By Jason Andera

605 Sports

“She’s my best friend, I want all the success in the world for her,” said Raegen. “When I have to try to play against her and try to beat her it’s not the most fun at times.” 

Bergen feels the exact same way toward her older sister Raegen. 

“I owe a lot of my success and where I’m at today to her,” Bergen said. “She was always there for me, all the highs and lows and same with me for her.” 

BERGEN CONTINUES TO ACCELERATE

For those that aren’t familiar with the amazing career of Bergen Reilly here is a quick recap. Bergen has achieved some lofty milestones including three Gatorade Player of the Year awards and two state championships in high school at O’Gorman. Before she graduated high school she made a splash on the national scene with a gold medal at the 2022 U19 Pan American Cup where she was named the MVP of the tournament. Since then she’s had other opportunities to represent Team USA including earning a spot on the 2022 U.S. Women’s National Team for the Pan Am Final Six as a 17-year old to help the Americans earn the silver medal. It shouldn’t be a surprise that last year Bergen became the first freshman to win Big Ten setter of the year. It was a dream season that included a trip to the National Championship. 

Bergen is now in her sophomore season at Nebraska, a place that treats volleyball as well as anyone in the country.

“Nebraska fans know volleyball,” said Raegen. “They are engaged the entire time and loud the entire time. They just love watching good volleyball.” 

RAEGEN’S RISE TO THE BIG TEN

While Bergen’s accolades are undeniably impressive, Raegen’s feats continue to go beyond what she thought possible. 

Raegen was thrilled to get a chance to play Division I volleyball after being named Class AA Miss Volleyball in 2020 and winning a state title at O’Gorman her senior season. At NDSU, she had a great freshman season. She finished fifth in the conference in assists per set and logged nine double-doubles that season. 

At the end of her freshman year she transferred to South Dakota State where she set a school record with 1,307 assists in 2022 and was among the top setters in the conference. 

After two seasons in Brookings, Raegen had finished her undergraduate work in three years at SDSU and her academic prospects at SDSU didn’t fit what she was looking for. She thought about being done with college volleyball as she pursued a masters in business administration before applying to law schools. 

Bergen and Raegen Reilly pose for a picture with some supporters after a recent volleyball match in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Jason Andera / 605 Sports)

But after thinking about it she decided to test the transfer portal with no idea how much interest she’d garner. It would take a special school to fit academically and athletically. She ended up drawing more interest than she initially thought. She took two serious visits to decide where to play her senior season, one to Duke and one to Illinois. After comparing the schools she decided to reach for the Big Ten at Illinois. 

“I took a leap of faith a little bit, I’m so grateful that I got this chance and grateful that I didn’t leave myself wondering what could have been. Once I visited Illinois I just knew it was the right place. It didn’t take long after the visit to decide what to do.”

The first time the sisters played against each other was in Champaign, Illinois, on Oct. 3. A lot of dad’s side of the family got to travel from New York to see the game. While it was a great experience it was weird for the family. 

“The first time they played at Illinois we didn’t know quite what to do. Sometimes you’re cheering for neither, not both,” said Brendan Reilly, who is Raegen and Bergen’s dad. 

“It was very bittersweet, I want to cheer for Bergen but it’s a little bit hard when you’re playing against her,” said Raegen.

THE FINAL MATCHUP

Now, eight years after that picture was taken, they faced off back in the same arena, this time on the court together on opposite sides of the net. The Reillys had a substantial cheering section including a lot of support from mom’s side of the family. The supporters wore split shirts to support both sisters. 

“It’s so special I don’t think that we really ever thought this would happen,” said Bergen. “Having her in the Big Ten is just something that I don’t know if we imagined would happen. I’m so proud of her for working through everything the last three years and I’m glad that she could finish college out on a bang."