Hayley Thramer's dream always was to play at Nebraska.

But for that dream to come true, the Ewing, Neb., senior had to face reality this week. She had to call the coaches at the University of Wisconsin and tell them she was backing away from the commitment she had made in June to the Badgers.

"When I got this opportunity back, it was too good to pass up," she said. "It's a big deal for a Nebraska girl to go to Nebraska."

After spending the better part of two weeks agonizing over the decision, Thramer accepted a scholarship offer to play volleyball at Nebraska. She'll sign her letter-of-intent in November.

That event will cap a wild year for the Class D-2 standout on the recruiting trail. It was last November when Nebraska first made a scholarship offer to Thramer, the 6-foot-2 middle blocker who turned heads with 37 kills in the state championship match.

"At that point, I was just thinking everything through," Thramer said. "I was just a junior, and I wanted to take my time. That kind of cost me, in a way, when they had their setter leave."

The news that sophomore Rachel Holloway was leaving Nebraska forced coaches to re-evaluate their recruiting efforts. Thramer said that Nebraska head coach John Cook called to say that the scholarship that was being held for her might have to go to another player.

Jessica Yanz was looking to transfer from Penn State, and with Sydney Anderson's eligibility still up in the air last winter, Nebraska was in need of a setter.

The NU coaches, Thramer said, told her that if anything changed, they would let her know. Of course, no one expected that the Huskers would have a scholarship come open in August when freshman Jordan Haverly chose to leave Nebraska after one week of practice.

"A few days after it was in the paper, Coach Cook called me and said the opportunity was there for me again," Thramer said. "It was a tough decision, primarily because of the commitment I had made to Wisconsin, but they were my first choice from the beginning.

"It was always my dream to play for Nebraska."