No. 1 Nebraska volleyball carried on its strong start to the season by defeating No. 7 Wisconsin 25-23, 25-14, and 25-20 on Saturday night at John Cook Arena in the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The team played in front of a crowd of 10,497 and now has a record of 17-0 overall and 6-0 in Big Ten games, thus extending its home regular-season winning streak at the Devaney Center to 58 matches in a row.
This win was also Nebraska’s fifth consecutive victory against Wisconsin, which ended the season with a record of 11 wins and five losses overall and one loss in conference games. The Huskers dominated a large part of the match, ending with superior numbers in kills, digs, and blocks, and at the same time keeping the Badgers’ hitting percentage at .171.
Harper Murray headed the offensive efforts for Nebraska with 20 kills, the most she has had this season, and her success rate was an impressive .471. In addition, the outside hitter pulled in four digs and three blocks, giving her a solid all-around performance. Andi Jackson also put in 11 kills, marking her sixth time this season having double figures in kills, while Teraya Sigler recorded nine kills and achieved a hitting percentage of .533.
Bergen Reilly gave 39 assists while directing the Nebraska offensive play and the team achieved a hitting percentage of .396. Defensively, Laney Choboy was the leader with 13 digs, Olivia Mauch coming next with 12. Nebraska carried out 50 kills compared to Wisconsin’s 36, had a 44-28 lead in digs and outmatched them 9 to 2 in blocks.
In the first set there were a number of changes in momentum as both sides struggled to gain control. Nebraska obtained a 14-12 lead with a 3-0 run and had a 15-13 lead when the first media timeout was called after Sigler’s kill. Wisconsin then took an 18-17 lead as a result of a block by Lynney Tarrow and Decelise Champion, but the Huskers replied with four consecutive points to take the lead 21-18. The Badgers managed to get back and reduced the deficit to 24-23, which forced a Nebraska timeout. On coming out of the break, Murray scored a back-row kill to win the set 25-23 and thus gave the Huskers the first set.
In the second set, Nebraska took the lead following an early back-and-forth series of points. The Huskers then mounted a 10-1 run, which involved five points in a row, thus gaining a lead and firmly shifting the momentum to their side. Nebraska managed 18 kills with a hitting percentage of .424 and kept Wisconsin’s hitting percentage down to just .053. Jackson completed the set with her 10th kill of the match, securing a convincing 25-14 victory and leaving the Huskers just one set away from a sweep.
In the third set the competition continued, Nebraska taking a slight lead of 15 to 14 when Murray scored her 17th kill at the media timeout; consecutive blocks by Manaia Ogbechie and Virginia Adriano then widened the score to 19 to 16, and after another kill by Murray it became 20 to 17. Wisconsin managed to get within two points on two separate occasions, but Nebraska stayed calm. When Charlie Fuerbringer scored a kill to make it 22 to 20, the Huskers obtained three points in a row to finish off the set, Murray ending the set with her 20th kill and thus completing the sweep.
Nebraska hopes to keep its season without a single loss as the Big Ten games continue.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
