Nebraska Jumps on Minnesota Early En Route to a Sweep

MINNEAPOLIS — Four points into the match, Nebraska had Minnesota on the ropes.

The Huskers recorded four kills on the first four rallies of the match and put the Gophers on their heels, prompting U of M coach Keegan Cook to call a timeout.

Nebraska rolled to its 15th straight sweep as its set streak is now at 46 after a 25-15, 25-21, 25-20 Saturday afternoon in front of 5,312 fans at the Maturi Pavilion.

Cook said he wanted to coach the match, believing that they could win and quickly correct the early mistakes.

“We’re not trying to just score some victory points here,” Cook said. “We blew a couple of assignments right off the bat defensively. I thought if we were really playing to win this match, I would call this timeout right now. Unfortunately, I had to use a couple of quick timeouts in a couple of sets because of the way they started those sets.”

Virginia Adriano slaps hands with Taylor Landfair after a Nebraska point against Minnesota. The freshman opposite recoded eight kills and two blocks against the Gophers. | Nebraska Athletics

NU (24-0, 14-0) came out firing as Virginia Adiriano pounded a kill on the first point of the match, and the middle blocker Andi Jackson put down back-to-back quick attacks. Adriano added another kill, forcing the Gophers to regroup.

Minnesota (17-8, 7-7) settled down a little and got within 7-5 before the Huskers ran off four more consecutive points, prompting another timeout. NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said she liked the way they started the match, but during those early breaks, she reminded her team not to get complacent and keep

“We were super sharp,” Busboom Kelly said. “We know we’re not going to play this sharp the entire match, so just expect them to punch back a little bit.”

The Huskers put on an offensive clinic during the opening set as they hit .588 with 21 kills and just one hitting error. Taylor Landfair led the way with six kills, and NU got five kills from Adriano and Jackson, who only took five swings.

HAMMERRRRR 🔨

nasty swing from @aandijackson! pic.twitter.com/YXMI7Xz1Kc
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) November 8, 2025

Minnesota’s offense tried to keep it close as the Gophers hit .333 in the first set with 13 kills, but they couldn’t keep up with the Huskers.

“When they’re passing well, they’re as deadly as anybody offensively,” Busboom Kelly said. “You’ve got to hope you can get them out of system a little bit. I think that is a deceiving hitting percentage. Normally, when you hit that high, you’d be winning.”

NU appeared to be cruising in the second set with a 17-7 lead three rallies after Minnesota called its second set timeout. However, the Gophers cranked up the pressure from the service line and won seven of the next eight rallies, including aces by Julia Hanson and Carly Gilk.

Bubsoom Kelly said she expected Minnesota to serve tough as they entered the match with 65 more aces than the Huskers this season and put up impressive performances against other ranked teams.

“We knew that we were going to get tested. It’s just, can we limit those runs? Can we limit them to three points, no more than that?” she said. “We just knew they were going to get some aces. I just thought it was going to be a really hard team to pass against.”

However, Nebraska settled down as Jackson recorded three kills down the stretch, including one on set point.

For the match, the junior middle blocker finished with 15 kills while hitting .619. She was joined in double figures by Landfair’s 11 kills and 10 from Rebekah Allick.

The team performance was the fourth time the Huskers have had a trio of players reach double digits. It happened twice in NU’s five-set matches (Creighton and Kentucky) and also during a sweep against Stanford (Allie Sczech 12K, Allick 11K, Harper Murray 10K).

Busboom Kelly said getting Landfair on track raises the potential of the Huskers’ offense.

“It’s huge, because then it opens up the middles,” she said. “It feels like she’s the last person right now that teams focus on, and when she’s playing that well, it just feels like we can do anything offensively.”

HUSKERS SWEEP THE GOPHERS. 😤

14-0 in the B1G! #GBR pic.twitter.com/ZbU9T2qwfJ
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) November 8, 2025

In the third set, Nebraska raced out to a 13-5 lead as Minnesota again used both its timeouts early. With libero McKenna Garr at the service line, the Gophers ran off five points on a NU service error, an ace, two blocks and a kill on an overpass.

Nebraska answered with a 4-0 run to push the lead back to seven points at 20-13. The Huskers are now 68-0 during sets this season when they reach 20 points first.

Hanson led the Gophers with 13 kills, and Gilk added 10 kills with a .533 hitting percentage. Minnesota hit .268 for the match, which is only eight points below its season average, but the Huskers posted a .434 hitting percentage, their third straight match above .400.

Bergen Reilly dished out 45 assists and added an ace, three kills and a block. Laney Choboy led the defense with 15 digs, while Murray added 12 digs to go with her seven kills and three aces.

Cook said he was impressed with seeing Nebraska in person, and what stood out to him the most was the clarity of their roles.

“The opposite looks like an opposite, and then the M2 looks like an M2, and the M1 is one of the best slide hitters in the game,” he said. “It’s a team where everyone is playing their part, and no one has to do too much at any given time. That’s when it starts to get fun, and starts to get great.”

More From Nebraska On SI

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.