No. 1 Nebraska Volleyball (18-0, 7-0) had little trouble against Northwestern (7-11, 0-7) on Thursday night. The Huskers beat the Wildcats in straight sets (25-17, 25-14, 25-15) on the road, looking strong after their sweep of No. 7 Wisconsin on Saturday.
Nebraska was without middle blocker Manaia Ogbechie, who missed the game due to illness. Ogbechie’s absence didn’t have much of an impact on the Huskers on either end, as a strong defensive performance shut down the Wildcats’ offense and held them to a .030 hitting percentage.
Middle blocker Andi Jackson led the Scarlet and Cream with 10 kills and added six blocks. The Huskers haven’t been as efficient as they have been in recent weeks, hitting .287 as a team. But they made up for it behind the service line with nine aces, led by three from the passer. Bergen Reilly.
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Set 1: Murray stays hot and wins Nebraska early
The dominant reign of Harper Murray continued Thursday evening. Just one game removed from a 20-kill performance against the Badgers last weekend, Murray followed that up with a six-kill opening set. The senior finished the match with nine kills and a .222 clip.
In fact, the outside hitter did a little bit of everything in the first. Murray added an ace and two blocks in the first period. After a 4-0 Northwestern run to tie the set at 13, she added a kill to propel the Huskers into the media timeout. And it carried them through the rest of the set as well.
The Big Red responded with a point of their own, ending the set with an 8-0 run to take first. Jackson found his rhythm with Reilly, scoring in multiple ways to add four kills.
Teraya Sigler once again he performed well, tallying four kills. His final drive closed the frame and led Nebraska to a 25-17 victory. Sigler had eight kills, 12 digs, three blocks and two aces against the Wildcats.
Set 2: Cogill anchors the defense with four blocks
Thursday wasn’t the first time Kenna Cogill replaced Ogbechie in the middle this season. His second set performance was another example of the head coach’s depth Dani Busboom Kelly has on his bench.
Cogill’s start wasn’t the most effective offensively, although it didn’t need to be with a heavy load of Sigler, Murray and Jackson. His impact was more pronounced on the defensive side of the net. She added four blocks in the second set and shut down the Wildcats’ front-line attack. They hit .077 as a team in the set. Cogill finished the game with a team-high seven blocks.
Offensively, the Scarlet and Cream were not as effective as they were in the first, hitting .206. But they performed well on the service line. Nebraska had five aces, including three from Reilly, who finished the set with an ace for a 25-14 victory.
Set 3: Bench pieces come into action as Huskers close out sweep
The Huskers began emptying their bench late in the second. Busboom Kelly’s first move came inserting a freshman outside hitter Keoni Williamswho made an impact by adding two kills on three swings.
The trend continued in the third set, as Jayden Robinson, Skyler Pierce And Gabby Divita everyone saw the action from the bench. Keri Leimbach also continued to make an impact in key areas. Pierce recorded four kills, hitting .500. DiVita recorded three kills on three swings.
Laney Choboy capped another impressive night, once again reaching double-digit digs with 12. She also added an ace and made a big impact in the back row en route to the Huskers’ 25-15 victory in the third.
Nebraska returns home and will face No. 13 Purdue on Saturday, October 17. The game will tip off at 4 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and Huskers Radio Network.
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