No. 1 Nebraska volleyball took care of business on the road Thursday night, sweeping Big Ten-winless Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Manaia Ogbechie missed the match with an illness, but the Huskers (18-0, 7-0 Big Ten) didn’t miss a beat despite Coach Dani Busboom Kelly going deep into her bench in the 25-17, 25-14, 25-15 victory.
“It certainly wasn’t our cleanest match or best match of the year, but I did think some players came off the bench and did a really nice job, so that was good to see,” Busboom Kelly said on the Huskers Radio Network. “I do want to give our team a little bit of grace. It’s tough to play Wisconsin, we come here, we have a big match on Saturday — mentally, that is not easy, and I thought we worked through some of that mental slump in game one and kind of got going.”
Thirteen of the 15 Huskers who made the trip saw the floor as Nebraska hit .287 — below its nation-leading average but more than enough to get the job done on a night when the Huskers recorded 13 blocks and nine aces to add to their point total.
“I loved our serving tonight,” Busboom Kelly said. “I loved the blocking as well. I thought Andi [Jackson] had a great blocking match, and it’s great to see Jayden [Robinson] get in on the action there at the end, the monster block.”
Jackson led the way with 10 kills on .600 hitting and six blocks. Kenna Cogill started in Ogbechie’s place, and although she struggled offensively, the sophomore posted a match-high seven blocks.
Laney Choboy (6) and her teammates celebrate after a point against Northwestern. Photo courtesy Nebraska Athletics.
Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Harper Murray totaled nine kills on .222 hitting, four digs, three blocks and two aces in two sets of action. Teraya Sigler recorded eight kills on .467 hitting, a season-high 12 digs, three blocks and two aces in two and a half sets. Big Ten Setter of the Week Bergen Reilly put up 39 assists, seven digs, three aces and three blocks.
Laney Choboy matched Sigler for match-high honors with 12 digs and an ace while libero Olivia Mauch chipped in seven digs. Nebraska held Northwestern (7-11, 0-7) to .030 hitting.
“Always fantastic; gotta love those guys,” Busboom Kelly said of the two littles’ play. “They give you a lot of confidence. They also allow us to make subs and get people in and feel like we’re still going to play at a high level. So hats off to them for not losing focus and making sure that we’re headed in the right direction.”
First Set
Northwestern made the Huskers earn it in the first set with nine ties and five lead changes. The Huskers put together a 4-0 run early, including an ace from Murray, to create a bit of separation at 8-5, but the Wildcats rallied to take the lead midway through the set.
The teams went back and forth for a bit until Jackson terminated to break a 17-all tie. She then went back to the end line and served out the set as Nebraska closed it with an 8-0 run featuring an ace and a few digs from the 6-foot-3 middle. Sigler had a block assist and two kills during the un, the second an off-speed shot on set point that found the floor.
Murray led the way with six kills and Reilly racked up 16 assists as Nebraska tallied 17 kills on .353 hitting. The Huskers held Northwestern to .027 hitting and out-dug the Wildcats 20 to 10.
Second Set
Northwestern won four of the first five rallies in game two and led 6-3 after a Bella Bullington kill, but it was all Nebraska the rest of the way.
The Huskers scored four straight, including a pair of Sigler kills, to take the lead, then they ripped off five more in a row, including two Reilly aces plus two block assists and a kill from Cogill, to build a 12-8 advantage.
Nebraska didn’t give up a point on Northwestern’s serve the rest of the set and used a 5-0 run ending with a Choboy ace to blow the game open at 20-11. The Huskers tacked on two more aces down the stretch, including one from Reilly on set point.
Nebraska only hit .206 with 12 kills but also recorded five aces, five blocks and 23 more digs to dominate the set. Northwestern hit .077.
Third Set
Busboom Kelly gave Williams some run late in the second set and turned to her bench even more in the third with Robinson starting at opposite hitter for Virginia Adriano and Keri Leimbach replacing Murray, with Skyler Pierce handling the front-row rotations.
Laney Choboy (6) and Bergen Reilly celebrate against Northwestern. Ohoto courtesy Nebraska Athletics.
Northwestern took its only lead of the set at 2-1 before Nebraska responded with a 6-1 stretch ending in the Huskers’ final ace, courtesy of Sigler. The Huskers used two more 3-0 spurts to extend the lead to seven at 17-10 and cruised to the finish.
The star down the stretch was freshman Gabby DiVita, who checked in for Sigler midway through and went 3-for-3 in the last six rallies, notching her third kill on match point.
“Gabby hasn’t played much this year, and she took some big rips at the end there, which was great to see,” Busboom Kelly said. “Skyler did what she always does, makes an impact. Keoni, she’s been so good in practice; it’s just like, how do we reward her? I’m just really proud of her tonight in her limited action.”
Nebraska recorded a sideout rate of 85.7% in the third set, hitting .308 and holding Northwestern to minus-.043. Pierce tallied four kills on six attacks to lead Nebraska’s offense.
Up Next
Nebraska will return home to host No. 13 Purdue (10-5, 3-3 Big Ten) on Saturday. The Boilermakers will be the fourth top-20 team the Huskers have faced in a six-match span.
“They’re a super good team,” Busboom Kelly said on Tuesday. “They’re known to be fighters always. They’ve got a great freshman [and] a lefty who’s fast and plays really fast, so that’s certainly going to be a challenge, and they have a very experienced setter. That’s a really great team, and I’m sure they’ll give us everything that we can handle.”
The freshman Busboom Kelly mentioned is Addy Tindall, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week. With All-Big Ten outside hitter Kenna Wollard (4.41 kills per set in 2025) set to miss the whole season with undisclosed health concerns, the 6-foot-3 Tindall has emerged as All-Big Ten setter Taylor Anderson’s top target, averaging 3.79 kills per set on .277 hitting. Sophomore Lameen Mambu has been prolific as well, averaging 3.53 kills per set on .224 hitting. Purdue is the only team with two players in the top 10 in the Big Ten.
The lefty is Elkhorn (Neb.) North product Grace Heaney, a redshirt junior pin averaging 2.68 kills per set on .225 hitting this season. She tallied a season-high 16 kills on .333 hitting and a season-high 17 digs in the Boilermakers’ five-set win over Illinois on Sunday.
“They’re going to make you earn your points,” Busboom Kelly said. “You can’t get frustrated and start whacking balls out of bounds or getting reckless, and sometimes that happens when you get frustrated in volleyball. You’ve got to stay the course and could play your game long enough to break them down defensively, which is tough against a great defensive team.”
First serve at the Devaney Center on Saturday is set for 4 p.m. on Big Ten Network with Larry Punteney and Mac Podraza on the call.
