No. 25 Penn State women’s volleyball (17-12, 11-8 Big Ten) was swept by No. 1 Nebraska (29-0, 19-0 Big Ten) 3-0 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday night.

After Nebraska swept Penn State at Rec Hall earlier this season, it followed it up with another sweep to stay undefeated this season. The Cornhuskers once again proved to be too much for the Nittany Lions, dominating and winning all three sets by double-digits. Penn State stayed close throughout most of the first set before Nebraska pulled away to win the first set by 11.

Nebraska carried that momentum into the second set and blew out Penn State in humiliating fashion by 14 points. Once again, the Nittany Lions proved to be no match for the Cornhuskers as they went on to lose the third set by double-digits and get swept for the second consecutive time this season.

How It Happened

Nebraska won the first two points of the first set before a kill by Maggie Mendelson got Penn State on the board. Both teams exchanged service errors before a kill by Harper Murray allowed the Cornhuskers to take a two-point lead.

Murray committed a service error to get the Nittany Lions within one point of tying the set at four. However, the Cornhuskers responded with back-to-back kills to extend their lead to three. Both teams traded the next eight points before a block assist by Andi Jackson, and Murray gave Nebraska an 11-7 lead.

After Emmi Sellman recorded a kill to decrease Penn State’s deficit to three, the Cornhuskers won four of the next five points to increase their lead to six heading into the media timeout. Out of the media timeout, Rebekah Allick and Bergen Reilly recorded a block assist to extend Nebraska’s run to three. The run came to an end on the next point due to Gabrielle Nichols’ kill.

However, the Cornhuskers started to take control of the set as they recorded back-to-back kills to take an 18-10 lead. After Mendelson recorded a kill on the next point, Nebraska continued to pull away as it went on a 3-0 run to take a double-digit lead. This forced Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley to take a timeout as things started to get ugly for her team.

After the timeout, the Nittany Lions started to fight back as Kennedy Martin recorded back-to-back kills to trim their deficit to eight. However, their momentum was short-lived as the Cornhuskers won three of the next four points to give themselves a set point. They capitalized on it with a block assist by Jackson and Reilly to win the first set 25-14 in a dominating fashion.

Just like the first set, Nebraska won the first two points of the second set before Martin’s kill gave Penn State its first point of the set. Both teams exchanged points before a 3-0 run by the Cornhuskers gave them a 6-2 lead, which led to a Nittany Lions timeout.

Out of the timeout, Nebraska extended its run to four on a kill by Jackson before Adriano’s service error stopped the bleeding for Penn State. However, the Cornhuskers continued to dominate as they won back-to-back points to increase their lead to six.

After the Nittany Lions won two of the next three points, Nebraska exerted its dominance on the attack as it went on a 4-0 run to take a 14-5 lead. This run was highlighted with two service aces by Reilly, a solo block by Allick, and a kill by Taylor Landfair. Penn State took another timeout right after as things started to get ugly for it.

The match started to become a blowout after the timeout as the Cornhuskers won four consecutive points to extend their run to eight. This gave them a dominating 18-5 lead. The run came to an end on the next point due to an attack error by Landfair. However, Nebraska continued to make things worse for Penn State as it went on a 4-0 run to take a 16-point lead.

On the next point, Martin recorded a kill to end the run. After Adriano’s kill got the Cornhuskers within two points of winning the second set, the Nittany Lions went on a 3-0 run to make it 10 points in their favor. Adriano’s kill gave Nebraska a set point. Even though she recorded a service error on the next point, Teraya Sigler put the set away for the Cornhuskers with a kill of her own to win another set dominantly, 25-11.

The third set got underway with Allick’s kill to put Nebraska on the board first. Mendelson and Martin recorded back-to-back kills right after as Penn State took its first lead of the match. This lead was short-lived as the Cornhuskers went on a 4-0 run to take a 5-2 lead. The run came to an end right after, on a service error by Adriano.

However, Nebraska continued to make life miserable for Penn State as it won four of the next five points to increase its lead to five. Both teams exchanged the next four points before a solo block by Allick gave the Cornhuskers a 12-6 lead.

Once again, both teams traded blows for the next four points before a service error by Gillian Grimes increased the Cornhuskers’ lead to seven. This forced Penn State to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, the back-and-forth affair wagered on as both teams exchanged the next six points, and Nebraska’s seven-point lead stayed intact.

The Cornhuskers inched closer to the sweep as they went on a 3-0 run to take a double-digit lead. Penn State responded with back-to-back points before Nebraska returned the favor. After Sigler committed a service error, Murray’s kill gave the Cornhuskers a match point. They converted on it with another kill by Murray as Nebraska completed the sweep with another double-digit set win, 25-14.

Takeaways

• Deja vu. Just like their first meeting, Nebraska dominated Penn State in all aspects of the match to complete the sweep. It won all three sets by double digits once again to stay undefeated heading into its regular-season finale. The Cornhuskers look like they will be the team to beat heading into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big Ten.
• The Nittany Lions will be searching for answers after yet another ugly loss to the Cornhuskers. They proved to be no match for the Cornhuskers in both meetings this season, with 12 losses heading into the regular-season finale, and continued their struggles against ranked opponents.
• Harper Murray and Rebekah Allick exerted their dominance in this sweep as the duo combined for 20 of the team’s 39 kills. Additionally, Penn State did not record a single service ace, in contrast to Nebraska’s seven.

What’s Next?

Penn State will stay on the road as it will take on Iowa at 7 p.m. Saturday, November 29, in its regular-season finale. The match will be televised on BTN.