Sending off the seniors with a season sweep-sweep.
No. 2 Nebraska (28-1, 18-0 B1G) swept No. 6 Wisconsin (21-6, 15-3 B1G) 25-21, 25-22, 25-17 for the second time this season. The last time Nebraska Volleyball swept Wisconsin in both matches in a season was way back in 2012.
Bergen Reilly commanded the offense with 36 assists, distributing the ball evenly amongst her attackers with them all having between seven and 11 kills. Despite having 19 attacking errors, the Huskers still finished with a .259 hitting percentage.
Wisconsin ended the match with more attacks (118-108), aces (3-1), and blocks (11-7) than Nebraska. But the Huskers back row defense was dominant, holding the Badgers to a .169 hitting percentage with 54 digs.
Rodriguez led the way with 16 digs, keeping the Badgers hitters from getting into a rhythm. Her back row buddies Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch chipped in eight and seven digs, respectively.
Rebekah Allick was a focus for Nebraska on the offensive end as the junior middle finished the first set with six kills on just seven swings. She finished the match with 10 kills on 12 swings to finish second on the team in kills.
The Huskers’ outside hitters both played well. Harper Murray, taking a lot of swings out of the back row, ended the match with nine kills and seven digs while Taylor Landfair added eight kills and two blocks.
Andi Jackson, normally the offensive force out of the middle, took a more defensive minded approach finishing with seven kills and leading the Nebraska with five blocks.
Nebraska ends the regular season at home with a 41 match win streak. Two more regular season matches remain, however, with the Huskers traveling next weekend to No. 4 Penn State Friday and Maryland Saturday.
Set 1: The Huskers came out on fire taking a 7-1 lead with Rodriguez serving a 7-0 run. Allick had a kill and Beason had two kills, and Beason and Jackson each had a solo block and combined for another. Nebraska led 10-3 when Wisconsin scored four in a row to cut it to 10-7. A back-row kill by Murray got the Huskers a sideout, and Allick tipped a kill to the floor to make it 12-7. The Badgers pulled within 12-9, and 11 sideouts in a row had the Huskers up 18-14 before Allick put down an overpass for a 19-14 lead that forced Wisconsin to use its second timeout. NU led 20-15 after a Murray kill, but the Badgers answered with a 3-0 run to cut it to 20-18. Allick notched two kills to keep NU on top, 22-19, and Beason set a ball over the net that found the floor to make it 23-20. Wisconsin served into the net for set point, 24-21, and Landfair finished it off with a kill for a 25-21 win.
Set 2: Jackson had three kills and Beason served an ace as the Huskers opened up a 7-3 lead with Beason serving a 6-0 run. Landfair and Murray blasted back-to-back kills for a 10-5 lead. Wisconsin fought back to within 14-13 after a 4-0 run that included three blocks. The Huskers responded with kills by Beason and Landfair and a block by Jackson and Landfair to go up 18-14. Wisconsin scored the next two before a crosscourt kill by Jackson made it 19-16. The Badgers answered with a kill and an ace to pull within one, 19-18, but Landfair kept NU in front 20-18 with a kill. Franklin got Wisconsin back within one, 20-19, but seven straight sideouts ensued to take Nebraska to a 24-22 set point. Landfair scored the winning point once again by terminating an overpass from Wisconsin on Murray’s serve to make it 25-22.
Set 3: Wisconsin held a 5-2 lead when Nebraska scored a 7-0 run with Murray serving to take a 9-5 advantage. Landfair had two kills and a block in that stretch, and Jackson had a kill and a block while Murray added one kill. The Badgers clawed their way back to tie the score at 14-14, but the Huskers regrouped after a timeout with a kill by Murray and three Wisconsin errors to take an 18-15 lead. After a Badger timeout, Jackson and Reilly combined for a block for a 19-15 lead, and two more Badger errors put NU up 21-16. Murray added yet another back-row kill to make it 22-16, and Reilly put down a kill for a 23-17 advantage before Allick terminated an overpass for match point. The Huskers finished off the sweep, 25-17, with a kill by Beason.
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