Five former student-athletes and a former coach have been chosen for induction into the Nebraska-Kearney Athletic Hall of Fame. Among the honorees is Broken Bow alum Nikki Scott.
Scott played for the Lopers between 2006-2009 where UNK went 126-20 during that span under the direction of long time head coach Rick Squiers. During a recent edition of the “Loper Update” which airs on KCNI/KBBN during the 5 pm sports, Squiers spoke of Scott’s hall of fame induction. Not only was she a great player, Squiers said she was a tremendous teammate.
“What you don’t know when you’re going through that (recruiting) process is the kind of person she is and the kind of competitor and as good a teammate as anybody that’s ever played here.”
Nikki visited with KCNI/KBBN sports about the hall of fame honor and shared how she connected with Coach Squiers and ultimately became a Loper.
“Yeah, I don’t know this for a fact. And again, as I think back to things, it’s a little bit harder to remember than I anticipated. And so this is my memory of it. I don’t know this for a fact from Coach Squiers and this is kind of going off of my memory. But coach had a daughter, Jordan, and Jordan and I played together at UNK. She was a year younger than me. And so, from my memory, we were playing Kearney Catholic when I was a sophomore, I believe, and we only won one game that year. And I believe that that was the year that he or that game and that year that he kind of watched a game and maybe saw I don’t know, some potential or something. So I went to camp the following summer and was staying in contact and eventually, I think it was my junior year, I went to a volleyball game and met with him after the game and they offered me a scholarship.”
She was a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American, earning first-team honors in 2009. That fall Scott also was tabbed as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Player of the Year and repeated as the league’s Academic Player of the Year. Next, she was a three-time first-team All-RMAC selection who was MVP of the 2007 tournament. That fall, Scott helped UNK host the regional and reach the Sweet 16. She currently ranks in the UNK career top 10 in three different categories including kills (7th / 1,390).
Nikki said she cherishes the time that she was part of the UNK volleyball program and said the sport of volleyball has given her so much.
“Yeah. Gosh, I love it. I have such respect and just a deep love for UNK, UNK volleyball, the coaches, Coach Squiers, and all my teammates. Like it is such a big package involved there that it’s not just volleyball, but I have lifelong friends. I have such amazing experiences that I got to experience as part of the volleyball team and it goes beyond volleyball. And so I just am so appreciative and I just have such appreciation and respect for UNK volleyball and all the things that I was able to do and experience and friends and all of that. And so yes, it’s just honestly made me it’s a big part of who I am.”
Scott currently resides in Lincoln with her husband Jake McGlade and two children. Nikki serves as a Speech-Language Pathologist and Clinical Educator at UNL. Nikki is now the second of her family to be inducted into the Loper Athletic Hall of Fame following in the footsteps of her father and former Loper football standout Jerry Scott.
This year’s hall of fame class will be inducted during ceremonies held on UNK’s homecoming weekend October 2-3.
INTERVIEW WITH HALL OF FAMER NIKKI SCOTT
