In a statistic not often kept but one that is noteworthy, Nebraska’s Kelly Hunter, Mikaela Foecke and Kenzie Maloney have an edge over their Final Four opponent, Penn State – never losing to them.
Since 2015 Hunter, Foecke and Maloney have defied all odds to accomplish this historic feat over a dominant Nittany Lion squad, that is favored going into their Final Four match.
It all started in 2015 when Hunter was coming off a redshirt season and took the setting position of the team. The Huskers met Penn State on the road in their third Big Ten match that season. It was a comeback for the ages, as the Huskers fell in the first two sets but rallied behind each other to win the next three sets and the match. They faced off against the Nittany Lions in their Big Ten closer of the year, winning at the Bob Devaney Center in a sweep, guiding them in the NCAA Tournament. That season, the Huskers won the NCAA Tournament title.
In 2016, the Huskers did not meet the Nittany Lions until the midway point of the Big Ten season, to which they went to University Park for another five-set showdown. This time the Huskers were down 1-2 and went on to win the fourth set to force a fifth set before winning the deciding set 15-11. Just two short weeks later, Nebraska hosted Penn State with another sweep at home. In the NCAA Tournament, they were pitted against each other for the third time in the 2016 season. This again was a match that the Huskers went down 0-2 in hard-fought sets, but squeaked by in a 26-24 third set to go on to win the next two and the match in five.
The 2017 season has only brought the two teams together in one meeting, the opening of the Big Ten season. It seemed unlikely that the Huskers would win the match, considering they just lost to Northern Iowa the week prior and with a Briana Holman injury. They defied the odds and defeated the Nittany Lions in straight sets on the road – being the only team to sweeps Penn State on their home court in 15 years.
With the dominance that Penn State has shown over the past decade of volleyball, this is a feat that not many, if any team or player can say they have done besides these three Nebraska players.
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