Kenny Larabee, KLIN
Nebraska Sweeps Georgia Tech in Sweet 16
Huskers stay perfect at home to earn Elite Eight berth
A sweet victory for Nebraska volleyball.
No. 1 NU swept Georgia Tech 25-11, 16, 21 Thursday afternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers are now 31-1 on the season.
Nebraska hit a massive .326 for the match. The defense was also steady, using 11 blocks to help hold the Yellow Jackets to .019 hitting.
Merritt Beason led the attack with 11 kills on .435 hitting. Ally Batenhorst was right there with 10 kills.
Nebraska will play in the Elite Eight at 5 p.m. CST Saturday against Arkansas. The Razorbacks upset Kentucky Thursday.
Nebraska Post-Match Notes
- With the win, Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Regional Final for the 32nd time in program history and for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons. The Huskers’ 32 regional final appearances are the most in NCAA history.
- Nebraska improved to 128-36 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.780).
- Nebraska improved to 32-7 all-time in Regional Semifinal matches, including a 15-1 record in matches played in Lincoln.
- The win was Nebraska’s 21st consecutive home victory in the NCAA Tournament dating back to 2013. NU improved to 82-7 all-time in home NCAA Tournament matches, including 27-2 at the Devaney Center.
- The Huskers have swept their opponent 17 times in their 21-match home winning streak in the NCAA Tournament, posting a 66-7 set record during the winning streak.
- Nebraska moved to 20-0 at home this season with the win.
- The attendance for today’s match was 8,580. On the season, NU has drawn 255,953 fans for its 20 home matches (including the Memorial Stadium match). Nebraska has become the first female sport in NCAA history to draw 250,000 home fans in a single season.
- Nebraska faced Georgia Tech for the first time in the NCAA Tournament. The Yellow Jackets are the 78th different opponent the Huskers have defeated in the NCAA Tournament. Georgia Tech became the 65th team John Cook has defeated during his Nebraska NCAA Tournament career.
- The Huskers moved to 10-0 all-time against ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament.
- John Cook coached the 119th NCAA Tournament match of his career today. He has coached the second-most postseason matches in NCAA history, as he entered today tied with John Dunning (Pacific/Stanford) with 118 NCAA Tournament matches coached. Russ Rose (Penn State) owns the NCAA record with 106 matches coached in the NCAA Tournament.
- Cook improved to 87-19 in the NCAA Tournament as Nebraska’s head coach. He improved to 95-24 in his NCAA Tournament career. Cook ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament victories and NCAA Tournament wins at one school.
- The Huskers won the first two sets against Georgia Tech and are 99-1 in the NCAA Tournament when taking a 2-0 lead. Nebraska has won 98 consecutive postseason matches when winning the first two sets.
- Nebraska did not trail at any point in the first two sets. Through three NCAA Tournament matches this season, the Huskers have never trailed in either set one or set two.
- The Huskers hit .326 in the match becoming just the third opponent to hit .300 against Georgia Tech.
- Nebraska hit .300 or better against a ranked opponent for the sixth time this season but for the first time since hitting .311 in a five-set win at Purdue on Sept. 29.
- The Huskers held the Yellow Jackets to a season-low .019 attack percentage, which also marked NU's second-lowest opponent hitting percentage of the season.
- Nebraska held an opponent under .100 hitting for the second straight match and for the 14th time this season. Georgia Tech was the second ranked opponent Nebraska has held under a .100 attack percentage this season (also No. 21 Ohio State on Sept. 22, 2003 [.090]).
- Nebraska won the opening set 25-11. That marked the first time the Huskers had held an opponent to 11 or fewer points in a set in an NCAA Regional since defeating Colorado, 25-11, in the second set of a 2017 regional semifinal.
- Merritt Beason had 11 kills and hit .435 in the match. Through three NCAA Tournament matches this season, Beason has totaled 36 on .449 hitting. Beason has had exactly 23 attacks in all three postseason matches, totaling double-digit kills with at least a .435 attack percentage in every match.