Nebraska brought the same momentum from the Creighton match, earlier in the week, to this one as they beat #14 Arizona State in straight sets tonight.
After this match, the Huskers will play two other ranked opponents, in non-conference, in #2 Stanford and #4 Louisville so this was a good test to see if they could stay consistent after a big win earlier in the week.
This was another great start to the weekend as Husker volleyball will take the court again tomorrow afternoon and Nebraska football will play University of Northern Iowa at night.
Arizona State was the competitive team that Nebraska expected them to be with Claire Jeter continuing her streak of no hitting errors on the season.
Geli Cyr was another Sun Devil who carried the team on her back as she recorded 14 kills and a .357 hitting percentage. This just wasn’t enough for the Sun Devils as the Huskers never let up.
It was kind of clear that Merritt Beason was sort of struggling to start this season. She put those thoughts and comments to rest tonight though as she lit up the court and was the best out there.
Beason recorded 15 kills in the match which is the most she has had in a single match in her career. She also had a .429 hitting percentage on top of that.
We finally saw the Merritt Beason we know and love and want to continue to see it for the rest of the season. She one of the keys to winning a national championship this year.
Andi Jackson and Harper Murray also had themselves a good night as well as both of them recorded 10 kills each. The B1G announcers had it right when they said these two just look stronger this year.
Jackson has added about 3 inches to her vertical which in turn makes her more of a force at the net and harder to hit around. Murray just looks faster, stronger, and better at the skills she struggled with last year like passing and serve receive.
Rebekah Allick made her presence known at the net all night long whether it was from blocking or her hitting. She 5 total blocks on the night while also killing 7 balls for a .462 hitting percentage.
Lexi Rodriguez and Olivia Mauch highlighted the defensive game as Rodriguez had 10 digs and Mauch recorded 9 digs of her own. Lexi had a great up that almost resulted in her going face first into the scorers table, but the ball wasn’t able to be kept up.
Service errors continue to be a point of trouble for the Huskers, but Arizona State struggled just a little bit more tonight and especially in the worst times. This came in the second set when the Sun Devils had 3 straight from point 22 on.
Nebraska ended the night hitting .319 while holding Arizona State to only hitting .213 and never hitting above .400 during a set tonight.
My MVP for the night has to go to Merritt Beason. This is a match that she has needed for her mental game and I think we will see her go up and up from here. She has the confidence now and will hopefully be spot on for the rest of the season.
The Huskers kept their foot on the gas tonight and, in turn, resulted in them getting the sweep. This was, sort of, the opposite of Tuesday’s match when they allowed Creighton to claw their way back into it and give themselves hope.
In a way, it really seems like that loss at SMU was needed because it looks like it is serving as a wake up call that there are a lot of good volleyball teams this season and the wealth is starting to get spread more and more to different teams that you usually wouldn’t expect.
Nebraska will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they take on Wichita State at 2:00pm CT back at the Bob.
Tomorrow’s match will only be able to be streamed on B1G+. You will need to purchase, or use a family or friends account, to be able to watch.
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