Nebraska volleyball takes down Creighton in dominating sweep
Nebraska pulls off commanding sweep over Creighton
FINISHED. pic.twitter.com/cTywNGhhlN
— Husker Volleyball (@Huskervball) September 9, 2021
The Huskers took down the Creighton Blue Jays in a demanding sweep (25-14, 25-23, 25-16) on Wednesday night. Lexi Sun and Madi Kubik led the Huskers with 11 and 10 kills respectively, Kayla Caffey posted eight kills and freshman Ally Batenhorst contributed five kills. The Huskers were able to dominate all aspects of the game, offense and defense and serving to throw the Jays completely off their game. They held them to just .052 hitting as some of their star players struggled to put up their usual numbers.
Jaela Zimmerman had eight kills on .000 hitting on the match and Norah Sis hit in the negatives for the Jays.
Nebraska had a strong defensive outing with 71 digs to the Jays 59. They kept balls alive left and right, went on multiple service runs with momentum in their favor in each and every set. The Huskers notched five service aces on the match.
Tonight's win was a great performance and good sign for the Huskers after some close calls last weekend. Nebraska was pushed to five sets by Omaha last weekend, but left nothing to question tonight. They are still playing without their All-American senior middle blocker Lauren Stivrins, but have been mixing in multiple of their top ranked freshman players who are vying for starting positions.
The Huskers take an early lead in third set
The Huskers take an early and demanding lead in the third set, leaving the Jays scrambling for answers if they want to stay alive. Creighton was forced to take a timeout as the Huskers doubled their lead with an 18-9 advantage. Nebraska has been serving aggressively and limiting the Jay's offensive options. They have held Norah Sis to just three kills on negative hitting on the match.
Nebraska takes 2-0 lead with 25-22 win in set 2
Wow. This Nebraska team is really showing what they are made of. They are displaying so much athleticism and firepower in all aspects of the game, and big time grit to come back from a deficit and win the set.
Kubik and Sun each have nine kills apiece and Caffey is coming up super clutch with seven kills as they get production out of the middle. The Huskers have 50 digs compared to the Jays 40, and are outhitting them .207 to .085. The Jays only have one player hitting above .300 right now. The Huskers are just winning the first touch battle and performing so well defensively.
Huskers go on a 8-0 scoring run to take the lead
Creighton leads the Huskers 18-15 in the second set
Creighton took an early 5-1 lead to start the second set with a couple of kills from Zimmerman but it didn't take long for the Huskers to get right back in it. Here's whats working right now for the Huskers — they are beating the Jays on hustle plays. Scrappy defense is keeping ball after ball alive, and then they are terminating at a higher rate.
But, Creighton went on a 4-0 run to take a 17-13 lead. The Jays have improved their hitting efficiency to .128 in the second set and started to get more offensive players involved. Zimmerman is up to six kills on .200 hitting. Check out this kill from Norah Sis.
🎒 @norah_sis 🎒 pic.twitter.com/1PtA5h5Dn4
— Creighton Volleyball (@CreightonVB) September 9, 2021
Nebraska takes set one 25-14 in dominating fashion
The Huskers went on a 7-1 scoring run with freshman Lexi Rodriguez at the service line to take an 18-10 lead and exert their dominance. Nebraska has four players hitting over .300 in this match as they got into a rhythm a little bit into the set. Creighton struggled with offensive options as the Huskers quickly found answers defensively. The Huskers outhit the Jays .282 to .068. The Jays looked mostly to Jaela Zimmerman and their options at the pins, but will need to utilize more positions if they want to make a dent in this well-balanced Husker offense.
Madi Kubik started putting up big numbers with six kills on .455 hitting and Sun was right behind her with five kills on .500 hitting. They were also able to get the middle going with Kayla Caffey, who posted three kills on .333 hitting efficiency.
SHE DON'T MESS AROUND. pic.twitter.com/jrUOYthOYH
— Husker Volleyball (@Huskervball) September 8, 2021
Nebraska leads 12-9 in set one
You could tell Creighton came to play right out of the gates. This team has some confidence and mojo after the big Kentucky upset. The Jays had the edge to start the game by one or two points at a time until the Huskers tied it up at six. Lexi Sun turned on the jets as the Huskers gained momentum, she is currently hitting .429 with three kills so far.
