The share is locked. The outright title is one match away. After Sunday’s sweep at Washington, Nebraska Athletics says the Huskers need one more win in their last three Big Ten matches to win the conference outright.
The standings
Per the Big Ten standings Monday morning:
- Nebraska 14-0 (25-0)
- Oregon 11-3 (20-4)
- Penn State 11-3 (19-5)
- Wisconsin 11-3 (17-7)
- Washington, Purdue and Minnesota 9-5
- Illinois 8-5
Three home matches to finish
Per the Big Ten, Nebraska closes the regular season with three straight home matches against Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.
- Illinois (17-8, 8-5) is first, Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. CT at John Cook Arena on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+. A Nebraska win there clinches it outright.
- Iowa (13-15, 2-12) comes in having lost four straight.
- Minnesota (15-7, 9-5) has won eight of its last 10, per the standings.
Why seeding still matters below Nebraska
This is the first year of the Big Ten Volleyball Tournament. Per the conference, the league’s top four finishers advance straight to the quarterfinals. With three teams tied at 11-3 and three more at 9-5, the race for those byes behind Nebraska is wide open. All-session tournament seats are sold out, and the Big Ten says single-session tickets go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m. ET, which is 10 a.m. CT.
How Nebraska got here
The Huskers swept No. 12 Oregon in front of a record 12,364 in Eugene on Saturday and then swept No. 18 Washington on Sunday, hitting .477. They have hit .400 or better in four of their last five matches, per Nebraska Athletics. A win Thursday would make the fourth straight title an outright one, and Nebraska would get to celebrate it at home.
Featured image: Photo: SecretName101. CC BY 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northwestern_Wildcats_at_Wisconsin_Badgers_women’s_volleyball_IMG_1500.jpg.
