Nebraska volleyball match preview in Top 5 battle for Big Ten championship

John Cook’s Nebraska volleyball team is humming along like a well-oiled machine, and the No. 2-ranked Huskers are seeking a second consecutive outright Big Ten championship this weekend.

The Huskers (28-1 overall, 18-0 Big Ten) are in the middle of a 25-game winning streak, which has been highlighted by 20 sweeps, securing 75 of their last 82 sets and wins over 10 programs ranked in the Top 20 at the time of their match – including six ranked in the Top 10 with four of those six victories coming in a sweep.

Now, however, arguably Nebraska’s toughest test of the season awaits this weekend as the Huskers travel east to face No. 4 Penn State (28-2, 18-1) at 4 p.m. CT on Friday inside what will be a hostile, raucous environment. Last season, the Huskers entered that same intense atmosphere at Penn State holding a perfect 21-0 mark, dropped the first two sets and had to rally for a wild five-set win just two weeks after the all-time five-set thriller over Wisconsin in the 1 vs. 2 battle.

After the battle with the Nittany Lions, the Huskers will wrap up the regular season with the second leg of a back-to-back at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday against Maryland (13-16, 4-14).

As the Huskers look to pull off the two-match sweep in University Park and College Park – which would have them entering the NCAA Tournament riding a 27-game win streak – here are the stats to know, players to watch and how to watch, stream and listen to both matches.

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#2 NEBRASKA (28-1 overall, 18-0 Big Ten) at #4 PENN STATE (27-2, 17-1)

Time: 4:00 p.m. CT on Friday

TV Channel: Big Ten Network

Commentators: Michelle McMahon (play by play) and Emily Ehman (color)

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 (LINK)

App Audio: Official Huskers App

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#2 NEBRASKA (28-1 overall, 18-0 Big Ten) at MARYLAND (13-16, 4-14)

Time: 6:00 p.m. CT on Saturday

TV Channel: Big Ten Network

Commentators: Jack Kizer (play by play) and Audrey Flaugh (color)

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 (LINK)

App Audio: Official Huskers App

NEBRASKA-PENN STATE:

>> Nebraska is 28-11 all-time against Penn State and has won the last seven matches. The Huskers are 14-1 against the Nittany Lions since 2015.

>> In the last meeting between the teams on Nov. 3, 2023 at Rec Hall, Penn State won the first two sets 25-15 and 25-23, but Nebraska answered 25-18, 25-20, 15-13 to win the match. Merritt Beason had a career-high 27 kills and hit .426, and Harper Murray had 15 kills and hit .379.

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NEBRASKA-MARYLAND:

>> Nebraska is 19-0 all-time against Maryland. The teams only played once last year with Nebraska winning 3-0 in Lincoln on Oct. 27. The only time the Huskers have played at Maryland in the last four season was Oct. 2, 2022, a 3-1 Husker win.

All stats and info provided courtesy of Nebraska Athletics Communications

>> Nebraska sits atop the Big Ten standings with an 18-0 conference record, while Penn State is in second place at 17-1 entering a Wednesday night match at Rutgers. A win at Rutgers would put Penn State at 18-1 heading into its final match of the season against Nebraska. The Huskers could clinch their second straight outright Big Ten title with a win over the Nittany Lions on Friday.

>> Nebraska has never played in Maryland’s 17,950-seat XFINITY Center main arena. In fact, this will be Maryland’s first match in the main arena since Oct. 26, 2019. Maryland’s attendance record of 4,522 was set in 2014 when Maryland hosted Penn State.

>> Nebraska is seeking its 36th all-time conference championship and fifth Big Ten championship. Since joining the Big Ten in 2011, the Huskers have been crowned Big Ten champions in 2011, 2016, 2017 and 2023.

>> Cook is aiming for his 14th conference title in his 25th year as head coach at Nebraska.

>> Nebraska has won 25 matches in a row since a 3-0 loss at SMU on Sept. 3. Of those 25 wins, 20 have been sweeps.

