LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Nebraska volleyball team’s impressive November drive has included sweeps over Iowa State, Texas A&M and Baylor.
There was no chance the Huskers were going to let off the gas against a sputtering Kansas club.
No. 9 Nebraska routed the Jayhawks on Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 25-15, 25-12, 25-18 blowout. With two matches left to play in the regular season, the Huskers haven’t dropped a set while winning five straight.
“I think we’ve kind of eliminated the pressure and anxiety we felt earlier in the year, and the team is embracing that concept of having fun and loving the journey,” NU coach John Cook said. “That’s why you’re seeing some great performances.”
After Nebraska overwhelmed Kansas in sets one and two, the Jayhawks rebounded after the intermission and worked out a 14-12 lead. But then the Huskers erupted for a 9-1 run that included three kills, a block and an ace by Tara Mueller.
The Huskers again showed the balanced that’s allowed them to thrive this month, with setter Sydney Anderson helping NU hit .433 — the team’s best attack percentage on the road in 2009. NU was in system so often that Anderson recorded 44 of the team’s 45 set assists.
And of course, Cook credited the Huskers’ strong passing and serving for making everything look so easy. Libero Kayla Banwarth led the way in the back row, finishing with 11 digs, and Nebraska didn’t allow an ace for a third straight match.
“I thought we did a lot of really good things tonight, and the thing we did exceptionally well was pass,” Cook said. “I know this had to be a really fun match for Sydney. Our passers did a great job getting her the ball, and conversely our serving really broke (Kansas) down.”
Mueller had two aces and 10 kills on .474 hitting, and the Huskers again benefited from middle blockers Kori Cooper and Brooke Delano going off. Cooper finished with 11 kills on .600 attacking, while Delano buried seven kills while swinging at a .700 clip.
“It’s been a great month for our team, and Brooke had an outstanding match, too,” Cooper said. “That’s just a testament to our digging and to Sydney spreading around the offense.”
Hannah Werth also had 10 kills and hit .381 for Nebraska.
The Huskers play another road match at Kansas State on Wednesday before closing the regular season by hosting Colorado next Saturday.
Nebraska (21-6, 14-4).................25 25 25
Kansas (15-13, 7-11).................15 12 18
Nebraska (kills-aces-blocks): Anderson 1-0-2, Licht 7-0-2, Delano 7-0-3, Cooper 11-0-2, Mueller 10-2-1, Werth 10-0-3, Banwarth 1-0-0, Wilberger 0-0-0, Mancuso 3-0-0.
Kansas (kills-aces-blocks): Manda 0-0-0, Mazour 3-0-0, Williams 2-0-1, Tate 1-0-0, Mayfield 10-0-1, Hagan 2-0-0, Martincich 0-0-0, Grieb 0-0-0, Tolefree 0-0-0, Boub 0-0-0, Garlington 8-0-0, Kaiser 0-0-0.
Set assists: Kansas 26 (Tate 23); Nebraska 44 (Anderson 44). A — 1,145.
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