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Four Observations from Nebraska's 3-1 Win Over Michigan State

In a game that felt eerily similar to their previous match against Michigan, No. 1 Nebraska again overcame a slow start to earn back-to-back road victories.
Abbie Harris|
Nebraska players celebrate during their win over Michigan State.
Nebraska players celebrate during their win over Michigan State. | Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska volleyball continues to show why they are the unanimous number 1 pick, with back-to-back road victories over fiesty conference opponents. Despite playing their (statistically) worst defensive game of the season against Michigan, the Huskers overcame the slow start to win 3-1. Nebraska then traveled about 60 miles northwest to East Lansing to face one of the conference's dark horses, Michigan State.

The Huskers had a short turnaround between their 6:30 p.m. match Friday against Michigan and their 3:30 p.m. match against Michigan State the next day. Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly told John Baylor on his pre-game radio show that she wasn't concerned about it when it came to her players. Ultimately, she was correct, as the Huskers won 3-1 but, similar to the previous game, it took time for Nebraska to play at its usual high standard.

Deja Vu for Nebraska as Michigan State Wins Set 1 25-21

Similar to their most recent game, Nebraska started slow and Michigan State made the Huskers pay, taking the first set 25-20. The Spartans only committed one hitting error at the media timeout and were hitting .462. Michigan State didn't hit quite as efficiently as Michigan but still ended the first set at .375 with only 4 hitting errors.

Unlike Friday night, it wasn't just the Husker's defense that caused issues. The team was unable to string together more than three points a time, despite back-to-back aces for Bergen Reilly early. They also made too many uncharacteristic errors, both at the net (5 on offense and 2 blocking) and off (3 from behind the service line and 4 on serve receive).

A bright spot for the Huskers were the middles, as Manaia Ogbechie hit a perfect 4 kills on 5 attempts and Andi Jackson had 5 kills with only 1 error. But the team was unable to keep Nebraska in system enough to fully utilize the potent middles.

My, My, Manaia!

Speaking of Manaia Ogbechie and deja vu from the previous game: Against Michigan, Ogbechie tallied 11 kills on 30 swings with only one error, hitting .500. She also had one dig and four blocks. Against Michigan State, she, somehow, improved on that performance with 11 kills on 14 swings and zero errors, hitting .786. She added one dig and a game-high 8 blocks.

From the jump Ogbechie made her mark, earning the first point of the match. She was involved in three straight points in that set and helped Nebraska fight off a set point with a pivotal kill at 20-24. When the Huskers went on an 8-1 run to end the 2nd, Ogbechie had 3 kills and 1 block, directly accounting for 4 of the team's points. She was kept relatively quiet in the 3rd set but came back alive in the final, earning 2 kills and 2 blocks.

Nebraska Once Again Shows How Deep Its Bench Is

The only players who did better than Ogbechie were Nebraska's bench pins, Ryan Hunter and Skyler Pierce, who both played, quite literally, perfectly when they were brought in off the bench. Through the first 2½ sets, the pin hitters accounted for 9 of Nebraska's 27 kills (specifically Harper Murray and Teraya Sigler) and 9 of their 11 attack errors.

Busboom Kelly made the decision, at 5-5 in the third, to bring in Ryan Hunter, and she made an immediate impact. One swing, one kill. Two swings, set point. Three swings, Nebraska wins set 3 25-17. In the fourth, she had another four swings and four kills. Seven swings, seven kills, a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage.

But Hunter wasn't the only player to come off the bench and make a huge contribution. Late in the fourth set, outside hitter Skyler Pierce came in for Sigler. Like Hunter, she got a kill on her first swing. And her second. And her third to bring up match point. She went a perfect 3 for 3. And the cherry on top, served a match-winning ace.

Busboom Kelly told Baylor on his pregame radio show that she wouldn't be afraid of utilizing the bench if starters showed signs of fatigue or exhaustion following the short turnaround time between matches. True to her word, when the team needed a spark, she knew exactly who to tap.

Keeping the Streaks Alive

Coming into tonight, Nebraska was 162-0 in sets when they were the first to reach the "red zone" of 20 points. After the game, they are 165-0. The Huskers' have shown their ability to pull away from teams and play some of their best volleyball once they hit that 20 point mark, including runs of 5-0, 6-1, and 5-1 in their winning sets.

Nebraska also extends its regular-season record of 54 consecutive wins. The Huskers are also now 9-0 in Halloween matches (including 27-4 in Halloween sets). With their win, the Huskers have also become back-to-back B1G Discover Volleyball Challenge champions.

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Abbie Harris
ABBIE HARRIS

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