Nebraska Volleyball Weekend Preview

Just a quick volleyball update for Corn Nation.

You may have noticed that we’ve been missing those for a few weeks. Beth had some family issues come up. Her father passed away unexpectedly and she has to devote time elsewhere for a bit. I’m sure she’d appreciate some nice words and thoughts. Corn Nation, at its best, is a very supportive group of people and a community that cares (even if we argue about politics when we shouldn’t). That community is the reason I started hanging around here and the reason I’ve stayed so long. We’ve recently begun to rediscover that community and I hope we can keep it that way.

Oh wait, this is a volleyball update article. I should write about that too.

I’ll keep it recent.

Two days ago, the #5 Huskers hosted #20 Purdue. Nebraska came away with a 3-1 win vs the Boilermakers behind freshman Madi Kubik’s 22 kills. The Huskers showcased outstanding defense as they held the Boilers to .099 hitting. (If you are like me and don’t know volleyball well, that number is pretty awesome!)

Nebraska improved to 14-2 on the season and 6-1 in the Big Ten.

This weekend, Nebraska plays at Maryland on Saturday (7:00 pm central) on BTN Plus. The Terps are 11-8 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play. They may not have a stellar record overall, but they are winning at home (5-3). The Huskers can’t gloat over their mid-week win vs a ranked team and expect to put up another “W”.

Statistically, Nebraska should have the better offense and defense. The Huskers have a better setter and...I won’t pretend to be Beth. She could give you insightful breakdowns, but I will just say “Go Big Red!”

The Huskers will see Purdue again in a week (Oct 26) before a big showdown with Penn State (Nov 2). The hardest remaining regular season game for Nebraska might be a rematch against Wisconsin (who swept the Huskers to hand them their only conference loss) on November 24.

We’ll include the Husker volleyball team in our Saturday game threads.

Go Big Red!

Update! (The athletic department just sent out their match preview so it is pasted below)

Match Notes

• Saturday’s match can be heard on Husker Sports Network radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be provided at Huskers.com and also on the official Huskers app. John Baylor is in his 26th season doing play-by-play for the Husker volleyball program. Lauren (Cook) West, a former All-America setter for the Huskers, will provide color commentary.

Series History

• Nebraska is 11-0 all-time against Maryland. The Huskers have won the last four matches by sweeps, including a 25-13, 25-10, 25-18 win in Lincoln last year. (This is the polar opposite of the women’s basketball team!!)

About the Huskers

• The Huskers have held three straight Big Ten opponents under .100 hitting, and all three hitting percentages were season lows. The last time Nebraska held four consecutive conference opponents under .100 hitting was in the Big 12 in 2000, John Cook’s first year at Nebraska.

• Nebraska has won 44 straight matches against unranked opponents dating back to 2017.

• The Huskers have won nine road matches in a row dating back to October of last season.

• Nebraska ranks first among Big Ten teams with a .137 opponent hitting percentage, the fifth-best mark in the nation.

• In conference play only, Nebraska is hitting .290, the second-best mark in the conference.

• Lexi Sun leads the Huskers with 3.53 kills per set and is hitting .289 on the season. Sun has double-doubles in her last three matches.

• All-America middle blocker Lauren Stivrins averages 2.48 kills and 1.09 blocks per set while hitting a team-best .402 this season. She has a Big Ten-leading .567 hitting percentage in conference play.

• Jazz Sweet is putting down 2.72 kills per set on the season, including a 3.24 average in conference play.

• Freshman Madi Kubik adds 2.41 kills and 2.45 digs per set. She had a career-high 22 kills in the win over Purdue on Wednesday. Her 22 kills on .314 hitting tied Mikaela Foecke’s 2015 freshman high of 22 as the most by an NU freshman since Sarah Pavan had 35 in 2004.

• Nicklin Hames provides 10.72 assists per set and 2.86 digs per set. She has eight double-doubles on the season, and in conference play only she is second in the Big Ten in assists per set at 11.84.

• Callie Schwarzenbach leads the team in blocks at 1.15 per set, and she ranks second in the league in blocks during Big Ten matches with 1.36 per set.

• Freshman libero Kenzie Knuckles is leading the Huskers in digs with 3.87 per set this season.

Scouting Maryland

• Maryland has a team hitting percentage of .234 this season and is allowing opponents to hit .174.

• The Terrapins have 136 aces this season, which leads the Big Ten and is 38 more than the next closest team (Michigan, 98).

• Erika Pritchard leads Maryland’s attack with 3.33 kills per set.

• Katie Myers ranks first in the conference and 16th nationally in blocks with 1.40 per set, and she adds 2.32 kills per set. on .416 hitting this season, the No. 3 mark in the Big Ten and No. 15 nationally.