All-American right-side hitter Merritt Beason had an outstanding match with nine kills to lead the second-ranked Nebraska volleyball team to a 25-18, 25-15, 25-15 win against Northwestern on Sunday in Evanston, Illinois.
With no hitting errors over 14 attempts, Beason had a .643 hitting percentage that was a season-best and just off her career high (.692). She also had two blocks, four digs and one ace serve.
Beason had a hot start to the match by having kills on six of her first eight attempts.
“She had some big kills when we needed them. She stepped up,†coach John Cook said on the Huskers Radio Network. “We need our seniors stepping up right now.â€
Andi Jackson added eight kills on .545 hitting. Harper Murray had four kills and three ace serves. Bergen Reilly had 25 set assists and a team-high nine digs and also dumped four kills.
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Nebraska topped the Wildcats in kills (39-29), blocks (7-2) and ace serves (7-2). The Huskers trailed for only three rallies in the entire match.
Nebraska had a .287 hitting percentage and held Northwestern to .082. Cook would have preferred for Nebraska to be more aggressive hitting with fewer tip shots but was pleased with a two-win weekend that included a sweep at No. 7 Wisconsin on Friday.
“I thought we took care of business and made runs when we needed to,†Cook said. “But we got to go back to work. We got some work to do.â€
With four weeks remaining in the regular season, Penn State and Nebraska have pulled ahead in the race for the Big Ten title. They’re tied at 12-0; Nebraska has 19 straight wins and Penn State a 14-match winning streak.
The Huskers drew a big crowd on the road again with 6,003 fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the first sellout for a home volleyball match in the history of the program. At least 50% of the fans were there to see Nebraska’s team.
It bettered the previous attendance record of 4,889, against Wisconsin last season.
“It was hard for me to tell (how many Nebraska fans there were), but it seemed like they were cheering pretty loud for us,†Cook said.
Lexi Rodriguez had seven digs and moved into a tie for second place for career digs with 1,706.
Buse Hazan had eight kills to lead Northwestern (4-16, 2-10 Big Ten). Nebraska’s last loss to Northwestern came during the Huskers’ first year in the Big Ten in 2011.
Nebraska’s players will only be home for three nights before flying to the West Coast to play No. 10 Oregon on Thursday and Washington on Saturday.
Along with Sunday’s match, that will mean three road matches over seven days played in two different time zones.
“This is like an NBA schedule,†Cook said.
-- Brent C. Wagner
