The Huskers win first Big Ten Volleyball Championship
The Women’s volleyball team of Nebraska University seized their first Big Ten Conference title on Tuesday, November 23. The Huskers worked out an amazing straight set victory over Iowa University Hawkeyes. The match was hosted by Iowa University but the
hosts failed to profit from the advantage of familiar conditions. Huskers did exceptionally well in all three sets and sent 25-14, 25-14, 25-19 on board.
The Carver-Hawkeye Arena served as the match venue and Nebraska achieved a milestone by winning the BTC Title for the first time in the school’s history. The winning squad also improved its conference record to 17-2 on the season. Nebraska volleyball team
will conclude the regular season by taking on Northwestern over the weekend.
Key players
Gina Mancuso proved to be the most effective player among Huskers. She offered strong offence and registered 14 kills. Likewise, Hannah Werth contributed 12 kills and nine digs. Lauren Cook scored her 15th double-double of the season with 32 assists and
10 digs. Jordan Wilberger pitched out four block assists as Morgan Broekhuis dismissed three attack attempts from the Hawkeyes.
On the other hand, senior Megan Eskew's of Iowa added 14 kills, while Nikki Dailey dished out 28 assists in the match. Bethany Yeager grabbed 10 digs in the losing effort.
Match summery
Visiting Huskers managed to take an early lead of 5-3 in the first set. Jordan Wilberger provided classy shots and further stretched the margin of points. Hawkeyes played defensively and were unable to score points. The frequent attack errors from the Hawkeyes
made it easier for the Huskers to take the first set, 25-14.
Following their success in the first set, Huskers came out firing in the next frame. They rallied a 4-0 run and picked up an early lead over Hawkeyes. Solid serves by Dykstra created problems for Iowa players, while concrete blocking from Delano kept them
behind the attack line. As a result, Nebraska gained full control of the operations and tried to quickly achieve set points. Huskers successfully extended their lead to 2-0 by winning second set with the identical score of 25-14.
Hawkeyes were totally overcome by the good performance of Huskers. Nonetheless, they changed their strategy in the third set and came up with better plays. Meanwhile, NU continued with the same spirit and led the scores in third set. With a better combination
of attack and defence tactics, Hawkeyes improved their performance but eventually dropped the third set, 19-25. NU finished the game with a final score of 3-0 and claimed the championship title.
Coach’s view
Speaking after the match, the Head Coach, John Cook, stated: "This is not an easy conference to win. We did it while dealing with a lot of things, but through the leadership of our captains, we found a way to come together and hang tough. We had to outlast
all these other teams, a new coaching staff and had some big-time players to replace."
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