For former NCAA volleyball star-turned-pro Lexi Rodriguez, making her Volleyball National League debut was a dream come true. While Rodriguez has played for Team USA in the past, it was a Pan American contest with no European teams. “To come to five and battle alongside my teammates was so much fun. It was a wonderful day,” Rodriguez said of her VNL debut. Things become even more interesting when you realize who those teammates are.

Besides Rodriguez, her NCAA contemporaries like Sarah Franklin, Madisen Skinner, and others are also part of the 14-woman USA roster. Needless to say, these are the cream of the crop of their NCAA batch, and less than a year ago, harbored fierce rivalries on the court. So naturally, seeing former rivals team up for the Stars and Stripes was a special moment for fans. What many were not ready for was what happened off the court.

Lexi Rodriguez, who turned heads with her leading 17-dig performance, just collaborated with Sarah Franklin. The Nebraska Huskers’ record-setting libero dropped the video with Franklin just ahead of the USA’s triumphant 3-2 showing against Serbia, and the fans were clearly not ready to see the former Wisconsin Badgers star be friends with a former Nebraska libero. Yet Rodriguez did one better.

“Started as rivals, and now we’re roomies and teammates,” the Huskers’ all-time digs record holder revealed in the closed captions. It’s safe to say that the fans who’ve seen Wisconsin and Nebraska compete fiercely on the NCAA level for decades couldn’t handle the exposition. “My Wisconsin brain can’t handle this,” one fan, who couldn’t fathom the two former rivals being “roomies,” commented on the LOVB Omaha libero’s TikTok video.

However, Lexi Rodriguez and Sarah Franklin’s fans weren’t the ones losing their mind to see the two rivals team up. ESPN’s Emily Ehman felt surreal watching the pair prepare for a VNL match together. “Never thought we’d see the day… Sarah Franklin & Lexi Rodriguez as pepper partners,” wrote the former volleyball player-turned-journalist on her Instagram post. Meanwhile, fans continued to be absolutely stunned.

Lexi Rodriguez and Sarah Franklin bridged two fan bases

As surprised as the two rival fan bases were to see their icons connect through playing for Team USA, they also left the rivalry behind. Since 2011, the Badgers have won 13 times and lost 12 games against the Huskers. While the former Badgers’ 2023 ESPY Award-nominated outside hitter helped her team beat Rodriguez’ Huskers multiple times, the libero had the last laugh.

Lexi Rodriguez helped the Nebraska Huskers build a three-game win streak against Franklin’s Badgers before her college career ended. Yet, the fans left all that behind. Instead, they were stoked to see the former NCAA volleyball juggernauts join forces. “MY TWO WORLDS COLLIDING,” one excited fan commented, because Rodriguez isn’t the only one who has exceeded expectations at the VNL.

“Sarah Franklin is tied for 18th among all VNL scorers and is 15th among all attackers,” with 98 points (94 attacks), wrote Volleyball World USA. “That’s actually so crazy!!” another netizen reacted to the two volleyball icons vibing to PinkPantheress’ Illegal. In fact, their collab was so incredible that it inspired others to do the same, that too from Wisconsin and Nebraska.

Badgers alumna middle blocker Caroline Crawford teamed up with Huskers’ senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick at the Out of System training camp. “Thanks for the trend idea,” she wrote, tagging Lexi Rodriguez and Sarah Franklin while recreating the same TikTok with Allick. Then came the requests, because, you see, the outside hitter and the libero are far from the only former NCAA rivals in Team USA’s VNL roster.

“She needs to do something, the whole Texas girls, lol! All love,” commented one fan, because there’s no shortage of them in this roster. Brionne Butler, Madisen Skinner, Logan Eggleston, and others have played for the University of Texas. Meanwhile, Logan Lednicky was part of the Texas A&M team. However, among these volleyball warriors from Texas, one stood out.

“YOU HAVE TO DO THIS W MADI PLS,” another excited fan commented. Although the Huskers’ rivalry with the University of Texas doesn’t have the history like Wisconsin, Madisen Skinner was part of the Texas squad that beat the Huskers in the 2023 NCAA final. Yet after seeing Franklin collab with Lexi Rodriguez, the fan believed the libero could do the same with the former VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year. So, tell us how you reacted to the unlikely team-up.