matches played for NCAA Division II active players.
After spending the last four years playing for Hillsdale College, Wiese decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal and find a new team for her final year of eligibility.
“I just kind of entered the transfer portal, looking for something to study in my graduate year,” Wiese said. “Coach Squires reached out and I was like, I know that program, they’re pretty good. (I) went on a visit here, fell in love, and was like, yep, this is the place for me. They had the program I wanted, just everything fit perfectly.”
Growing up in Mattawan, Michigan, Wiese followed the steps of her older sister and found volleyball.
“I have a sister that’s about 4 1/2 years older than me and so she started playing volleyball when she was 12,” Wiese said. “When you’re 8 slash 7 1/2, you don’t really have anything else to do but follow your siblings around with whatever they’re doing. So just in the gym, (I) started just messing around in the corner and then next year got on a team and fell in love with it.”
Wiese, a two-time All-American, followed her sister to Hillsdale College and broke her sister’s school record for career digs. Now, she is also the NCAA all-division career leader in digs among active players.
Looking for another year of eligibility after her senior year, she looked toward UNK and was hooked.
“I knew it was a big volleyball school,” Wiese said. “Nebraska as a whole is a big volleyball state and just the dominant atmosphere that this has. It was super exciting to walk into, and I wanted to be a part of it no matter what.”
Transitioning from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference to the MIAA is a notable change, Wiese said.
“I knew (the MIAA) was a power conference and a power region,” Wiese said. “I mean the conference I came from was not as well known for being super competitive, which allowed us to have a lot of success, even though we still had to fight for a lot of the things we won. Here, anyone could beat anyone, and we know that and winning a conference is a tough thing to do.”
Now a Loper, Wiese said that the team is her favorite part about playing volleyball.
“The team’s awesome, like going and practicing with them,” Wiese said. “We’re super competitive, but we can also have a super fun time together doing it. Everyone’s super light-hearted and welcoming which is like awesome because I was super nervous to move 11 1/2 hours from my home like that was terrifying, but the girls made it so easy.”
