While No. 2 Nebraska volleyball has continued to roll through its opponents, the defense hasn’t quite lived up to the high standard the huskers set for themselves on a consistent basis.
That wasn’t the case last week, however, as Nebraska held No. 7 Wisconsin to .094 hitting and Northwestern to .082. As a result, Nebraska has climbed to the top of the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage at .152, and the Huskers continue to remain atop the standings in serve receive percentage as well.
The performance against Wisconsin was particularly noteworthy as the Badgers went into the match leading the conference in hitting percentage. Nebraska held 2023 National Player of the Year Sarah Franklin to .182 hitting with seven errors while forcing 6-foot-9 opposite Anna Smrek into 10 attack errors for a minus-.074 hitting percentage. The three Badger middles combined for four kills and five errors as well.
“A big thing for us was obviously slowing Sarah Franklin down,” Merritt Beason said. “Obviously, she’s a great attacker, so her and Anna Smrek were kind of our two people that we knew if we slowed them down, we had a really good chance of winning. And I think just defensively, blockers did a really good job of being in the positions that we were supposed to be in and then getting touches. We didn’t necessarily stuff every single ball, but we were in the right spaces and slowing them down, and I think for us, that was huge. And then when we did touch those balls, the defense behind us picked them up, and we were able to convert them, and that was honestly the difference in that match.”
The win snapped an eight-match losing streak for the Huskers at the UW Field House, and it was the last chance for Nebraska’s seniors to earn a win there.
“I think it was just a lot of excitement and joy,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve only ever lost there, so to do it our senior year, to get the job done, to have a sweep, it was pretty cool. I was super proud of us to go in there in a tough environment and a place that we historically lose at, and to just execute the way we did, I think is huge props to the whole program, staff and players. Just super proud all around.”
Rodriguez also made a bit of history over the weekend, moving into a tie for second place on Nebraska’s career digs list, behind only Justine Wong-Orantes. Rodriguez’s 1,706 digs match the total of the woman who recruited her to Nebraska, former assistant coach Kayla Banwarth.
“I love her and she’s honestly the reason I’m here … It’s very surreal,” Rodriguez said. “That wasn’t a goal I had when I was being recruited, or even when I got here. I just found out on the bus the other day, and it was just like, ‘that’s pretty cool,’ especially for someone that I looked up to. Both her and Justine, and even Kenzie Maloney, all of them were huge role models for me. And so to even be in the conversation with them is pretty cool.”
Five of Nebraska’s last eight matches will be against teams currently ranked in the top six of the Big Ten in hitting percentage, meaning plenty of formidable obstacles remain if the Huskers want to maintain or improve their current level of defensive performance heading into the postseason.
“I think this time of year, it’s getting great preparation,” Coach John Cook said. “Our schedule coming up here, we’ve got great hitters we’re going against every match. So it’s just having really good preparation and be able to stay with it, even if it’s not smooth at the beginning, and just staying with it. That’s what we did against Wisconsin, we were able to stay with our game plan and not deviate from it. I just think having good preparation and trusting it, that’s going to be the key, and continuing to serve. Pressure teams with our serve.”
This week, Nebraska volleyball (21-1, 12-0 Big Ten) will face perhaps its most challenging road trip of the season, flying out west to take on No. 12 Oregon and a Washington team that is second among other teams receiving votes. Thursday’s match against the Ducks is set to start at 9 p.m. CT while Saturday’s against the Huskies is even later at 9:30 body-clock time for the Huskers.
“I think a lot of it is trying to still find that routine within time changes and longer trips, things like that,” Beason said. “Routine is a really big thing for us. But I also think it’s just making sure that we’re mentally preparing. We’ve all kind of been front-loading that it was going to be a long trip, and so making sure that we get our homework done and whatever we need to get done at home, making sure we get those things out of the way before we leave so that we can have a little bit of a smoother trip as well. So I would say just trying to stay in that routine as much as we can. It’s obviously going to change a little bit, but also just front-loading, making sure we’re prepared, and then we just figure things out as we go.”
Cook called his players “night owls” and said he isn’t worried about the late start times affecting them.
The Ducks (17-4, 9-3 Big Ten) bounced back from a five-set loss to the Huskies last week to sweep UCLA on Saturday. They’re currently fifth in the Big Ten in hitting at .273 and fourth in opponent hitting at .165. They’re also third in blocks (2.80 per set) and aces (1.71 per set). All-Pac 12 outside hitter Mimi Colyer is leading the Oregon attack with 3.93 kills per set on .271 hitting.
“They’ve got Mimi,” Cook said. “She’s a heck of a player. We played them, was it two years ago? We played them in Louisville. Mimi lit us up.”
Middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu has been a force at the net as well, averaging 2.52 kills per set on .398 hitting and 1.19 blocks per set. Freshman setter Cristin Cline is fifth in the Big ten in assists at 10.35 per game. Papillion-La Vista grad Mia Tvrdy is a freshman middle blocker on that team who has played in 10 matches this season.
The Huskies (17-5) have had a rough go this season from an injury standpoint but navigated their nonconference slate without a blemish and are 7-5 through six weeks of Big Ten play. Their five-set win over the Ducks on Oct. 30 was their first top-25 win of the season and avenged an earlier 3-2 loss in Eugene earlier in the season. Washington secured the victory despite losing its top attacker, Kierstyn Barton, to an injury. The 6-foot-1 sophomore (3.59 kills per set on .277 hitting) missed Washington’s 3-1 loss at No. 20 USC on Sunday.
Senior outside hitter Madi Endsley (2.77 kills per set on .233 hitting) is one of just four Huskies to play in every match this season and has shouldered a heavier load when Barton has been sidelined. Washington runs a two-setter system.
Big Ten Network will televise both matches with A.J. Kanell on play-by-play duties for both. Nicole Branagh will provide the color commentary Thursday while Courtney Thompson will do so on Saturday.
