Sheldon: 3 Quick Sideouts from No. 1 Nebraska's Sweep of Purdue

Harper Murray goes T-1000, NU shows serving mettle, Huskers control Big Ten title destiny

Did you forget Harper Murray was good? She went off against Purdue. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska improved to 16-0 with a Sunday sweep at No. 12 Penn State. Here are three quick sideouts on the match and the Huskers.

Harper Murray goes T-1000

With other Big Ten pin hitters - like Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer, Penn State’s Kennedy Martin, and Purdue’s Kenna Wollard - putting up eye-popping stats week after week, it’s been hard for Harper Murray to grab the headlines.

I noted last week that Nebraska’s balance doesn’t put any one Husker in the running for conference player of the week honors.

Well, Murray may just have changed that this weekend. The junior from Ann Arbor, Mich., went full T-1000 Terminator to quiet a rowdy Holloway Gym crowd. Murray put down 16 kills without an error on 25 attacks in the Huskers’ sweep.

Murray hit .640 vs. Purdue with 16 kills without an error on 25 swings. | Amarillo Mullen

A six-rotation outside hitter hitting .640 is, um, pretty incredible. She also added two service aces and two solo blocks.

For the weekend, Murray hit .519 with 28 kills (averaging 4.67 per set) and just one error. That brought her season totals up to a .314 attack percentage on the season, averaging 3.7 kills per set.

None of her kills on Sunday were bigger than the one she put away to end the first set. After Virginia Adriano and Taylor Landfair couldn’t put away a combined four balls during the rally of Nebraska’s second set point, Bergen Reilly set Murray on a “pipe” coming out of the middle of the back row. Murray blasted off the side of a Purdue blocker’s hands and out of bounds to give the Huskers the opener.

It was an All-American swing in one of the only truly pivotal moments of Sunday’s match

Nebraska can win the serve-and-pass battle

For as much as we’ve pointed out serve receive as a potential Nebraska weakness, the Huskers ultimately had the poise to win the serve-and-pass battle with Purdue.

The Boilermakers challenged the Huskers early in Game 1, serving edges of the court and mixing up their depth to serve both deep in the court and shallow, keeping Husker passers guessing.

Murray (27) and setter Bergen Reilly (2) each had service aces on Sunday. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

But it was Nebraska who swung Game 1 with its serving. Middle blocker Andi Jackson, who was outstanding with 12 kills on .450 hitting, nailed an ace to put the Huskers up 22-21. Three rallies later, Reilly tucked a serve just inside the Boilermakers’ back line to give NU two set points up 24-22.

Libero Olivia Mauch also got Nebraska out to a strong start in Game 3 with tough serving, including an ace, and the Huskers never trailed in the finale.

For the match, the Huskers put up five aces while allowing only two. And after a couple of early misses - the Huskers had three serving errors in Game 1 - Nebraska settled down and finished the match with just six miscues from the service line.

Olivia Mauch led Nebraska with 12 digs on Sunday plus added an ace in Game 3. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

In a noisy, small setting like Holloway Gym, where the home fans are basically in your back pocket, you’ll take that every time.

Huskers in the driver’s seat for Big Ten title

There are seven weeks remaining in Big Ten play, but Nebraska’s win on Sunday put the Huskers in the driver’s seat for the conference title.

Part of that is unforeseen circumstances. Both Penn State and Wisconsin are playing without their starting setter, and it’s unknown when the Badgers’ floor general, Charlie Fuerbringer, will be back from injury.

Andi Jackson had 12 kills and an ace in the Huskers' 3-0 win over Purdue. | Amarillo Mullen

Playing without her on Friday, Wisconsin got swept at Penn State, which badly needed a big win. 

The Huskers have won now at Penn State and Purdue in a stretch where NU plays five of six matches away from home. The toughest road trips left appear to be a Halloween match in Madison against a Wisconsin team that still might have Fuerbringer back. Next weekend’s trip to Michigan and Michigan State could yield a surprise, and the Huskers also have to go to UCLA, USC and Indiana. 

But clearing the hurdle in West Lafayette, where Purdue’s offense can sometimes steamroll the opposition, was one of Nebraska’s biggest remaining tests of the regular season.

Nebraska could probably still win the Big Ten with one or two conference losses.

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