Sharks Had Bite, but No. 1 Huskers Had the Depth in Tourney-Opening Sweep

Nobody gave Long Island University a chance against the top-ranked Huskers Friday night, but they pushed NU more than expected.

LIU knew the task was tall Friday night, but they rose to the challenge on more than one occasion. | Amarillo Mullen

Considering Nebraska’s dropped just one set since September 17, not a lot of people were giving Long Island University much of a chance Friday night against the top-ranked Huskers.

NU ended up sweeping the Sharks 25-11, 25-15, 25-17, but the champions of the Northeast Conference did something some Big Ten teams failed to do this year – they made the Huskers battle a bit.

By looking at just the set scores alone, you can tell LIU shook off the nervous jitters and settled in by the end of the match. Sure, Nebraska ended up emptying its bench in yet another sweep for the Huskers this season, but the Sharks were doing a whole lot more than just lying down for NU in its NCAA Tournament opener.

The Huskers earned a sweep to open up NCAA Tournament play, but it wasn't exactly smooth sailing for them. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“I thought it was a really fun opening match for the NCAA tournament,” Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly said in her postgame press conference Friday night. “LIU brought it. They had some really hard hitters, and they didn’t back down. I thought it was a really great team to play, and it was just awesome to see us stay consistent through the whole game and again have to work pretty hard to get some kills, especially there at the end.”

Also at the end of the match was Nebraska’s end of its bench. Much like we saw from the Huskers during their dominant regular season, Busboom Kelly wasn’t shy about putting in every single player so they could get an up-close dose of what postseason volleyball was all about.

It led to LIU going on some runs of their own and putting up 17 points in the third and final set, but it also led to some growth of players Busboom Kelly will be relying on for years to come.

After getting the early jitters out of the way, Nebraska's starters slowly gave way to the bench in NU's sweep of LIU | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“You just kind of want them to get some jitters out and their first kill or touches in behind them,” Busboom Kelly said. “That way, they can look forward, and they’ve done it, and they kind of know what it feels like. Even the atmosphere tonight, you can just feel there’s a little extra. I know they’re feeling it on the court.”

What could also be seen on the court was Nebraska’s continued calmness. Even for the No. 1 team in the country, they officially entered “win or go home season,” and that sentiment’s not lost on the players.

“We’ve worked really hard all season, and we know that we’re 0-0 now, and we don’t want to get complacent during the tournament,” Nebraska junior middle blocker Andi Jackson said. “That is our biggest fear, but with this team, that’s not an issue. We come in, we work hard every single day, and I think that it’s really translating into our play.”

NU middle blocker Andi Jackson was head and shoulders above the competition Friday, notching 10 kills on .833 hitting. | Amarillo Mullen

Jackson has been at the forefront of Nebraska’s success all year, and that storyline didn’t change Friday night against LIU. She tied senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick with a team-high 10 kills on the night, but Jackson was able to do it with a blistering .833 hitting percentage. Allick wasn’t far behind her with a .750 hitting percentage.

Ultimately, the Sharks didn’t have an answer for the Nebraska middles, and Allick said Friday night is just the start of what she hopes fans will see for the next few weeks.

“I’d say it gives me a lot of confidence,” Allick said about her stellar night. “We’re treating everyone as a threat, so regardless of who it was, their ranking, their skill – they earned their right to be here. I think if we treat everyone with the same respect as if they’re the number one team on the other side of the bracket, then you know that consistency gives me confidence. It was just high-level volleyball and well executed.”

“I think just the flow that we have on the court right now, there’s so much confidence within our team, and I think we’ve earned the right to have that confidence, especially coming off winning the Big Ten,” Jackson echoed.

KSU outside hitter and Lincoln-native Shaylee Myers is an All-Big 12 First Team pick in her senior season. | Kansas State Athletics

Next up will be yet another team that will look to cause Nebraska fits, and it’s because it’s a team with a few Nebraska ties. Kansas State needed five sets to oust San Diego. The Wildcats crawled out of both a 1-0 hole as well as a 2-1 hole to win the fifth set 15-12 and advance to a Saturday showdown with their old friends to the north.

Manhattan, Kansas – the home to the Wildcats – is just a few hours away, as many will remember from NU’s Big 12 Conference days, and KSU will be featuring some homegrown Nebraska talent against the Huskers.

KSU senior setter Ava LeGrand is a Papillion-La Vista South grad, and she joins senior outside hitter Shaylee Myers (Lincoln Southwest) and senior middle blocker Brenna Schmidt (Elmwood-Murdock) as former Nebraska high school stars who get to now take on the “hometown team” with everything on the line Saturday.

The Huskers know Kansas State will be coming with plenty of "juice" for their Saturday showdown, and they're ready for the challenge. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“I’m sure they’re going to be out to get us and pretty fired up,” Busboom Kelly said. “Their outsides are great players, so just a really solid team that’s had a great season. It’s not necessarily a rivalry, but it almost feels like it because of the Nebraska connections. I’m sure a lot of things are going to be thrown out the window, and anything can happen.”

Given that the Nebraska names on the KSU roster know a loss means the end of their college career, Busboom Kelly and NU should expect the proverbial “kitchen sink” Saturday night in Lincoln.

For the now 31-0 Huskers, it’s the next step in what they’re all hoping will be a dream season. Ironically enough, to achieve their ultimate goal, they’ll essentially need to knock off the entire state of Kansas. First is a date with the Wildcats Saturday night, and if they get past that challenge, the Kansas Jayhawk volleyball team awaits in the third round.

The Huskers have now won a school record 27 straight NCAA Tournament matches at home. | Amarillo Mullen

First things first is KSU for the Huskers, and unsurprisingly, the team is continuing to make sure they’re not missing out on a moment of the fun.

“There are a lot of people who are at home watching right now, so making it to the tournament and being in this position, it’s really, really cool,” Jackson said. “We really just try to be where our feet are – especially this year. We wanted to be mindful of where we are and not take anything for granted. I would say the confidence level is the same, but I think moving forward, we might see things change.”

---

---

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