Huskers sweep KSU, surviving early barrage

A stingy defense and a career night from Tara Mueller was enough to propel the No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team over No. 15 Kansas State at the NU Coliseum on Saturday night.

Mueller collected a career high 20 kills and hit an astonishing .613 on the night to lead the Huskers to a sweep of the Wildcats 25-23, 25-22, 25-17.

The sophomore outside-hitter, who didn't play against Kansas State back in September, came out with a vengeance, tallying nine kills in the first set, and then eight more in the second set before finally being slowed down in the third with just three.

"I think Tara was playing higher than the block tonight," said Nebraska Coach John Cook. "She's doing a great job of hitting and moving the ball around. Both Jordan (Larson) and Tara put on a clinic tonight and did a super job."

The Huskers were able to win a thrilling first set 25-23 despite the Wildcats clicking on all cylinders offensively. Kansas State hit .548 in the set and didn't have a single attack error, but the Husker defense was able to overcome KSU's offensive barrage.

With NU leading by one late in the firs set, Larson was able to pound home a kill to give Nebraska a 23-21 advantage.

The Wildcats came up with a kill of their own to cut the lead to one before NU junior Kory Cooper found the hardwood with a kill to make it 24-22.

With a chance to win the set, Larson's serve went directly into the net to cut the lead to one again, but then the star of the match, Mueller, sealed the win with her ninth kill of the night.

Mueller said her success can be linked to working on her technique in practice, but also her teammates ability to get her set up.

"This whole past week in practice I've been working on different shots," Mueller said. "You know, maybe not swinging as hard, but moving the ball around a little more. I think everyone is passing the ball great, getting the ball to Sydney (Anderson) so she can get good sets out there so I was able to move the ball."

After reviewing the stats that Kansas State posted in the first set, even Cook wasn't sure how his team pulled it out.

"We found a way to win that and I don't know how," Cook said. "We somehow found a way to get two big points when it mattered. Our defense took over."

Nebraska won the digging battle 46-34, which Cook said was crucial when considering Kansas State's strategy.

"Their game plan was to set the ball off the net and hit shots - so they weren't going to let our block be a factor," Cook said. "It was a nice game plan, but if they're going to hit over and around our blocks, then (we've got to) dig it. We had 12 more digs then them. We'll block it or we'll dig it, we don't care."

The second set was another tight battle throughout. Nebraska's biggest lead came when it was 12-7, but the Wildcats were able to claw their way back into it and eventually tie it at 16-16.

After that, neither team led by more than one point until the Huskers took a 23-21 lead. Nebraska scored two of the last three points to win 25-22.

Lindsey Licht was able to register 11 kills and Larson added 10 more to go with Mueller's 20. Larson and Kayla Banwarth each collected 14 digs for NU while Sydney Anderson dished out 42 assists.

Despite beating Kansas State earlier in the season without two starters, Cook said he was just as nervous going into this showdown with KSU, and their first-set performance proved Cook's cause for worry.

"(Kansas State) was dialed in," Cook said. "I can't remember the last time somebody came in and (put up numbers) like that on us in the Coliseum."