MATCH STATS
- #6 Nebraska def. Rutgers 3-0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-13)
- #6 Nebraska improves to 22-4 (15-1, Big Ten); Rutgers falls to 5-23 (0-16, Big Ten)
- Lincoln, Nebraska (Big Ten Match)
- Attendance: 8,135
- Box Score
Lincoln, Nebraska – A meeting between top and bottom in the Big Ten went as expected as the #2 Nebraska Cornhuskers dominated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to stay atop the conference standings.
The mismatch was apparent early as Nebraska scorched Rutgers to a 25-8 set victory before coasting to a 25-11 game in the second. The third also was progressively closer, but still nothing that challenged Nebraska at 25-13.
While truly everything was clicking for Nebraska, it was hard to stand out more than their offense that hit .480 and a serve that logged nine aces in just three sets. Mikaela Foecke was key in both regards as she led the match with 12 kills and did so on 15 swings with no errors – an amazing .800 hitting percentage. From the service side of things, she had three of the team’s nine aces.
The Cornhuskers serve, which also had just one serve error to the nine aces, kept Rutgers out of system seemingly throughout; that combined with 16 more digs and a handful more of blocks stifled the Scarlet Knights to a .092 hitting percentage as a team.
Other notable performances from Nebraska came from Kelly Hunter (34 assists, five digs, three kills, two blocks, one ace), Lauren Stivrins (seven kills, .600, three blocks) and Annika Albrecht (eight kills, .333, six digs, one ace).
Moving forward, Nebraska heads to the road next week to face Ohio State and Maryland while Rutgers has a pair of tough home matches against Purdue and Penn State.
PRESS RELEASES:
LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 6 Nebraska volleyball team swept Rutgers on Sunday afternoon, 25-8, 25-11, 25-13 in front of a crowd of 8,135 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers (22-4, 15-1 Big Ten) extended their win streak to nine matches, their longest stretch this season without a loss. With four matches remaining in the regular season, Nebraska remains tied with Penn State atop the Big Ten standings at 15-1. The next three of Nebraska’s four remaining matches will be on the road, beginning at Ohio State on Friday.
Nebraska hit .480 and held the Scarlet Knights (5-23, 0-16 Big Ten) to .092. Rutgers’ 32 total points tied the fewest by a Husker opponent in the rally scoring era (2001-present). Over the last three matches, the Huskers have held their opponents to a combined .040 hitting percentage.
Mikaela Foecke produced the most efficient match of her career with 12 kills and no errors on 15 attacks for an .800 hitting percentage. Foecke also served three aces to lead the Huskers to nine on the day. Annika Albrecht had eight kills, while Lauren Stivrins had seven kills. Briana Holman had five kills and five blocks. Freshman Sami Slaughter came off the bench late in the second set and posted a career-high four kills on four swings.
The Huskers dominated in digs (38-22) and blocks (8-2). Kenzie Maloney and Sydney Townsend each had 11 digs. Kelly Hunter had 34 assists for the Big Red.
Yana Kamshilina had eight kills for Rutgers.
Set 1: The Huskers jumped out to a 10-2 lead with Albrecht posting three early kills, but Rutgers scored four in a row to cut it to 10-6. From that point, Nebraska used an 8-1 run to take control, 18-7. Albrecht produced three kills in that span. The Huskers won 25-8, finishing the set on a 15-2 run. NU outhit Rutgers .615 to .067. NU had 16 kills and no errors on 26 attacks. It marked the Huskers’ first error-free set since Sept. 1 against Oral Roberts.
Set 2: Nebraska gained separation with a 10-1 run to go up 18-7 with four different Huskers posting a kill, Maloney serving an ace, and Holman and Foecke combining for a block. An ace serve by Hunter and a block by Holman and Sweet moved the lead to 21-9. Holman added a couple of kills and the Huskers rolled to the 25-11 win on a kill by Slaughter.
Set 3: Foecke had three kills and an ace to help the Huskers to a 7-4 lead. Townsend’s serve caused Rutgers fits as the Huskers pulled ahead 17-9 with the senior from Lincoln notching two aces during a 7-0 run. Nebraska cruised to the sweep with a 25-13 win, as Slaughter terminated three more times down the stretch and freshman Anezka Szabo entered the match and tallied the final point.
Up Next: The Huskers hit the road for matches at Ohio State on Friday and at Maryland on Saturday.
LINCOLN, Neb. (Nov. 12, 2017) – Rutgers volleyball dropped a Big Ten match at No. 6 Nebraska in straight sets in front of 8,135 on Sunday afternoon. The Cornhuskers won by scores of 25-8, 25-11, 25-13.
Nebraska (22-4, 15-1 B1G) claimed victory and swept the season series via a .480 hitting percentage, 42 kills, eight blocks and nine aces. The Scarlet Knights (5-23, 0-16) countered with a .092 attack clip with 23 kills, two blocks and two aces.
Senior setter Talia Holze, making her first start since Nov. 5, 2016, picked up 20 assists, with her favorite target being freshman outside hitter Yana Kamshilina. The Rutgers rookie had eight kills, followed by junior outside hitter Sahbria McLetchie‘s seven, including a match-high five in the final set.
Set 1 | Nebraska 25, Rutgers 8
McLetchie and Kamshilina got Rutgers on the board with a kill apiece early, but Nebraska jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead on the back of a 5-0 scoring run before the Scarlet Knights’ first timeout. Rutgers responded immediately out of the break with a 4-0 run as Kamshilina picked up another two kills and freshman opposite hitter Kamila Cieslikserved an ace.
Kamshilina’s first kill came after some nice defense, featuring an improbable save by Holze and sophomore libero Karysa Swackenberg, followed by another Swackenberg dig leading to Holze’s assist to Kamshilina. The Huskers ended the set on a 13-1 run while scoring the final seven points of the frame.
Set 2 | Nebraska 25, Rutgers 11
Rutgers’ only two-point run of the set came at the middle portion as Kamshilina continued to lead the attack with one of her three kills in the second. The Huskers used a 10-1 run after those points to take control and 2-0 set lead.
Set 3 | Nebraksa, Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights kept the final stanza tight with a 3-0 run midway through, powered by a pair of blocks from the combo of Holze and sophomore middle blocker Jasmine Stackhouse. Rutgers trailed 10-9 before the Huskers rode an 8-0 stint to claim the advantage.
Up Next: Rutgers returns to New Jersey for a Wednesday, Nov. 15 date with No. 22 Purdue, whose national rank is sure to rise after beating back-to-back Top 10 teams on the road this week in Minnesota and Wisconsin. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the College Ave. Gym.
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