No. 1 Nebraska Tames Wildcats on Thursday

No. 1 Nebraska went on the road and recorded a 25-17, 25-14, 25-15 sweep of Northwestern in front of 5,329 fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday night in Evanston, Ill.

Nebraska (18-0, 7-0 Big Ten) extended its regular-season match win streak to 49 after hitting .287 as a team and holding Northwestern (7-11, 0-7 Big Ten) to an .030 hitting percentage on Thursday night. The 18-0 start is the Huskers’ seventh-best in the rally-scoring era.

Northwestern’s .030 hitting is the fifth-lowest hitting percentage by an opponent this season, while the Wildcats’ 46 points is tied for the fourth-fewest the Huskers have allowed in a match this year.

The Huskers also improved their win streak in road and neutral-site matches to 24 matches, which ranks 11th all-time in NCAA history and the longest nationally since 2011.

Andi Jackson led Nebraska with 10 kills, six blocks and four digs. Jackson picked up the 10 kills on .600 hitting to post her eighth consecutive match hitting above .350, including five straight matches hitting at least .400.

Harper Murray tallied nine kills, four digs and three blocks, followed by Teraya Sigler with eight kills on .467 hitting, 12 digs and three blocks.

Kenna Cogill recorded a team-high seven blocks with three kills, while Skyler Pierce and Gabby DiVita added four and three kills off the bench, respectively.

Bergen Reilly recorded 39 assists, seven digs, three blocks and three kills, and Laney Choboy tied Sigler with a team-best 12 digs.

Nebraska had a dominant 42-21 edge in kills, 51-32 advantage in digs and a 13-8 margin in blocks over the Wildcats. The Huskers outscored Northwestern 9-0 at the service line, recording the Big Red’s third match of the season with at least nine service aces.

Set 1: Nebraska won the first set 25-17, closing it on an eight-point run after Northwestern had tied it at 17. Murray served three straight points after a Jackson kill to give the Huskers an 8-5 lead. An ace and a kill by Sigler, followed by a block assist from Murray and Cogill pushed the margin to 13-9 before the Wildcats ran off five straight points to take a 14-13 lead. The set was tied at 17 until Jackson’s kill sparked an 8-0 run from the Big Red to end the set at 25-17. Murray led Nebraska with six kills, followed by Sigler and Jackson with four kills apiece. The Huskers posted a dominant 17-6 margin in kills and had three aces to the Wildcats’ none.

Set 2: The Huskers took the second set 25-14 for a 2-0 lead. Overcoming an early 4-1 deficit, the Big Red went ahead for good with a kill by Sigler, then broke the set open with Reilly at the service line. Reilly served back-to-back aces after Cogill’s kill, while a pair of blocks assists from the NU defense enlarged the lead to 12-8 to force a Northwestern timeout. Later, Choboy served four straight points to cap a five-point run, finishing it with an ace for a 20-11 lead. The Huskers reached set point with Murray’s third kill of the set, while Reilly’s ace clinched the 25-14 victory. Cogill anchored the net with four block assists and a kill as Nebraska posted a 5-3 edge in blocks.

Set 3: Nebraska completed the sweep with a 25-15 win in the third set, leading the rest of the way after a 2-2 tie. Jackson’s kills ignited a 5-1 run, and Sigler’s ace made it 7-3 to prompt a Northwestern timeout. Consecutive block assists with Cogill serving gave the Huskers a 13-8 advantage, and the Big Red stretched it to 20-12 on a Jayden Robinson and Cogill block. Off the bench, Pierce had four kills and a block, and DiVita added three kills, including the sweep-clinching point.

No. 1 Nebraska welcomes No. 13 Purdue to John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday, Oct. 17. First serve between the Huskers and Boilermakers is set for 4 p.m. on BTN.