Tears streamed down Ally Batenhorst’s face minutes before the No. 20 USC Trojans took on her former teammates in the No. 2 Nebraska Huskers on Sunday night at the Devaney Sports Center.

Batenhorst, originally from Omaha and a former Husker, received a thunderous ovation in the starting lineup. As the applause continued, she covered her mouth in disbelief at the warm welcome.

She began to tear up as Lexi Rodriguez, Kennedi Orr and Harper Murray presented Batenhorst with her starting lineup ball with handwritten messages from the team.

Several fans waved homemade signs for the outside hitter, who transferred to USC for her final college season after graduating from NU in the spring.

“I graduated here, so I’ll still be a Husker. It feels like home here and it’s very special and I just love the people here.”

Batenhorst finished the game with 13 kills and a .242 hitting percentage.

“They always say there’s no place like Nebraska. Everyone just doesn’t support me anymore I’ll get it. It was overwhelming.

Batenhorst never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome. Sure enough, when the team’s charter flight landed in the city on Saturday, the message welcoming Batenhorst back to Lincoln appeared on Duncan Aviation’s digital display.

USC assistant head coach Tyler Hildebrand accompanied Batenhorst on his return home. The whole game felt “weird” to Husker head coach John Cook, but he was happy to see his team come away with another top-25 win.

“First of all, it was a weird game with Tyler over there and Ally,” Cook said afterward. “You can see how close Ally still is to these guys. I don’t know, it was weird.”

Batenhorst trained with the Huskers throughout the spring, although she announced her intention to transfer to USC before the end of the school year.

That doesn’t happen with most programs, Nebraska is a family.

“She’s a husker,” Cook said. “I think people love watching her play. She has done a great job on social media and you can see how close she is still with our players. There is an emotional connection there. She trained with us all spring. She is part of our family. I.” I think our fans know that. … She played great for them.

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