🤯🤯🤯
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) September 8, 2021
This rally had a little bit of 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔! 😲#NCAAVB #SCtop10 x 🎥 @Huskervball pic.twitter.com/9ErsQpaDMa
Nebraska vs. Creighton, pregame
We've got a battle of unbeaten teams on our hands with No. 3 Nebraska vs. No. 19 Creighton. Tonight's matchup will be Nebraska's first matchup on the road and its first ranked opponent of the season. The Blue Jays are 6-0 on the season after after three wins at last weekend's Bluegrass Battle in Lexington, Ky. The Bluejays defeated USC 3-2 on Friday and swept then No. 3 Kentucky and UNI on Saturday.
Then No. 2 Nebraska last faced then-No. 18 Creighton on Aug. 30, 2019, winning 3-1 to open the season at the Husker Invitational at the Devaney Center. This time around it will be on the Blue Jay's home court and with coming off of a huge top-five upset over the reigning national champions.
Creighton players to watch:
- Jaela Zimmerman
- Norah Sis
- Abby Bottomley
Nebraska players to watch:
- Lexi Sun
- Nicklin Hames
- Madi Kubik
- Lindsey Krause
- Kayla Caffey
How to watch No. 3 Nebraska vs. No. 19 Creighton
No. 3 Nebraska will take on No. 19 Creighton on Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Nebraska vs. Creighton, previewed
No. 3 Nebraska volleyball will take on No. 19 Creighton tonight at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. The Huskers improved to 5-0 this season despite playing without Lauren Stivrins. Last week, they barely escaped a big upset with a five-set win over Omaha, but still improved to No. 3 in the AVCA and our Power 10 rankings as other top-10 teams suffered losses. They have been displaying a really well-rounded offense, typically with Lexi Sun, Madi Kubik and Lindsay Krause leading the charge. In the latest win, Whitney Lauenstein added 11 kills off the bench with an outstanding .529 attack percentage.
Now, they will face a big challenge in No. 19 Creighton for a home-state battle. The Blue Jays entered the season unranked, but joined the AVCA poll this week after pulling off a big-time upset and sweep over then No. 3 Kentucky, the reigning national champions. Creighton outhit the Wildcats .297 to .197 in the win while Jaela Zimmerman led the Blue Jays with 18 kills followed by Nora Sis' 16 kills.
The Huskers have an absurd 19-0 record against Creighton — the Blue Jays have never once won against their in-state rivals dating all the way back to 1980. But could this be the year? The Blue Jays brought in a strong freshman recruiting class for 2021 and already took down the reigning champs.
Creighton enters latest AVCA rankings at No. 19
|
RANK |
TEAM |
POINTS |
RECORD |
PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas (55) | 1591 | 4-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Wisconsin (9) | 1544 | 4-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 1415 | 5-0 | 4 |
| T-4 | Ohio State | 1353 | 5-0 | 6 |
| T-4 | Pittsburgh | 1353 | 5-0 | 7 |
| 6 | Purdue | 1259 | 4-0 | 8 |
| 7 | Florida | 1157 | 4-1 | 5 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 1123 | 5-1 | 3 |
| 9 | Washington | 1041 | 3-1 | 11 |
| 10 | Louisville | 938 | 5-0 | 12 |
| 11 | Oregon | 846 | 5-0 | 13 |
| 12 | BYU | 814 | 5-0 | 13 |
| 13 | Minnesota | 798 | 1-3 | 10 |
| 14 | Stanford | 723 | 3-1 | 20 |
| 15 | Western Kentucky | 692 | 6-0 | 15 |
| 16 | UCLA | 643 | 4-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Baylor | 619 | 1-3 | 9 |
| 18 | Penn State | 562 | 5-1 | 17 |
| 19 | Creighton | 548 | 6-0 | NR |
| 20 | Utah | 443 | 5-0 | 19 |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | 420 | 4-1 | 16 |
| 22 | Pepperdine | 277 | 6-0 | 21 |
| 23 | Tennessee | 219 | 4-1 | NR |
| 24 | South Carolina | 167 | 5-1 | 24 |
| 25 | San Diego | 112 | 3-2 | 22 |
Nebraska improves to No. 3 in latest Power 10 rankings
