Huskers Sweep the Beach to Move to 7-0

LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team won its seventh match in a row to start the season with a 25-16, 25-22, 25-14 sweep of Long Beach State on Saturday in front of 8,182 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. 

Whitney Lauenstein had a match-high 12 kills on .381 hitting with four blocks to lift the Huskers (7-0). Bekka Allick provided eight kills and three blocks, and Madi Kubik had eight kills on .333 hitting, surpassing 1,000 career kills in the match.

The Huskers hit .283 running their 6-2 system. Anni Evans had 17 assists and Nicklin Hames had 15 as the Huskers hit .283. The NU defense, led by the back row, was sharp once again. Lexi Rodriguez had 15 digs, while Hames had nine, as the Huskers held Long Beach State (4-2) to .078 hitting. The Huskers had 45 digs to 34 for the Beach. NU had seven blocks, while Long Beach State had eight. 

Lindsay Krause chipped in six kills, and Kaitlyn Hord had four kills and four blocks. Maggie Mendelson played opposite for the Big Red and had four kills and two blocks. 

Natalie Glenn had nine kills to lead the Beach. 

Set 1: Long Beach State had an 11-9 lead, but Hord and Mendelson posted a block before a kill by Hord gave Nebraska a 12-11 edge. Krause and Lauenstein added kills to take the Huskers to a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Allick killed an overpass to make it 17-14. After a kill by Morgan Chacon, the Huskers ripped off a 7-0 run to take a 24-15 lead. Mendelson and Kubik had kills, and Allick and Kubik had a block during that stretch. A kill by Allick ended the set at 25-16. NU hit .323 and held Long Beach State to .036.

Set 2: Lauenstein had four kills to lift the Huskers to a 10-9 lead early in the set. The Beach made three straight unforced errors, and Lauenstein hammered another kill to make it 14-10. The Huskers led 17-12 after an Allick kill, but the Beach scored three in a row to cut it to 17-15, and the Huskers took a timeout. Krause and Lauenstein produced three kills in a row to restore a 21-16 advantage, but Long Beach State took the next three rallies to get within 21-19. Hames dump a kill to the floor to end the run, and Long Beach State hit long to make it 23-19. Hord put down a kill for set point, and the Huskers won 25-22 on Kubik’s 1,000th career kill.  

Set 3: The Huskers started the set with a highlight-reel dig by Rodriguez that led to a kill by Kenzie Knuckles. Lauenstein and Hord added a block, and Allick and Lauenstein had back-to-back blocks as the Huskers went up 7-2 and never looked back. Kubik pounded three kills and Allick had two more before an ace by Rodriguez made it 17-9. Kubik, Allick and Mendelson continued the Huskers’ dominance in the set with three more kills to make it 20-11. Allick posted another kill, and Hord had back-to-back blocks – with Mendelson and Lauenstein – before Krause earned set point for the Huskers. NU finished off the sweep, 25-14, hitting .357 in the final set and holding Long Beach State to -.025 in the set. 

Up Next: The Huskers host No. 11 Stanford on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.