Nebraska
VB Previews: Nebraska hosts Minnesota and Indiana amid 21-game win streak
VB Previews: Nebraska hosts Minnesota and Indiana amid 21-game win streak
Slowly but surely, the Nebraska volleyball team is grinding its way into the No. 1 spot in the Top 25 national rankings.
The Huskers (24-1 overall, 14-0 Big Ten) remain just behind Pittsburgh (23-1) in the latest AVCA Top 25, released on Monday, in the No. 2 spot. They garnered their most first-place votes (12) in the poll in the last four weeks, however, amid their current 21-game win streak.
Now, they will be putting that dominant run to the test once again as they match up with Minnesota (16-8, 9-5) and Indiana (12-12, 5-9) this week in Lincoln.
Below are the stats to know, players to watch and more information on the Huskers’ upcoming home matches against the Gophers and Hoosiers.
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HOW TO WATCH, STREAM & LISTEN
#2 NEBRASKA (24-1 overall, 14-0 Big Ten) vs. MINNESOTA (16-8, 9-5)
Time: 8:00 p.m. CT on Thursday
TV Channel: Big Ten Network
Commentators: Larry Punteney (play by play) and Emily Ehman (color)
Streaming: Fox Sports App
Radio: Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations
Listen online: Huskers.com (LINK)
App Audio: Official Huskers App
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#2 NEBRASKA (24-1 overall, 14-0 Big Ten) vs. INDIANA (12-12, 5-9)
Time: 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday
TV Channel: Big Ten Network
Commentators: Larry Punteney (play by play) and Lauren Stivrins (color)
Streaming: Fox Sports App
Radio: Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations
Listen online: Huskers.com (LINK)
App Audio: Official Huskers App
SERIES HISTORY
NEBRASKA-MINNESOTA:
>> Nebraska is 38-12 all-time against Minnesota and won both matches against the Golden Gophers last year.
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NEBRASKA-INDIANA:
>> Nebraska is 23-1 all-time against Indiana and has won 23 straight against the Hoosiers since Indiana’s lone win in 1978.
SCOUTING REPORTS
NEBRASKA
All stats and info provided courtesy of Nebraska Athletics Communications
>> Nebraska has won 21 matches in a row since a loss at SMU on Sept. 3. Seventeen of the 21 wins have been sweeps, including the last four matches.
>> Entering Thursday’s match, Nebraska has won 15 sets in a row.
>> Nebraska is 6-0 against top-10 teams this season, which is the most top-10 wins in a regular season in school history.
>> Nebraska is 9-0 against ranked foes this season, as SMU was not in the AVCA Top 25 at the time of that match.
>> The Huskers rank 11th nationally and second in the Big Ten with a team hitting percentage of .295.
>> Nebraska ranks seventh nationally in kills per set (14.28).
>> Outside hitter Harper Murray is leading the Huskers with 3.30 kills per set and 25 service aces and is hitting .255. Murray also adds 2.15 digs per set.
>> Opposite hitter Merritt Beason is averaging 3.06 kills per set for the Big Red and is hitting .258 with 1.30 digs per set and 23 aces.
>> Taylor Landfair is putting up 2.51 kills per set and hitting .254.
>> Middle blocker Andi Jackson is averaging 2.67 kills with a .444 hitting percentage, which ranks fourth in the nation.
>> Middle blocker Rebekah Allick adds 1.68 kills per set on .337 hitting with 1.28 blocks per set. Allick has moved into the top 10 in school history in career blocks with 354.
>> Setter Bergen Reilly is averaging 11.12 assists per set, which ranks sixth in the nation and leads the Big Ten. She also adds 2.90 digs per set and has 17 aces. Reilly has 13 double-doubles and has been named Big Ten Setter of the Week three times this season.
>> Three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Lexi Rodriguez guides the Husker back row with 3.70 digs per set. Last week, Rodriguez passed Kayla Banwarth for No. 2 all-time in career digs at Nebraska. Rodriguez now has 1,731 and is chasing Justine Wong-Orantes (1,890).
SCOUTING REPORT: MINNESOTA
>> No. 16 Minnesota is 16-8 overall and 9-5 in Big Ten play after suffering home defeats to Washington (3-1) and No. 12 Oregon (3-0) last week.
>> Julia Hanson leads the Golden Gophers with 3.73 kills per set and is hitting .270. She also has a team-high 26 aces.
>> Lydia Grote adds 2.87 kills per set and also has 26 aces.
>> Phoebe Awoleye ranks seventh nationally in blocks per set with 1.49. As a team, Minnesota ranks 13th (2.78).
SCOUTING REPORT: INDIANA
>> Indiana is 12-12 overall and 5-9 in the Big Ten after losses at home to No. 9 Purdue (3-1) and No. 20 USC (3-1) last week.
>> Candela Alonso-Corcelles paces the Hoosiers with 3.58 kills per set, while Avry Tatum adds 3.42 kills per set.
>> Camryn Haworth averages 9.96 assists per set and has 42 aces on the season.
>> Libero Ramsey Gary ranks second in the Big Ten with 4.20 digs per set.
