Lexi Rodriguez makes her feelings known for ex-Nebraska volleyball star Justine Wong-Orantes as they join forces for same pro team

Lexi Rodriguez who left a prestigious career with Nebraska Cornhuskers has progressed to the professional volleyball court with LOVB Omaha. She recently shared her experience of learning from icon Justine Wong-Orantes.

Rodriguez left the Nebraska program as the all-time career leader in digs and attained many accolades. In a talk with HuskerOnline, Rodriguez revealed her thoughts on gaining wisdom from two-time Olympic medallist libero, Justine Wong-Orantes. According to a segment of “Former Husker Lexi Rodriguez talks LOVB Omaha transition in rookie season I GBR,” Rodriguez shared.

“I mean, I literally remember first day walking in the gym and just like passing next to her and being like wow, just like even the first day and watching her do just simple things and how calm she is and just her technique is top tier and so I feel like every day getting to watch that over time will just be super helpful for my game,” Lexi mentioned [onwards 0:30]

Rodriguez, who is in one of the top five spots of attaining four career first-team all-conference selections, revealed how observing Wong-Orantes will be beneficial for her game because of her prominent experience as a libero.

Wong-Orantes, who is also a notable member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, helped the team win the NCAA National Championship in 2015. She has played for multiple clubs and has three gold medals from four Pan American Cup tournaments. Wong-Orantes also has a bronze medal from the World Grand Champions Cup. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, her team attained the second spot.

Lexi Rodriguez shares her take on the rising popularity of volleyball

Lexi Rodriguez at the 2023 Division I Women's Volleyball Championship - Source: Getty

Lexi Rodriguez who hails from Sterling, Illinois showed promise in the sport from an early age. In high school, she set the school record in digs and won two state titles. During the “Huskers Radio Network Podcast”, Rodriguez shed light on the importance of the sport reaching record popularity.

“I thought it was amazing because it really was everywhere there were records being broken in every single conference for attendances and just you saw it literally everywhere it was spreading into every state, every conference, it really was and then I think it's huge because now that there's professional volleyball league starting. I just think that what's a better time than now for this sport to get all this attention and I think it's going to be huge as these leagues are starting to grow and get more people from different colleges in the next few years,” she said [onwards 13:13]

Lexi Rodriguez, who is the four-time AVCA All-American and AVCA West Region Player of the Year, reflected on the importance of recognition for the sport and what it meant for its future growth. As far as her academics are concerned, Rodriguez has finished her bachelor's degree in advertising and public relations.