At Nebraska, John Cook is both.

So Cook is cautious when it comes to the improvement the team has made in service since the start of the season.

“Serving happens night to night, day to day, minute to minute,” Cook said. “We challenged them to become a better serving team, and I think they embraced that.”

Cook plays a big role in the strategy behind Nebraska’s ministry. He decides before the match which players will serve. During the match, just before each serve from the bench, he indicates which zone of the court to target and is quick to encourage the server.

In the first five games of the season, Nebraska had 27 ace serves, but also far too many service errors with 46.

In the five most recent matches, that has turned around to 25 aces and 25 errors. It was especially good in Nebraska’s last game with seven aces and only one error in a sweep of Iowa.

Mistakes are only part of the equation when it comes to how well a team serves. You also need to consistently have powerful serves that keep a team’s offense out of system.

Overall, Cook said, the Nebraska portion was “really good.”

“They’re really locked into serving,” he said. “We emphasize teams, we mix tempos, we hit locations.

“I just see a sense of pride when they go back there to serve. There is a sense of pride. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I hope we get it in.’ It’s: ‘I’m going to score a point for our team.’ I just feel like that’s our mentality right now.

During the final practice before each match, Cook keeps a close eye on who will serve that night, such as between Lindsay Krause and Olivia Mauch.

“Like we say, who’s hitting it,” Cook said.

It can be contagious when served. When one player practices a few good serves and starts running, the next person can do the same.

“It’s just like basketball,” Cook said. “If a couple guys come down and hit 3-pointers, suddenly everyone’s on fire.”

Nebraska will face a Top 10 opponent for the first time in Big Ten play when the second-ranked Huskers host No. 10 Purdue on Friday. The 7:30 p.m. game is on Big Ten Network.

Nebraska’s serve will be something to watch because if Nebraska overthrows easy serves, it will mean more quality hitting attempts for some talented forwards in outside hitter Eva Hudson, outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and middle blocker Raven Colvin.

Every loss to Purdue (12-3, 3-1) came to a Top 10 team: Penn State, Creighton and Kansas. The best wins were against Kentucky and Minnesota.

Colvin, a senior middle blocker from Indianapolis, is one of the best all-around players in the Big Ten.

She ranks No. 2 in the country in blocks (1.7 per set) and No. 11 in hitting percentage (.439). She also leads the team in ace serves with 22 and had seven aces in a five-set win against Minnesota.

“She’s an elite attacker, and she’s an elite blocker,” Cook said. “She did a great job. She has really improved every year she has been there and she is playing at a very high level.

Colvin has hit better than .300 in each of the past ten games.

“That’s what separates these guys,” Cook said. “Who can do it the longest and most consistently, and she is very consistent. She always has blocks and she always scores at a high percentage.”

Nebraska defended Colvin well in a five-set victory last season, limiting her to seven kills and a negative hitting percentage. She had seven blocks.

In response to a question about the team’s culture this season, senior co-captain Merritt Beason said she is proud of sophomore All-American Harper Murray.

Murray had two lawsuits that took some of the energy out of the program during the offseason.

“I want to use that to give Harper a really big shoutout,” Beason said. “I think this was going to be a make-it-or-break-it moment for us, and how she would react. And she was absolutely wonderful. Like I was blown away by the reaction she got. She really looked herself in the mirror and figured out ways to become a better teammate and a better person.”