The senior outside hitter was a regular contributor at Nebraska for three seasons, helping the Huskers reach the national championship match twice during her Husker career. 

But on Sunday, Batenhorst will be on the opposite side of the net from the Huskers when she leads No. 20 Southern California into Lincoln for a 6:30 p.m. match against No. 2 Nebraska.

NU libero Lexi Rodriguez said she’s happy to have a chance to play against her close friend.

“I know Husker Nation is going to give her a warm welcoming,” Rodriguez said. “I haven’t seen her in a really long time. I loved playing with her. I want to see her succeed. Even though we’re going to have to stop her, I think it’s going to be fun to see her over there on the other side of the net in a different role and a different jersey. No matter how she does I’m going to be super proud of her.”

Batenhorst transferred to USC after last season and immediately became a key part of the Trojans’ offense. Her 449 hitting attempts are 221 more than any other player on the team and she leads USC in kills with 161 on a .214 hitting percentage.

“She looks like she’s having a lot of fun,” Rodriguez said. “She’s taking big swings — she’s taking a lot of swings. I think she’s been ballin’ out, so it’s really good to see because she’s my best friend. I’m proud of her.”

USC (9-2, 1-0) beat Ohio State in five sets Friday in its first Big Ten match since joining the conference. Batenhorst had a match-high 15 kills.

Batenhorst won’t be the only familiar face on the USC bench. Trojan associate head coach Tyler Hildebrand was an assistant at Nebraska for three seasons, including the 2017 national championship team. He was previously the coach at Long Beach State before resigning in February after going 40-19 over two seasons.

Sunday’s match will be the only time Nebraska faces USC this season. 

Welcome to the new Big Ten, where the addition of four new teams this season means NU will only play most of the other 17 teams once during a 20-match league schedule.

The Huskers only play three teams twice this season — Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

Nebraska coach John Cook is just fine with the format and thinks it could add to the importance of some matches.

“I think this is going to be great,” Cook said. “It’s going to be great for the fans and the media because (it’s like), ‘Hey, we’re playing Minnesota, and we get one shot. Here we go.’ As this builds toward a conference champion, those are going to be some huge matches.”

In the past teams played both home and road matches against seven opponents.

Wisconsin may have it a little tougher on the schedule with two matches against Nebraska, Minnesota and Northwestern.

Penn State, another contender in the Big Ten race, has two apiece against Purdue, Maryland and Michigan State.

When Big Ten play begins, Rodriguez knows there are going to be a lot of great matches.

“Once it starts, it’s go, go, go and we’re trying to be on our ‘A’ game every single weekend for (10) weeks,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a pretty long season. I think it’s just getting in the mindset to battle for the next 10 weeks.”

Nebraska freshman defensive specialist Olivia Mauch is looking forward to her first trek through the Big Ten. She knows the season is about to go up a notch.

“I’ve always watched it on TV, but now I get to be a part of it and I’m so excited,” Mauch said.

Nebraska’s match against Louisville last week averaged 684,000 viewers, making it the most-watched regular season match ever on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. At its peak, the broadcast had 808,000 viewers.

The rating didn’t come close to the 2023 national championship match between Nebraska and Texas, which was also a Sunday afternoon match on ABC. That match averaged 1.7 million viewers.