LINCOLN — The Nebraska volleyball team has spent all of October getting on track and gaining steam.

But John Cook knows there’s real danger of a derailment as the Huskers chug their way to rival Missouri.

No. 7 Nebraska has won four straight, playing better and performing more consistently with each victory. The surge included an impressive sweep Wednesday night at 19th-ranked Baylor, a win that in many ways was NU’s best showing yet this season.

It’s been a dramatic turnaround for a Nebraska team that lost three of five matches in mid-September, a stretch that junior libero Kayla Banwarth called a career low point for all of the Huskers’ veterans.

But after NU dropped consecutive contests to Texas A&M and No. 2 Texas, an emotional Banwarth vowed that the Huskers eventually would start to click.

“We said it right from the beginning, that it was going to take time for this team,” said junior setter Sydney Anderson. “We knew it was going to take time to find a chemistry, and I definitely think we’ve taken some big steps.”

Midway through the season, it’s easy to compile a list of things Nebraska (13-4, 6-2 Big 12) can feel good about moving forward:

• After ending September with 40 serving errors in three matches, the Huskers have been off target from the line just 15 times in their last three contests. Freshman Gina Mancuso has spearheaded the team’s improved serving with six aces in NU’s last two wins.

• Rookie outside hitter Hannah Werth continues to emerge as a go-to attacker. She’s led the Huskers in kills the past four matches and hasn’t hit below .379 this month.

• Anderson has started connecting well with middle blockers Brooke Delano and Kori Cooper. Delano is averaging 2.93 kills on .473 hitting during NU’s four-match winning streak, while Cooper has been good for 2.40 kills and is hitting .392 in that same span.

• Banwarth, a player Cook knows can be a difference-maker for NU, has averaged seven digs per set in the last two contests. For the year, she ranks third in the Big 12 with 4.76 digs per set, and she’s 89 away from becoming the 10th player in school history to record 1,000 career digs.

Still, Cook knows the Huskers will have their work cut out for them as they try to keep building momentum at Mizzou.

The 12-7 Tigers are just 4-4 in the Big 12, but they’re a perfect 8-0 at the Hearnes Center. Missouri always draws a rambunctious crowd when it hosts Nebraska, and the school again will be holding its annual “Can the Huskers” promotion in which fans can get in for free by donating two canned food items.

“Confidence is a fragile thing,” Cook said. “We know we have to try to steal wins on the road, and we know how tough Missouri always plays us (in Columbia). But as long as our players keep working hard and commit to the things we’ve been working on, the potential is there for us to be a great team.”

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com

« Sports - Big Red Today

Share