No. 1 Nebraska sweeps Kansas State en route to Sweet 16
No. 1 Nebraska volleyball (32-0, 20-0) advanced to the regional semifinals after defeating Kansas State (18-10, 10-8) in straight sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-16). The Huskers may have gotten the sweep, but it wasn’t pretty by any means. NU ended the match with a .253 hitting percentage, its lowest since nonconference play.
Harper Murray and Andi Jackson led the match with 10 kills each. The Nebraska defense made up for its offensive performance with libero Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch each reaching double-digit digs.
The Wildcats finished the match hitting .118. Their trio of Nebraska natives made their marks on the match. Lincoln, Neb. native Shaylee Myers recorded six kills, Papillion, Neb. native Ava LeGrand had four kills and 19 assists and Eagle, Neb. native Brenna Schmidt led the match with five blocks.
Set 1: Stout defense from the Huskers
Nebraska took the first set 25-17, but its offense didn’t look as good as the score suggests. The Huskers hit just .286 in the opening game, but held the Wildcats to a .088 clip with 18 digs.
Rebekah Allick added to her already stellar tournament with two kills early. Nebraska struck first as a pair of service aces gave it a 7-2 lead. The Wildcats cut the Husker advantage to 9-7, but a 4-0 NU run forced them to use a timeout.
Kansas State brought the heat, but Nebraska was ready for it. Almost every Husker dig involved a player hitting the deck while the attack did just enough to stay in front. This was highlighted by an incredible diving save from Teraya Sigler and a Murray kill, which brought the entire John Cook Arena to its feet.
While the great defensive play ignited Nebraska to end the set on a 9-3 run, its offense still struggled to close it out.
Set 2: Nebraska pushed to its limit by K-State
The Huskers once again had to scrap their way against Kansas State’s defense. Nebraska hit as low as .037 in the second set despite coming away with a 25-21 win. The Scarlet and Cream finished hitting .139 compared to the Wildcats’ .171.
K-State had the Huskers on the ropes early, up 4-1 to begin the set. Nebraska quickly erased it, however, with a 3-0 run to tie it up. The Huskers took their first lead of the game off a Taylor Landfair kill. Landfair finished with eight kills and hit .278.
Top 10
- 1New
Bowl Projections
Full postseason matchups
- 2
CFP Top 25 Prediction
Projecting Final Top 25, Field
- 3
Projecting AP Poll
Top 25 after Champ Weekend
- 4
Kalen DeBoer
Makes CFP pitch for Alabama
- 5Hot
Coaching Carousel Intel
PSU staff, South Carolina OC
Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
The Wildcats continued to battle and knotted the set up at 8-all off a dump kill from LeGrand. Nebraska stayed ahead thanks to the serve, with four Kansas State service errors and a Choboy ace.
With the offensive struggles, Dani Busboom Kelly swapped opposite Virginia Adriano out for Allie Sczech. A 4-1 Husker run made it 21-16 and made the Wildcats burn both of their timeouts. Kansas State then went on a 4-0 run to make it 22-21, but the Huskers eventually closed it off with a Murray and Jackson block.
Set 3: Husker offense wakes up
Nebraska booked its ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 25-16 win in the third set. The Husker offense finally looked like its usual self, capping the night off with a .393 hitting percentage in set three. Kansas State hit .097 in the final game.
Adriano found some success back into the match as she registered two kills. However, they could not create any separation with the two sides trading points to start the third. An Adriano kill finally gave Nebraska some breathing room at 13-10.
The Huskers kept their foot on the gas and extended the advantage to 18-12, never looking back. Nebraska’s attack ended an otherwise poor night strongly with a kill from Landfair for match point.
The Huskers will face No. 4 seed Kansas (24-10, 13-5) in the regional semifinal on either Thursday, Dec. 11, or Friday, Dec. 12, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. If NU wins, they will take on the winner of No. 2 seed Louisville and No. 3 seed Texas A&M with a spot in the national semifinal on the line.
