No. 16 Penn State women’s volleyball (7-6, 1-2 Big Ten) was swept by No. 1 Nebraska (13-0, 3-0 Big Ten) 3-0 at Rec Hall on Friday night.

In a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament semifinals, the Cornhuskers proved too much for the Nittany Lions, dominating all three sets despite the raucous Rec Hall environment. After Penn State won the first two points of the match, Nebraska closed out the first set in complete dominance by going on a 25-4 run.

Things kept getting worse for the Nittany Lions as the Cornhuskers won the second set by double digits once again. Penn State had no answers for Nebraska, as it was dominated in all aspects of the match and went on to get swept, losing the third set by 12.

How It Happened

Penn State won the first two points of the first set on a kill by Kennedy Martin and a solo block by Jordan Hopp. However, Nebraska responded with a 5-0 run to take a three-point lead. This run ended right after with a kill by Emmi Sellman.

The Cornhuskers refused to be deterred by the hostile Rec Hall environment and recorded three consecutive kills to extend their lead to five. This forced Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to use her first timeout of the match as things started to get ugly for her team. Out of the timeout, Nebraska increased its run to six before Martin’s kill stopped the bleeding for Penn State.

Once again, the Cornhuskers continued to make things ugly for the Nittany Lions as they went on a 4-0 run to extend their lead to 11. The run came to an end on the next point due to another kill by Martin. However, Penn State could trim its deficit as Nebraska recorded back-to-back kills to take a 17-5 lead, leading to another timeout by the Nittany Lions.

The Cornhuskers continued to exert their dominance as they went on a 3-0 run to extend their lead to 15. After Nebraska’s run came to an end due to an Andi Jackson service error, things just kept getting worse for Penn State as the Cornhuskers won four consecutive points to give themselves set point at 24-6. They converted on their first opportunity as Rebekah Allick’s kill allowed Nebraska to win the first set 25-6 in a dominating fashion.

The Cornhuskers carried their momentum from the first set as they won the first three points of the second set. On the next point, Maggie Mendelson recorded a kill to put the Nittany Lions on the board. Both teams traded the next four points before back-to-back points increased Nebraska’s lead to four.

This back-and-forth exchange was waged for the next four points as the Cornhuskers’ four-point lead stayed intact. However, once again, Nebraska showed its aggressiveness on the attack as it went on a 4-0 run to take a 13-5 lead. This run was highlighted with three kills and a block assist by Harper Murray and Allick, forcing a Penn State timeout.

After the timeout, the Nittany Lions started to show signs of life as they won three of the next four points to eclipse their six-point total from the first set and trim their deficit to six. Both teams exchanged points, but once again, the Cornhuskers put their foot on the gas and went on a 4-0 run to take a double-digit lead.

Both teams traded blows for the next four points before back-to-back points by Penn State decreased its deficit to eight. However, Nebraska refused to give Penn State any sort of momentum as it went on a 3-0 to take a 24-14 lead and give it set point. The Nittany Lions saved the first two set points before a kill by Taylor Landfair allowed the Cornhuskers to close out the second set 25-15.

Nebraska got on the board first with a service ace by Teraya Sigler before a kill by Martin tied the set at one. Once again, the Cornhuskers continued to exert their dominance as they won four of the next five points to take a three-point lead.

Both teams traded blows for the next four points before an attack error by Hopp gave Nebraska an 8-4 lead. After Jackson committed a service error on the next point, things started to slip away for Penn State as the Cornhuskers went on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to eight. This led Penn State to take a timeout.

After the timeout, Nebraska extended its run to eight to increase its lead to 11 before a service error by Bergen Reilly ended it. Both teams exchanged the next six points before three consecutive attack errors by Penn State gave the Cornhuskers a 22-9 lead.

The Nittany Lions started to show signs of life as they won four of the next five points. On the next point, Sigler recorded a kill that gave the Cornhuskers a match point. They converted on it due to an attack error, as Karis Willow’s attack error allowed Nebraska to close out the third set 25-13 and complete the sweep.

Takeaways

• This was an ugly loss for Penn State. Nebraska dominated it in all aspects of the match by winning the first set by 19 points. This momentum carried into the next two sets as it won all three sets by 10 points or more, proving why the Cornhuskers are the team to beat this year.
• While the Cornhuskers dominate all the statistics in this game, the key stat that defined the outcome of this match was hitting percentage. They had a hitting percentage of .437, while the Nittany Lions severely struggled being efficient, as they had a hitting percentage of -0.114.
• It was an all-around performance for the Cornhuskers tonight as five players had five or more kills. Leading the way for them was Rebekah Allick, who had nine kills. The other players who had five or more kills were Taylor Landfair, Harper Murray, Andi Jackson, and Virginia Adriano.

What’s Next?

Penn State will hit the road for the first time since early September to take on Maryland at 4 p.m. Sunday, October 5, in College Park. The match will be televised on BTN.