Nebraska Clinches a Share of the Big Ten Title with Sweep of Iowa

LINCOLN — The celebrations can wait.

Nebraska clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for the third year in a row with a 25-15, 25-21, 25-18 sweep over Iowa Thursday evening in front of 8,662 fans at John Cook Arena.

However, it was business as usual after the match. There was no acknowledgement of the achievement, other than a few social media posts by the Big Ten, as it was just another victory for the top-ranked Huskers, who kept their perfect record intact against Iowa and are now 41-0 in program history against the Hawkeyes.

B1G sweep for our 350th consecutive sellout! 🧹 pic.twitter.com/86mhO4CKTk
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) November 21, 2025

Junior middle blocker Andi Jackson said they acknowledged the share of the conference title in the locker room, but did little else as they are focused on the challenges that await them in December during the NCAA Tournament.

“We want to celebrate it. It’s a really cool thing,” Jackson said. “Obviously, it’s shared right now, and hopefully we can go out and take it for ourselves and be outright champs. We want to celebrate it for what it is, but then also understand that we’re not done yet, and there’s still a long journey ahead of us.”

Nebraska (27-0, 17-0) can clinch the Big Ten title outright at Indiana on Saturday. NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said earlier this week that they hope to celebrate next Friday at home against Penn State, which they announced will be a black out.

Busboom Kelly became the first volleyball coach in Big Ten history to win a league crown in the first year of being head coach at a school. Former NU coach John Cook won a Big Ten title at Nebraska in his first year in the conference in 2011, but it was his 12th season as head coach with the Huskers.

She called winning the Big Ten a huge accomplishment, and it’s something you have to earn over the course of the 10 weeks of league play. The last time NU won three league championships in a row was when it claimed five consecutive titles from 2004-08.

“This team really wanted the Big Ten,” she said. “We’re fired up to win a share, but this team has much bigger goals, so maybe (they are) not as excited as this group’s been in the past… I’m just proud of this group for continuing what they started.”

After the first set, Nebraska looked like it was going to breeze past the Hawkeyes.

The Huskers received ace serves from Harper Murray, Andi Jackson and Virgiana Adriano in the first set. With Jackson at the service line, the Huskers ran off six points in a row to take an 11-3 lead. The Hawkeyes had trouble slowing NU down as they recorded just six digs while the Huskers hit .464 in the set.

Nebraska middle blocker attacks against Iowa. | Nebraska Athletics

However, the final two sets were a tighter affair. Iowa tied the Huskers seven times. Although they never took the lead, the Hawkeyes stressed NU and tied the set at 19-all after an ace serve. Murray, who finished with a team-high 11 kills, answered the call as she recorded kills on three of the next four rallies. Setter Bergen Reilly then put up a block to give the Huskers enough cushion to close it out.

Jackson said that when the match got close, they didn’t panic as they reverted to what they do in practice.

“When we get into those tight moments, there is just no fear on the court,” Jackson said. “I know that Bergen has a lot of confidence in her hitters. Whoever she sets us is going to put the ball away. Same for the passers. We know that whoever they serve is going to dime the pass and put it nice and high for Bergen.”

The third set included more hijinks as Nebraska took a 5-4 lead after winning a long rally that included a couple of pancake digs. Iowa challenged, and the call was reversed, giving Iowa the temporary lead. However, Busboom Kelly then requested a replay review to show that the Hawkeyes were in the net before the ball hit the court. NU won that and maintained its one-point advantage.

Iowa (14-15, 5-12) eventually took a lead at 9-8 after three straight points. However, Nebraska responded by winning six of seven rallies to go up 17-13. Just like the second set, NU finished with a 5-1 run to finish off the Hawkeyes.

For the match, NU finished with a .384 hitting percentage as Reilly dished out 34 assists and added seven digs and four blocks.

Jackson recorded 10 kills with a .571 hitting percentage, while Adriano tallied nine kills at a .500 clip and added three aces. Taylor Landfair put up seven kills on 16 errorless swings.

Busboom Kelly said she appreciated the challenge from the Hawkeyes, who finished with a .073 hitting percentage, their third lowest this season. Alyssa Worded led Iowa with eight kills, but she also recorded nine hitting errors.

“If another team is playing great and challenging us in areas that we need to improve, that’s going to be helpful,” she said. “I don’t necessarily think it’s always a score thing. It’s just when other teams are doing things that make us uncomfortable, it’s good for us to work through that.”

Nebraska celebrated another milestone on Thursday evening with its 350th home sellout in a row. The streak dates back to 2001 at the NU Coliseum.

Adriano said the sellout streak is not just impressive for college volleyball, but the Turin, Italy native said it’s unprecedented in international volleyball.

“I know there’s no place like Nebraska. Everybody keeps saying that, and it’s very true,” she said. “It’s an insane number. The support that we have here, and we have had all the past years, is one of the reasons why we keep going and are good.”

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