Nebraska At Illinois Match Preview

Nebraska volleyball, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, will hit the road for the first time of the Big Ten conference season tonight.

The Huskers (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) will square off with Illinois (8-4, 0-2) at 6 p.m. CT at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill., as they look for their 10th consecutive win.

Let’s take a look at the stats to know and players to watch on both sides, plus how to watch and listen to the B1G matchup.

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2 NEBRASKA (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) at Illinois (8-4, 0-2)

Time: 6:00 p.m. Central Time

TV Channel: FS1

Commentators: N/A

Streaming: Fox Sports App

Radio: Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations

Listen online: Huskers.com

App Audio: Official Huskers App

>> Nebraska is 34-8-1 all-time against Illinois and has won nine in a row in the series, including 3-1 last year on Nov. 12 in Lincoln.

>> Illinois is one of Nebraska’s three Big Ten double-play opponents this season. The teams will meet again on Oct. 25 in Lincoln.

>> Cook is 11-1 all-time against Tamas, his former assistant. Cook is 25-2 all-time coaching against his former assistant coaches.

All stats and info provided courtesy of Nebraska Athletics Communications

>> Nebraska has won nine matches in a row since a loss at SMU on Sept. 3. Seven of the nine wins have been sweeps.

>> The Huskers rank 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten with a team hitting percentage of .291.

>> NU ranks 15th nationally in kills per set (14.00).

>> Outside hitter Harper Murray is leading the Huskers with 3.19 kills per set.

>> Opposite hitter Merritt Beason is averaging 2.84 kills per set for the Big Red. Over her last seven matches, Beason is averaging 3.17 kills per set with a .298 hitting percentage.

>> Outside hitter Lindsay Krause adds 2.33 kills per set and has served a team-high 15 aces.

>> Middle blocker Andi Jackson is averaging 2.66 kills with a team-best .475 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth nationally.

>> Middle blocker Rebekah Allick adds 1.76 kills per set on .368 hitting with 1.41 blocks per set.

>> Setter Bergen Reilly is averaging 10.98 assists per set, which ranks eighth nationally. She also adds 3.05 digs per set and has 11 aces.

>> Three-time All-American Lexi Rodriguez guides the Husker back row with 3.73 digs per set. Rodriguez was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

>> Illinois opened conference play last week with a 3-0 loss at No. 11 Oregon and 3-0 loss at Washington.

>> The Fighting Illini have only played one home match this season, a 3-1 win over Illinois State on Sept. 3.

>> Illinois is hitting .230 on the season and holding opponents to .193.

>> Raina Terry averages 4.11 kills per set and has 32 service aces on the season, seventh-most in the nation.

>> Former Nebraska assistant coach Chris Tamas is in his eighth year as head coach at Illinois and is 139-85 overall. Tamas was an assistant at Nebraska from 2015-16 and was on the staff of the Huskers’ 2015 NCAA Championship team.

LAST WEEK’S RECAP

>> Nebraska opened Big Ten action last weekend with a pair of home wins over new conference members UCLA (3-1) and USC (3-0). The Huskers held the Bruins to a season-low .153 hitting percentage and the Trojans to a season-low .137 hitting percentage. The Huskers had 13 blocks against the Bruins, their second-most of the season.

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DOMINANT DEFENSE

>> Nebraska led the nation in opponent hitting percentage in both 2022 (.128) and 2023 (.137).

>> This year, the Huskers are holding all opponents to a .160 hitting percentage, which ranks 31st nationally.

>> In conference play, the Huskers are holding Big Ten opponents to .147 hitting, which is second behind Washington (.093).

>> Nebraska has turned up its defense of late, holding its last five opponents to a combined .126 hitting percentage.

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SERVE & PASS

>> Nebraska has allowed just 26 service aces this season, which ranks second in the nation behind Pittsburgh (24). Over the last six matches, the Huskers have yielded just five aces and have not allowed more than two in a single match in that stretch.

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BALANCED ATTACK

>> Nebraska has seven different players averaging between 1.76 and 3.19 kills per set, led by Murray’s 3.19 kills per set.

>> Six different players have led the Huskers in kills in a match in the first 13 matches of the season.

>> Reilly ranks eighth nationally averaging 10.98 assists per set.

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HOME SWEET HOME

>> Nebraska has won 33 home matches in a row dating back to Dec. 1, 2022.

>> The Huskers’ home win streak is its longest since moving into the Devaney Center in 2013.

>> Nebraska’s longest all-time home winning streak was 88 matches from 2004-09. Since then, NU also has a home win streak of 38 matches in a row from 2009-11.