Nebraska volleyball sweeps No. 2 Stanford for first win over Cardinal at Devaney
Nebraska volleyball swept No. 2 Stanford 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-14) on Wednesday for its first win over the Cardinal at the Devaney Center in program history.
Outside hitter Lindsay Krause and middle blocker Andi Jackson led the way for the Huskers with nine kills a piece. Outside hitter Elia Rubin tallied 10 kills and six digs for the Cardinal but committed eight errors.
Nebraska finished the night with a .263 hitting percentage while holding the Cardinal to a .100 clip. The Huskers committed just 13 errors to Stanford’s 22.
Subscribe to HuskerOnline TODAY and get 50 percent off an annual subscription!
Set One
The Huskers jumped out to a hot start in the first set, and an early lead proved to be the difference.
Outside hitter Harper Murray fired her second kill of the night to put the Huskers up 8-2 and force a Cardinal timeout. Setter Bergen Reilly sent the crowd into a frenzy shortly after with a kill to help Nebraska open up a comfortable 14-6 lead. The Huskers were flawless for the majority of the first set, not committing their first hitting error until they led 16-11.
Stanford mustered a 3-0 run but back-to-back errors killed its momentum. Jackson missed a swing to allow Stanford to pull within six, 19-13, but she responded with back-to-back kills to all but put the set away.
Both sides traded points before outside hitter Merritt Beason finished with a swing to give Nebraska a 25-17 set victory.
Jackson and Krause each had three kills in the first as the Huskers hit at a .406 clip with only two errors compared to Stanford’s seven.
Set Two
The second set was the most competitive of the evening. Nebraska took another early 8-2 lead, but Stanford had a counterpunch this time around.
After a long rally, a Beason swing forced a Stanford timeout as the Huskers began to pull away, 7-2. Beason came out of the break with another massive kill, her fifth of the night.
Stanford responded with a gutsy 8-0 run thanks to three kills from outside hitter Ipar Kurt and back-to-back aces by Rubin. A Jackson kill put an end to the momentum shift before back-to-back kills from Reilly and a Stanford net violation tied the set back up at 13-13
A 3-0 run for the Cardinal opened up their biggest lead of the evening before Beason ended it with her sixth kill.
Two Stanford service errors helped Nebraska get back within one point and Jackson tied it up again with a powerful swing. She came right back with her seventh kill to return the lead to Nebraska, 19-18, and force a Stanford timeout.
A solo block from middle blocker Rebekah Alllick capped off a 7-2 Husker run and Krause’s fifth kill gave Nebraska set point. Beason finished off the comeback with her second set-ending swing to give the Huskers a 2-0 lead.
Nebraska only hit at a .093 clip in the second and committed eight errors but found a way to claw back into the set late.
Set Three
Nebraska dominated from start to finish in the third.
Krause came out on fire with two kills and a block that gave Nebraska a 10-6 lead and sparked an early 4-0 run. Nebraska began to pull away after kills from Krause and Murray gave them an eight-point advantage, and a 12-2 run all but put the set away.
Murray notched back-to-back service aces to put Nebraska ahead 23-10 and Krause finished off the sweep with a kill.
Nebraska improved to 9-1 with the signature victory as it looks forward to another heavyweight matchup with No. 4 Louisville on Sunday.
