#14 Nebraska Remains Undefeated in Big Ten with Sweep of Rutgers

  0 Jesse Birdsall | September 24th, 2017 | Big Ten, News

MATCH INFO

  • #14 Nebraska sweeps Rutgers, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-11)
  • Nebraska improves to 9-3 (2-0 Big Ten); Rutgers drops to 5-8 (0-2 Big Ten)
  • New Brunswick, NJ
  • Attendance: 412
  • Match Stats

The Nebraska Cornhuskers took on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights tonight in their second Big Ten conference match. After sweeping #2 Penn State, Nebraska continued their winning ways on this weekend with a 3-0 sweep.

Outside hitters, Mikaela Foecke and Annika Albrecht paced the Huskers with 12 and 12.5 points respectively, hitting over .300. Freshman middle blocker, Chesney McClellan saw her first Big Ten action, recording 7 kills (.462) and 3 blocks to relieve senior Briana Holman, who got a minor ankle injury last weekend in their match against UNO. Holman played against Penn State yesterday, but the Nebraska staff decided to rest her and get McClellan valuable Big Ten experience. In addition to McClellan, Olivia Boender and Anezka Szabo also saw some time in this match.

Rutgers was led by sophomore right side hitter, Jillian Duffin, who notched 11.5 points with 10 kills (.400), 2 digs and 3 blocks. The Scarlet Knights struggled to produce offensively against a strong defensive team like Nebraska, only recording 28 kills (.135) to Nebraska’s 46 (.376).

Both Rutgers and Nebraska host next weekend. The Scarlet Knights face off against Illinois and Northwestern. The Cornhuskers bring #3 Minnesota and #4 Wisconsin to the Devaney Center for some top 5 competition.

 

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The 14th-ranked Nebraska volleyball team finished a perfect first weekend of Big Ten play with a 25-15, 25-20, 25-11 sweep of Rutgers on Saturday night at College Avenue Gym.

The Huskers (9-3, 2-0 Big Ten) got 12 kills from Annika Albrecht and 11 kills from Mikaela Foecke on .579 hitting with no errors for their second straight sweep. All eight of Nebraska’s wins this season have been sweeps. NU hit .376 as a team and held Rutgers (5-9, 0-2 Big Ten) to .135.

Kelly Hunter had 35 assists and moved to sixth all-time in career assists at NU with 3,205. Lauren Stivrins had eight kills on .400 hitting, while freshman Chesney McClellan made her first career start at middle blocker and had seven kills on .462 hitting. She also had a team-high three blocks on the night. Four Huskers finished with at least seven kills and each hit better than .340.

The Huskers had a 39-33 advantage in digs with Sydney Townsend and Kenzie Maloney leading the way with nine each.

Set 1: McClellan opened the set with a pair of blocks, one solo and one with Jazz Sweet. Nebraska built a 10-7 lead on consecutive kills by Foecke and Albrecht. Foecke and McClellan added back-to-back kills for a 13-8 lead, and then they accomplished the same feat to make it 15-9. Sweet and Foecke connected for kills before a Rutgers hitting error gave NU an 18-11 lead. A Stivrins kill increased the lead to eight at 19-11. Albrecht hammered a free ball after a great effort by Townsend and Hunter to keep a rally alive, and Rutgers hit wide to make it 22-12. The Huskers hit .400 in the 25-15 victory. Foecke had six kills on .750 hitting.

Set 2: Stivrins helped the Huskers to a 9-4 lead with three kills and a pair of blocks. Nebraska went up 13-5 after kills by Hunter and Foecke. After Rutgers scored three in a row, McClellan terminated for sideout and a 14-8 lead. Rutgers battled back to within 18-15 after a 6-2 run, but Foecke posted back-to-back kills to restore a 20-15 advantage. Rutgers pulled within three again at 22-19 before a service error and hitting error, and Nebraska had set point. The Huskers won 25-20 after another Rutgers hitting error. NU hit

Set 3: Nebraska jumped out to an 11-4 lead as McClellan tallied three kills. Olivia Boender entered the match and posted a kill for a15-8 lead, and Albrecht added her 10th of the match to make it 18-9. Townsend set Hunter for a kill, and Albrecht tacked on two more kills for a 24-11 lead. NU won 25-11 after Rutgers hit long.

Up Next: The Huskers return home to the Devaney Center for three straight Big Ten matches, beginning with No. 1 Minnesota on Friday at 5 p.m. Former Husker standout Jordan Larson will have her jersey retired at the match. Nebraska will turn around and host No. 5 Wisconsin on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Sept. 23, 2017) – Rutgers volleyball fell in straight sets to No. 14 Nebraska (25-15, 25-20, 25-11) on Saturday evening in the College Ave. Gym. The Huskers (9-3, 2-0 Big Ten) defeated the Scarlet Knights (5-9, 0-2) one night after handing No. 2 Penn State its first straight-set loss in State College since 2003.

Outside hitters Jillian Duffin and Sahbria McLetchie led the Rutgers’ offense throughout the evening with 10 and eight kills, respectively. Sophomore setter Megan Sharkey dished out 24 assists, while the RU defense was aided by McLetchie’s team-high 11 digs and sophomore middle blocker Stasa Miljevic’s four blocks.

Nebraska outhit Rutgers .376 – .135 with Mikaela Foecke getting 11 kills on 19 errorless swings for a .579 percentage. Kelly Hunter put up 35 assists for the Huskers.

Set 1 | Nebraska 25, Rutgers 15
Freshman opposite hitter Kamila Cieslik’s ace-kill combo capped a 3-0 Rutgers run to tie the opening set at 5-5. Nebraska’s 7-2 spurt put them back in the lead 15-9 before a Nebraska service error. Cieslik then killed a Nebraska overpass to put RU within four points before two more Husker points forced a Rutgers timeout at 18-11. McLetchie’s kill and a Jasmine Stackhouse/Duffin stuff brought Rutgers to 14 points.

Set 2 | Nebraska 25, Rutgers 20
After a 2-2 tie score, Nebraska used an 11-3 run to take a 13-5 lead. Rutgers’ first run of the set was powered by Duffin’s kill and an ace from Sharkey, while McLetchie added a solo block and Miljevic finished a smooth backset from Sharkey to get Rutgers to 14.

The Scarlet Knights forced a Husker timeout following a 3-0 run that got the home squad within three points at 18-15 with kills from Miljevic, Cieslik and Duffin. Rutgers stayed within five points down the stretch thanks to two more kills from Duffin and Miljevic.

Set 3 | Nebraska 25, Rutgers 11
A 5-1 start for Nebraska morphed into a 12-5 lead, setting the tone for the final set. The Huskers did not allow Rutgers to score more than one point in a row in the clinching set.

The Scarlet Knights continue a four-match Big Ten home stand on Friday, Sept. 29 against Northwestern at 7 p.m. in the College Ave. Gym.

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