Even when the Nebraska volleyball team is crushing an opponent, like it did on Friday in a three-set win against Ohio State, coach John Cook doesn’t usually sit back and think about how great a team it is.
He may be thinking about what would be hurting the Huskers if they were playing one of those teams they might have to in a few weeks in the NCAA Tournament. Like Stanford? Or Minnesota, again?
But, Cook promises that on Saturday he’s going to try and enjoy the match more. That’s when Nebraska plays its final regular-season match against Maryland (18-13). That also makes it Senior Night for one of the most successful classes ever with outside hitter Mikaela Foecke, libero Kenzie Maloney and backup setter Brooke Smith. They’ve been on teams that won two national championships and two Big Ten titles. Nebraska’s record is 118-17 with them on the team.
People are also reading…
With nine more kills Friday, Foecke moved past Kadie Rolfzen for sixth place on Nebraska's career kills chart with 1,567.
“We got a lot to be thankful for with those guys. They’ve had a hell of a career here,†Cook said.
Friday’s 25-15, 25-12, 25-12 victory was another showcase of how outside hitter Lexi Sun has raised her level of play over the past month.
Sun had a match-high 12 kills. She didn’t have any hitting errors on 23 attempts for a season-best .522 hitting percentage. It’s the first time she hasn’t had a hitting error in a match.
It was the second consecutive match where Sun had a season-best hitting percentage, after she hit .438 against Indiana.
The kills weren’t always coming that easily for Sun. She had matches where she was hitting out, or getting blocked, more. Three weeks ago her season hitting percentage was .166. But in the past five matches combined she's hitting .302. She’s doing a better job of hitting off the blockers’ hands to get kills.
“I think I’m always just trying to get better,†Sun said. “I think (setter Nicklin Hames) is doing a great job, and I think the middles and the right-side are doing a good job of spreading the offense out so that we get one-on-one (hitting attempts). We’re just working on being a whole team, and using lots of weapons.â€
Lexi Sun: setter and assistant setters helping her get kills:
— Brent Wagner (@LJSSportsWagner)
Sun actually wasn’t hitting that well in practice this week, Cook said. But just like the stories about when the Nebraska football team was winning championships and the players felt like practice was harder than the games, Cook said sometimes the matches are easier than practice for the Huskers.
“That’s how we train our players,†Cook said. “We’ve got to put them in those situations. Lexi was seeing it really well tonight. Nicklin had her in a great rhythm tonight. It was good.â€
Sun had kills on six of her first seven attempts of the match, and had nine of the Huskers’ 13 kills in the first set.
Nebraska extended its winning streak to seven, while Ohio State has lost 11 consecutive matches.
Saturday is the final Big Ten match, and the best the Huskers (23-6, 14-5 Big Ten) can do is a tie for third place in the league. But it will be a chance for one more win before NCAA Tournament bracket is announced on Sunday.
Nebraska had one of its best blocking matches of the season, outblocking Ohio State 13-1, with the final block coming on match point by Foecke. Lauren Stivrins had seven blocks, and Callie Schwarzenbach had five.
Cook thinks Nebraska’s defense, which ranks second nationally, and serving will help the Huskers win a lot of matches. The next step is making fewer errors in attacking, and that went well Friday. Nebraska had just six hitting errors, tying its fewest in a Big Ten match since 2012.
John Cook: serve, block and defense = good.
— Brent Wagner (@LJSSportsWagner)