Nebraska Wins Despite Inconsistent Play Against Michigan State

Nebraska 3 vs Michigan State 1 - 25-12, 25-19, 22-25, 25-15

Nebraska dominated set one and only made four errors in the entire set. They were low error as well as precise in their passing location and hitting execution. They hit .393 in this set and held MSU to .030. This was a dominating performance led by Lindsay Krause. Coach Cook said postgame that he knows this team and play like that for two hours.

Sets two and three did not look like set one.

Coach Cook told the team after the match “we have to do better. We are going to have regrets if we don’t start trusting our serves.”

Set three was sloppy volleyball. Spartans took advantage of Nebraska’s poor blocking positions, defensive positions and missed setter hitter connections. They took set three even after a late push by the Huskers.

Coach Cook subbed both of the starting outside hitters; Murray and Krause during set three. They each made hitting and passing errors. Hayden Kubik came in for Murray and Ally Batenhorst for Kruase. Both subs picked up the play of the Huskers but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. The team hitting percentage for set three was .000.

Coach Cook talked about the game changers after the match; Batenhorst and Kubik. Both players made big differences in this match and the coaching staff says they see it in practice everyday.

Andi Jackson had a career high 13 kills. She added six blocks to her performance but she will also keep working on her blocking. She missed numerous blocks tonight due to positioning. When Jackson, or any blocker, fails to press their hands over the net, they leave a space for the ball to fall. Overall, a great performance by Jackson.

Merritt Beason had 13 kills and made three blocks. She was highly efficient with her attacks earning kills on half of her attempts. She only had two errors to give her a .423 hitting percentage. She was a consistent force for the Huskers.

Service errors followed the Huskers around like a dark shadow tonight. Momentum is sucked out of the gym each time they miss a serve. Beason said postgame that players learning how to “go for it” and not feel the pressure in the serving moment. As a team there were 14 service errors.

Nebraska plays Penn State Saturday at 7 pm CT. The Nittany Lions beat Iowa in three sets tonight. They are 13-3 overall and 7-0 in conference play. The match is televised on Big Ten Network and streamed on FoxSports.

Note: Wisconsin beat Rutgers in set two tonight 25-4. I haven’t seen a score that low, 4, since the start of rally score. Wow!