No. 1 Nebraska volleyball caps off undefeated regular season with Ohio State sweep
No. 1 Nebraska volleyball (30-0, 20-0) wrapped up its undefeated regular season with a win over Ohio State (6-22, 3-17) in straight sets (25-16, 25-13, 25-20). The Huskers are the first team to go undefeated in the Big Ten since Penn State in 2009.
After the match, the Huskers honored seniors Rebekah Allick, Taylor Landfair, Allie Sczech and Maisie Boesiger. The four players were featured prominently, with Boesiger and Landfair starting their first matches of the season and Sczech starting her first since Aug. 31 against Kentucky.
Each senior had their moments. Allick finished with seven kills and four blocks while Sczech and Landfair added six and four kills, respectively. At libero, Boesiger had 13 digs, four assists and led three five-point or more service runs.
Harper Murray led the match with nine kills. Andi Jackson was not far behind with eight kills on .800 hitting. The Huskers hit .435 as a team and shut the Buckeyes down to a .174 mark.
Set 1: Seniors start and end set hot
Nebraska had no problem defeating Ohio State in set one, 25-16. The Huskers rebounded off some early struggles and hit .367 in the set compared to the Buckeyes’ .103.
The seniors made their mark right away. Sczech opened the scoring for Nebraska with a kill on her first swing. Boesiger then orchestrated a 6-0 run at the service line to give the Huskers a 7-2 lead.
Nebraska hit just .250 early, but it still built a 15-8 lead off a plethora of Ohio State errors. The rough start didn’t faze Jackson, who connected on three kills on three swings. The Huskers mixed up their lineup by bringing in freshmen Virginia Adriano and Campbell Flynn, who picked up from where the upperclassmen left off.
After Sczech and Boesiger got things going for Nebraska, Allick and Landfair did their part. Allick recorded her first kill of the match on an overpass to make it 22-12 Huskers. Landfair then registered her first kill for set point.
Set 2: Nebraska dominates both ways
The Huskers had a much better second set both offensively and defensively. Nebraska took a 25-13 win, hit .522, and held the Buckeyes to a .071 clip.
Boesiger led another 6-0 Husker run at the line to give them an early 6-1 lead as their attackers teed off on the Buckeyes. Back-to-back overpass kills from Murray and Jackson forced Ohio State to use a timeout.
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Murray then took the set over with consecutive kills and an ace, expanding the Husker lead to 11-3. The Buckeyes rattled off a pair of 3-0 runs, but were quickly shut down both times by 3-0 and 5-0 Nebraska runs.
Flynn needed just one serve to get out of the set, with an ace giving the Huskers the 25-13 win. Nebraska ended the set on a 6-1 run to take the 2-0 advantage.
Set 3: Huskers clinch undefeated regular season
Nebraska closed out its regular season with a close 25-20 set three victory. The Huskers hit .436, but allowed an uncharacteristically high .314 hitting percentage from the Buckeyes.
Ohio State played Nebraska close, as the Huskers had trouble building a lead of more than two. An ace from Olivia Hasbrook tied the set at 8-all, but an Allick kill put NU ahead.
Adriano’s fourth kill of the set gave the Huskers their largest lead of the set at 15-12. Allick and Sczech were quick to add to the advantage with kills.
The Buckeyes continued to fight, but Nebraska got big swings out of Manaia Ogbechie, who had five kills in the third. Ohio State cut the Husker lead to 20-19 only for Nebraska to close the match out on a 5-1 run. Skyler Pierce served a 4-0 run featuring an ace to build the lead.
The undefeated Huskers are a lock for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The rest of the field will be announced during the selection show at 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 30, on ESPN. Nebraska will be back in action for its first round matchup on either Thursday, Dec. 4, or Friday, Dec. 5.
