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Huskers Dominate Washington with Balanced Attack

Five different players recorded seven or more kills, leading top-ranked Nebraska to its sixth-straight sweep.
Spencer Schubert|
Andi Jackson hit .562 with 10 kills.
Andi Jackson hit .562 with 10 kills. | Amarillo Mullen

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It’s one thing to have a star-laden roster where on any given night one of your top three players can have a conference player of the week type of night. It’s completely another when you have such a balanced offense your opponent doesn’t know where to look.

That’s the luxury top-ranked Nebraska had Friday night as they swept Washington 25-14, 25-18, 25-16.

The Huskers are used to big nights from their big names like Harper Murray, Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick, but every now and then, you get a night like Friday night, where it wasn’t just one star – it was a handful of them.

“(Coach) has talked to us about being composed and staying steady the whole game,” Murray said. “That’s something we worked on before we got to the Big Ten season, and I feel we’re executing that really well and just staying steady and consistent.”

What that looks like in the box score is oddly enough pretty boring. There isn’t one player with an obscene amount of kills while the rest of the team watches. Instead, on Friday night, it was Murray leading all players with 12 kills, but right behind her was Jackson with 10, Virginia Adriano with 9, and both Allick and Taylor Landfair contributing seven kills each.

To do that against a Washington team that has been on the rise as of late is what really put the cherry on top of the sundae for Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly.

“I thought it was one of our better games, just the aggressiveness, the serving, the passing, everything was just really good,” Busboom Kelly said. “We talked about Washington and that they’re playing really well. They dig a lot of balls. They’re really going to make you earn your kills, so I just thought we handled it really well, and Washington came out and made us earn our points, and we stayed really steady.”

A lot of that steady play is due to the continued growth of junior setter Bergen Reilly. Fresh off of yet another Big Ten Setter of the Week honor, Reilly once again lived up to the hype by recording 34 assists on a night where seven different players recorded a kill.

The Huskers stand for the National Anthem prior to their match against Washington.
The Huskers were able to spread the ball around early and often against Washington Friday night. | Amarillo Mullen

According to Harper, it’s what Reilly sees in practice that helps her produce as well as she has during the games.

“She’s the one that sets us up and makes us successful, so it’s really on her, and she does a great job,” Murray said. “I think Campbell (Flynn) pushes her, too. I think having a setter like Campbell in our gym, she competes with Bergen every day, and I think that makes Bergen a lot better, too. We know Bergen’s a great setter, and we like to have a disciplined and balanced offense.”

It’s now a quick turnaround for Nebraska, which will have another match on Sunday, and it won’t be in the friendly confines of “The Bob.” The Huskers will be traveling to West Lafayette, Indiana Saturday to get ready for an early Sunday match against No. 12 Purdue.

The Boilermakers are a team that NU certainly won’t be taking lightly, and both Busboom Kelly and Jackson had plenty of praise to heap on their next opponent.

“(They’re) pretty similar to that team, but just bigger and faster arms,” Busboom Kelly said. “Purdue is playing great right now, and it’s very, very hard to play at Purdue. That’s going to be a major challenge for us.”

“Purdue is a very, very good team,” Jackson added. “They have a lot of really good players, outsides, middles, they pass great. Coach used to call it a slugfest. It’s a heavyweight fight if you will.”

Both teams will be lacing up the gloves…and sneakers Sunday, with first serve set for 12 p.m. CDT. The match will be carried on B1G+.

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Spencer Schubert
SPENCER SCHUBERT

Spencer Schubert is a born-and-raised Nebraskan who now calls Hastings home. He grew up in Kearney idolizing the Huskers as every kid in Nebraska did in the 1990s, and he turned that passion into a career of covering the Big Red. Schubert graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009, and kickstarted what's now become a 17 year career in journalism. He's served in a variety of roles in broadcasting, including weekend sports anchor at KHGI-TV(NTV) in Kearney, Sports Director at WOAY-TV in West Virginia and Assistant News Director, Executive Producer and Evening News Anchor for KSNB-TV(Local4) in Hastings. Off the clock, you'll likely find Schubert with a golf club in his hand and spending time with his wife, 5-year-old daughter and dog Emmy.

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