Nebraska vs Penn State Volleyball Game Thread!

Nebraska takes on Penn State at Devaney tonight at 7:30 pm on Big Ten Network.

This is your quickly put together game thread.

From the athletic department:

Nebraska (14-1, 6-0 Big Ten) is riding a seven-match win streak and is the only Big Ten team without a conference loss after six matches played. The Huskers swept Michigan State and No. 24 Michigan last week on the road.

• Friday’s match against Penn State will be televised on Big Ten Network and streamed on FoxSports.com.

• The Huskers Radio Network will broadcast all the action on their radio affiliates, including 107.3 FM in Lincoln and AM 590 in Omaha. A live audio stream will be provided at Huskers.com and the Huskers app. John Baylor is in his 29th 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.

NOTING THE HUSKERS

• Nebraska is hitting .252 as a team and are holding their opponents to .118 hitting, which leads the nation. The Huskers rank 14th nationally at 2.72 blocks per set.

• In Big Ten matches only, Nebraska ranks first in opponent hitting percentage (.105), first in opponent kills (10.33 per set), tied for first in service aces (1.76) and first in opponent service aces (0.48).

• Nebraska’s 14-1 start to the season matches its best start since 2016, when the Big Red went 26-1 before a Nov. 23 loss at Minnesota.

• Outside hitter Madi Kubik is averaging a team-high 3.37 kills per set and adds 2.20 digs per set. Kubik surpassed 1,000 career kills on Sept. 10 against Long Beach State, becoming the 24th Husker all-time to reach that mark. The senior from West Des Moines, Iowa is coming off a 15-kill, .519 performance at Michigan on Saturday.

• Outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein is averaging 3.14 kills per set and has a team-high 14 service aces. Lauenstein had a career-high 25 kills on .385 hitting in a win at No. 17 Creighton on Sept. 7. It was the most kills by a Husker in a match since Mikaela Foecke had 27 kills in the NCAA Championship match against Stanford in 2018.

• Middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord is averaging 1.49 kills and a team-best .333 hitting percentage and 1.53 blocks per set, which ranks seventh nationally. Hord ranks among the NCAA active career leaders in three categories. Entering the week, the Penn State grad transfer ranks No. 2 among active NCAA Division I players in career blocks (593), No. 3 in blocks per set (1.33) and is No. 4 in career hitting percentage (.404).

• Sophomore libero Lexi Rodriguez is averaging a team-best 4.29 digs per set and has 62 set assists and 13 service aces on the season. Rodriguez is the reigning AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. She was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 6.00 digs per set in sweeps at Michigan State and Michigan, including a season-high 25 digs in the three-set win over the Wolverines.

• Senior defensive specialist Kenzie Knuckles averages 1.86 digs and has 10 kills, 12 aces and nine set assists. Knuckles and Rodriguez are part of a dynamic Husker back row that has helped the Huskers lead the Big Ten in digs at 15.04 per set.

• Sophomore Lindsay Krause averages 2.08 kills per set for the Big Red, third-most on the team.

• Freshman middle blocker Bekka Allick is putting up 1.82 kills per set on .324 hitting with 1.07 blocks per set.

• Nebraska opened the season in a 5-1 system but has been in a 6-2 system since Sept. 1 against Loyola Marymount. Three setters have all been involved for the Huskers this season: Kennedi Orr (5.54 assists per set), Anni Evans (4.95 assists per set) and Nicklin Hames (4.35 assists per set).