No. 1 Nebraska volleyball sweeps Grand Canyon without Murray or Jackson
After allowing Utah to take a set on Friday, top-ranked Nebraska volleyball gave Grand Canyon no chance to do the same. Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly used the match as chance to give her star players a bit of rest ahead of NU’s rivalry match with Creighton on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Even without the phenomenal duo of Harper Murray and Andi Jackson the Huskers handedly swept the Antelopes (25-12, 25-23, 25-18) to continue their undefeated start. They rolled out a fresh starting lineup, but still managed to put together a strong showing.
Freshmen Campbell Flynn, Manaia Ogbechie, and Skyler Pierce all started and gave Husker fans a glimpse of the future. Flynn commanded the entire game at setter and finished with 37 assists, adding five kills on six attempts.
Nebraska recorded a .364 hitting percentage, while limiting Grand Canyon to a .105 clip. The Antelopes came into this game a day after taking down Drake in five sets (25-23, 25-16, 23-25, 25-27, 15-9).
Set 1: No slow start for Huskers
Unlike Friday’s match against the Utes, Nebraska fired out of the gates. The Huskers completely controlled the first set, downing the Antelopes 25-12.
Teraya Sigler opened up the match hot, quickly recording four kills in five attempts to give Nebraska a 13-6 lead. Sigler led the team with 14 kills on the night and added 11 digs for a double-double.
Grand Canyon called a timeout to try to quell the Huskers, but they continued to roll. Even though the lineup was filled with players making their first start, Nebraska simply dominated. The Antelopes had no answers for NU’s ferocious attack.
Nebraska recorded a .533 hitting percentage in the opening set and limited the Antelopes to a .148 clip and only six kills.
Set 2: Antelopes put up a fight
Grand Canyon made the second set much more difficult for the Huskers. The Antelopes played a scrappy set and led 15-14 at the media timeout. However, Nebraska found some fire in the latter half of the set to narrowly win it 25-23.
The Huskers’ biggest woe in the first half of the set was their attack. After its extremely efficient opening set, Nebraska held a .048 hitting percentage at the media timeout.
After the early slump, the Huskers cleaned up their attack and finished the set with a .314 hitting percentage.
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Coming out of the media timeout, Nebraska got its swagger back and regained the lead, forcing Grand Canyon to call a timeout of its own.
However, the Antelopes refused to go away. Nebraska almost put away the set earlier, however a successful Grand Canyon challenge and Sophia Parlenti kill made the score 24-23, giving the Antelopes a prime chance to take the set.
But a thunderous block from Ogbechie erupted the crowd into a frenzy and shut Grand Canyon out from a chance to steal the set.
Set 3: Nebraska puts away the Antelopes
Just like the second set, the Huskers had a rough start. The Scarlet and Cream only led 15-14 at the media timeout and the Antelopes hung around for most of the set. However, Nebraska reestablished itself and pulled out the set 25-18.
Just like in the second set, the Huskers’ attack struggled. Busboom Kelly’s team had seven of the team’s 14 hitting errors in the set and recorded a game-worst .265 hitting percentage. The Antelopes also recorded four blocks in the set.
However, after the media timeout, the Huskers attack looked like its normal self and forced Grand Canyon to call two timeouts to try and mount a comeback.
Although Nebraska’s attack was iffy, Grand Canyon’s was still worse. Kendra Pott’s squad also recorded its worst split in the match, dipping into the negatives at -.030.
The Antelopes poor hitting allowed for the Huskers to put them away.
