Stanford overpowers Nebraska: Volleyball Recap

Passing was up, down and all around for both teams. Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer struggled for the first two sets, passing very poorly. You may have noticed in set three, Stanford found a way to hide her in most serve receive rotations. Nebraska also missed their service locations. They didn’t miss the serve entirely, they just didn’t serve where Coach called them to serve.

Meanwhile Nebraska’s passing just broke down. Completely. The trouble started in set three and plagued them in set four. Passes were inconsistent and simply off the mark. Nicklin Hames ran all over to set the ball.

Nicklin played some great defense. But Stanford’s defense was even better. Attempts to counter by Nebraska with a tip drop didn’t work, Stanford dug them ALL.

Madi Kubik had excellent moments on offense. She showed a variety of shots and got kills in pressure situations. Strong outing for her. Megan Miller also had as strong night. Her serve was the starting point to the set 2 win. Her passing was consistent and always gave Hames a pass to run the offense.

Coach Cook thought this was the best the team played all season. He saw the same inconsistency as we talked about above. He described it as “Stanford plays at a high level the whole match. They don’t give you anything. We aren’t there yet.”

Looking forward in the season Coach Cook says the team needs to show growth and consistency. The difference between Nebraska and Stanford is the Huskers have a lot of room for growth with new and young players. Stanford of course can improve, but plays four seniors and only one freshman. The challenge for them is to stay hungry and playing at the high level all the way through the championship.

Nebraska plays next against Wichita State Saturday September 21st at the Devaney Center. The match starts at 3 pm. You can watch NET or BTN+. You can listen on Husker Sports Network.