CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (KMTV) — The #3 Nebraska volleyball team swept Illinois on Saturday night in Champaign.
The following is from NU Media Relations:
The third-ranked Nebraska volleyball team continued to roll with its sixth Big Ten sweep in a row - a 25-14, 25-16, 25-22 win at Illinois in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,152 at Huff Hall on Saturday night.
The Huskers (18-1, 10-0 Big Ten) have swept six Big Ten matches in a row for the first time since joining the conference in 2011. Overall, the Huskers have won 11 matches in a row, their longest win streak since 2018.
Nebraska was once again balanced offensively with five players posting at least five kills, led by Whitney Lauenstein's [huskers.com] 13 kills on .346 hitting. As a team, Nebraska hit .320 and limited Illinois to .161.
Madi Kubik [huskers.com] had 10 kills on .421 hitting, and Bekka Allick [huskers.com] followed up her career-best performance on Wednesday at Purdue with seven kills on .462 hitting. Ally Batenhorst [huskers.com] had five kills and hit .286, and Lindsay Krause [huskers.com] finished with five kills.
Nicklin Hames [huskers.com] had 20 assists and 13 digs. Hames became Nebraska's school-record holder for career assists, passing Fiona Nepo's mark of 4,824, set from 1995-98. Hames now has 4,835 career assists at Nebraska.
The Huskers had a 44-30 advantage in kills and served five aces to three for Illinois, and NU committed five fewer service errors. Blocks were even at 6-6 with Kaitlyn Hord [huskers.com] leading the way with four and Lauenstein adding three.
Nebraska outdug Illinois, 44-29. Lexi Rodriguez [huskers.com] posted nine assists and nine digs. Anni Evans [huskers.com] added six assists and four digs, and Kenzie Knuckles [huskers.com] had four digs.
Illinois (9-11, 4-6 Big Ten) was led by 13 kills by Raina Terry.
Set 1: Nebraska gained separation from a 4-4 tie with a block by Hord and Krause and kills by Lauenstein and Batenhorst to go up 7-4. Batenhorst's third kill of the set and a block by Lauenstein and Hord had the Huskers ahead 10-5. Nebraska led 16-10 before Illinois scored three points in a row to get within three at 16-13. But after a timeout, Illinois served into the net and Lauenstein connected on her fourth kill before an ace by Hames and two kills by Batenhorst and two by Lauenstein made it 23-13 Huskers after a 7-0 run. Lauenstein and Kubik finished out the 25-14 win with kills. Lauenstein and Batenhorst combined for 12 kills on .647 hitting.
Set 2: The Huskers sprinted out to a 9-4 lead after four kills by Allick, two by Krause and a solo block by Krause. The Huskers went up 13-8 on a kill by Lauenstein, which happened to be Hames' 10th assist of the match and the 4,825th assist of her career, making her the new school-record holder. Lauenstein followed up with an ace serve and and Krause tallied a kill before an ace by Kubik made it 16-10 Big Red. Lauenstein tacked on three more kills, and Allick and Kubik each had one as NU won 25-16.
Set 3: Nebraska set out to finish off the sweep with kills by Lauenstein, Allick and Hames giving NU an 8-4 lead. Krause added a pair of kills around one from Allick as the Big Red increased the lead to six at 13-7. Illinois trimmed a 14-8 deficit to 14-12, but back-to-back kills by Kubik restored a 16-12 edge. The Illini fought back to get within two again at 22-20, but Kubik terminated for set point at 24-21 and posted the final kill to win 25-22.
Up Next: The Huskers begin the second half of the Big Ten slate at No. 5 Wisconsin on Wednesday. The rematch of the 2021 NCAA Championship will begin at 8 p.m. (CT).