>> The Huskers won 27 matches in a row last season, which was their longest win streak since winning 28 in a row spanning 2015-16. NU won 29 matches in a row in 2002 and again in 2006-07. Cook’s longest win streak at Nebraska was 36 matches at the start of his career from 2000-01.

>> Nebraska is 7-0 against top-10 teams this season, which is the most top-10 wins in a regular season in school history.

>> Nebraska is 11-0 against ranked foes this season, as SMU was not in the AVCA Top 25 at the time of that match.

>> Since the Sept. 3 loss at SMU, Nebraska has won 27 straight sets on the road.

>> The Huskers rank eighth nationally and first in the Big Ten with a team hitting percentage of .295.

>> The Huskers rank 12th nationally and first in the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage at .155. NU led the nation in opponent hitting percentage in 2022 and 2023.

>> Nebraska ranks seventh nationally in kills per set (14.39).

>> Outside hitter Harper Murray is leading the Huskers with 3.29 kills per set and a team-high 27 service aces and is hitting .257. Murray also adds 2.28 digs per set.

>> Opposite hitter Merritt Beason is averaging 3.00 kills per set for the Big Red with 1.26 digs per set and 24 aces.

>> Middle blocker Andi Jackson is averaging 2.63 kills per set with a .445 hitting percentage, which ranks fourth in the nation.

>> Middle blocker Rebekah Allick adds 1.79 kills per set on .355 hitting with 1.29 blocks per set. Allick has moved into the top 10 in school history in career blocks with 369.

>> Setter Bergen Reilly is averaging 11.20 assists per set, which ranks seventh in the nation and leads the Big Ten. She also adds 2.91 digs per set and has 20 aces. Reilly has 14 double-doubles and has been named Big Ten Setter of the Week five times this season, a school record.

>> Three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Lexi Rodriguez guides the Husker back row with 3.80 digs per set. Rodriguez recently passed Kayla Banwarth for No. 2 all-time in career digs at Nebraska. Rodriguez now has 1,789 and is chasing Justine Wong-Orantes (1,890).

>> No. 4 Penn State enters a Wednesday match at Rutgers at 27-2 overall and 17-1 in Big Ten play.

>> Under third-year head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, the Nittany Lions have already won their most matches in a season since going 33-2 in 2017.

>> Penn State has won 19 matches in a row at Rec Hall dating back to Nebraska’s 3-2 reverse sweep win last year on Nov. 3.

>> Jess Mruzik, a second-team All-American in 2023, leads Penn State with 4.28 kills per set and is hitting .260 with 2.37 digs per set.

>> Camryn Hannah adds 3.59 kills per set on .291 hitting.

>> Freshman setter Izzy Starck is averaging 11.00 assists per set in guiding Penn State to a .289 hitting percentage.

>> Maryland enters a Friday night match at Rutgers with a 13-16 overall record and 4-14 mark in Big Ten action.

>> Samantha Schnitta leads the country with 81 service aces this season. She also paces the Terrapins offensively with 3.37 kills per set.

>> As a team, Maryland leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth nationally with 2.00 aces per set.

SERVE AND PASS

>> Nebraska has allowed just 58 service aces this season, which leads the nation. The next closest team is Pittsburgh with 67 aces allowed.

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BALANCED ATTACK

>> Nebraska has seven different players averaging between 1.79 and 3.29 kills per set.

>> Six different players have led the Huskers in kills in a match this season.

>> Setter Bergen Reilly ranks seventh nationally averaging 11.20 assists per set.

>> Nebraska’s attack has been one of the best in the nation this season. The Huskers rank eighth in hitting percentage (.295) and seventh in kills per set (14.39).

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HOME SWEET HOME

>> Nebraska has won 41 home matches in a row dating back to Dec. 1, 2022, which is the longest active streak in the nation.

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

>> Nebraska’s longest all-time home win streak was 88 matches from 2004-09.