STATS TO KNOW: NEBRASKA
SERVE AND PASS
>> Nebraska has allowed just 46 service aces this season, which leads the nation. The next closest team is Pittsburgh with 54 aces allowed.
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BALANCED ATTACK
>> Nebraska has seven different players averaging between 1.68 and 3.30 kills per set.
>> Six different players have led the Huskers in kills in a match this season.
>> Reilly ranks sixth nationally averaging 11.12 assists per set.
>> Nebraska’s attack has been one of the best in the nation this season. The Huskers rank 11th in hitting percentage (.295) and seventh in kills per set (14.28).
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HOME SWEET HOME
>> Nebraska has won 38 home matches in a row dating back to Dec. 1, 2022, which is the longest active streak in the nation.
>> The Huskers’ home win streak is its longest since moving into the Devaney Center in 2013.
>> Nebraska’s longest all-time home win streak was 88 matches from 2004-09. Since then, NU also has a home win streak of 38 matches in a row from 2009-11.
Nebraska
What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday
Iowa coach Ben McCollum met with the media following his team’s 77-71 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Sweet 16. The Cornhuskers led by three at the half but Iowa was able to outscore Nebraska 34-25 in the second half.
Pryce Sandfort led all scorers with 25 points while shooting 8 of 13 from the field and 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 20 points and played for all 40 minutes.
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Iowa shot 52% (27-52) from the floor, 43% (13-30) from beyond the arc and 83% (10-12) from the free throw line. Nebraska struggled shooting 41% (24-58) from the field, 34% (13-38) from the 3-point line and 91% (10-11) from the charity stripe.
The Hawkeyes’ head coach acknowledged that his team had a poor start but a great finish and said that his team will need to play better to advance beyond the Elite Eight.
Yeah, I think to start we weren’t fantastic to start. They had an elite game plan to start. They played with elite pace. They adjusted their defense quite a bit. I think a lot of people will talk about the rivalry. I was around it when I was in Iowa, you know, and grew up in Iowa and understand the rivalry and whatnot. It’s nice to have — I guess if you would a call it rival that runs such a class program.
I think Coach Hoiberg, they have got great kids. They completely turned everything around from the previous season, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about or anything. I have the utmost respect for them, all their players, and especially Coach Hoiberg. Heck of a season. I know it’s no consolation, but we still want to beat ’em every time and they want to beat us every time.
But from and internal perspective, there’s not a lot of bad blood there. It’s actually a lot of respect. I was really pleased with our second-half performance. I thought we actually decided we were going to try — not try. They had a lot to do with it, but kind of. Yeah, they’re smiling over there because they saw me break my marker.
And I thought our kids did a good job of executing offensively in both halves. We spent a lot of time trying to make sure that we could score, and you saw the result of that. We didn’t defend. But we were able to score, so we were able to stay in the game long enough and then get enough stops and had some big possessions down the stretch. Really good program win for everybody, coaches, managers, everybody included.
Iowa advances to the Elite Eight with the victory. Nebraska’s season ends with a record of 28-7.
Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday
Nebraska
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission
LINCOLN, Neb — Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Antonio Gomez of Jackson to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, adding a longtime Siouxland business leader and public servant to the panel.
Commission members serve four-year terms and are subject to approval by the Nebraska Legislature.
Gomez launched Gomez Pallets in South Sioux City in 1983. He has since retired from daily operations, but last year the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce recognized him with the W. Edwards Deming Business Leadership and Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.
Gomez previously served on the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans from 1981 to 2002. He also served as a Dakota County commissioner for 12 years and was on the Foundation Board for Northeast Community College.
Gomez’s appointment is effective April 1.
Nebraska
CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16
The Nebraska Cornhuskers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the Huskers’ first Sweet 16 in program history, while Iowa is playing in its first Sweet 16 since 1999.
Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa advanced after beating the defending national champion, the Florida Gators, 73-72.
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CBS Sports reporter Isaac Trotter broke down Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Trotter started by looking at the two previous matchups in this series.
These teams have played twice. Iowa won at home in a 57-52 rockfight. Nebraska returned the favor by winning at home, 84-75 in overtime, in another to-the-death brawl.
It’s no secret that Nebraska’s defense caused significant problems for the Iowa offense in the second game, and if the Hawkeyes are going to win the rubber match, Trotter believes that turnovers will be the key.
There are no secrets in the rubber match. Nebraska’s no-middle defense has given Iowa real problems both times. The Hawkeyes turned it over 20% of the time in Game 1 and 26% of the time in Game 2. That can’t happen in the third encounter.
CBS Sports believes that Iowa has the best player on the floor in Bennett Stirtz, but Trotter also believes that Nebraska’s defense is just too much in the end for Iowa.
Iowa has the best player on the floor, Bennett Stirtz, and can hurt Nebraska on the glass, but the Huskers get the nod because of this pick-and-roll defense. You have to be able to guard ball screens effectively to shut down Iowa, and Nebraska has been an elite pick-and-roll defense, rating in the 99th percentile nationally, per Synergy.
In the end, Trotter selected Nebraska as his pick. Should the Huskers advance to the Elite Eight, Nebraska would play the winner of the Illinois-Houston game. Nebraska-Iowa play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TBS.
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Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16
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