No. 1 Nebraska volleyball rotated freely but still hit over .400 for the fourth time this season in a sweep over Illinois Thursday night.
The Huskers (23-0, 13-0 Big Ten) hit a season-high .488 in a 25-11, 25-15, 25-14 sweep with a new black court down at John Cook Arena. It’s the team’s best single-match hitting percentage since the 2018 season, despite 14 players seeing the court with heavy rotation.
“When we play in practice, so six-on-six, like, we’re playing the two best teams in the country,” freshman Teraya Sigler said. “Whether you’re a starter regularly or you’re not, I think that everyone has opportunity to go in. I think what’s different about our team is that we’re very selfless, and we go in and we always say there’s no drop off. Whether you’re a freshman or senior, you have the same Nebraska standard that everyone else has, and so I feel like that’s what makes us kind of special, is that we have trust in everyone, no matter how old you are or how much experience you have.”
Andi Jackson contributed heavily to that gaudy hitting percentage as she terminated on all nine of her swings, hitting 1.000 to lead everyone in kills. She added four block assists to finish with 11 points.
“I’m just not surprised at all,” Laney Choboy said of Jackson’s perfect day. “Every time Andi goes up, I think that she expects and we just kind of know and trust that she’s probably going to get a kill or get them out of system. We have a lot of trust in her, and I think that she’s just playing so well right now and just doing so amazing, so I’m just not surprised that she went 9-for-9.”
Bergen Reilly finished with 29 assists, five blocks an ace and a kill despite sitting for large chunks of the second and third sets. Virginia Adriano totaled eight kills on .500 hitting. Harper Murray matched her with eight kills on .316 hitting while Sigler added six kills on .417 hitting while playing six rotations for part of the first set and all of the third. Nebraska passed a 2.63 according to Coach Dani Busboom Kelly and did not surrender an ace.
Laney Choboy records one of her career-high 20 digs against Illinois. Photo by John S. Peterson.
The Huskers held Illinois (12-20, 7-6) to .095 hitting as Choboy racked up a career-high 20 digs to go with two aces, making highlight-reel plays all night.
“I thought tonight it was pretty huge and apparent,” Busboom Kelly said of Choboy’s impact. “Illinois could not get a tip down, and that’s like the biggest energy suck, when you let tips drop. Laney was picking them up from everywhere, and I think she did an awesome job just taking charge of that from the get-go.”
Nebraska terminated on five of its first six attacks of the match to race out to a 5-0 lead… and never slowed down. The Huskers dominated from start to finish in a nearly flawless set (outside of four service errors).
The Huskers rolled to a 16-7 lead and didn’t falter in the slightest as Busboom Kelly began making subs. Campbell Flynn and Allie Sczech checked in, Sigler rotated into the front row and Maisie Boesiger played the last few rallies as Nebraska went 12-deep.
The Huskers made it through the set without an attack error, recording 20 kills from eight different players at a .714 clip.
“I just think our setters work really hard to put us in the best position possible,” Sigler said. “We had a really good passing day, and even when it’s a little off, I still think they’re working their butts off to put us in those positions. I think that it’s a huge testament to Dani and just working with them. Those are the two best setters in the country, I believe.”
Adriano and Murray had four kills apiece to lead the way. Illinois hit .111 with seven kills.
The Illini blocked Murray on the first rally of the second set, sparking a 4-2 Illinois start. However, the Huskers responded with back-to-back kills from Murray then back-to-back double-blocks from Reilly and Jackson to take the lead for good.
The Illini kept it competitive for a stretch, but the Huskers used a 5-1 run to create some separation then Reilly served a 5-0 run to end the set, firing an ace on set point.
Nebraska hit .440 in the second set and held Illinois to .129. Choboy had eight digs in the frame plus a highlight-reel cover, laying out to keep a Sigler back-row attack the Illini rejected off the court.
Nebraska debuted a new black-bordered court with the corn pattern against Illinois. Photo by John S. Peterson.
“I’m like, ‘thank you,’ especially because that last-minute dive, you obviously think that you have it, and so in my mind, I’m like, ‘this is going to be perfect,’ and then it goes high, and I see Laney go for it, and there’s no doubt my mind that she’s going to get it,” Sigler said. “So as I’m saying, ‘thank you,’ I have no doubt that you’re going to run that ball down. That’s our team; we just hustle for everything.”
Busboom Kelly continued to make changes, with Manaia Ogbechie starting in place of Allick, Skyler Pierce playing for Murray in the front row, Sczech subbing in again midway through and Flynn returning to run the offense for the last third of the set.
“It says a lot about this team, that they’re all ready to go, and they trust each other, and they understand why we’re doing it; it could be something we have to use in in December,” Busboom Kelly said. “We talked about it as staff between games two and three, like, are we crazy? It’s November, to completely switch outsides… But we do it every day in practice, so it felt like, ‘OK, let’s go for it.’”
The Illini blocked Nebraska twice early in set three to take a 3-1 lead (matching Nebraska attack error count from the first two sets combined), but the Huskers settled in and Sigler served a 6-0 run including an ace and a pair of kills from Pierce to give Nebraska a 9-4 lead.
The Huskers used an 8-3 run to extend the lead to 10 before cruising to the finish. Ogbechie delivered the final kill — one of three in the set on four swings — as Nebraska hit .333 and held Illinois to .054. Pierce and Jackson tallied four kills apiece while Sigler made the most of her front-row opportunity, matching Ogbechie with three kills.
The Cornhuskers will hit the road to close out the weekend, visiting Maturi Pavilion on Sunday to take on No. 22 Minnesota. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on Peacock.
