Daily Nebraskan
Sometimes it's not how you start, but how you finish.
Such was the case for Nebraska Saturday night, as the No. 10 Huskers swept No. 8 Iowa State 25-16, 25-22, 25-23.
"All the stars were aligning tonight for us to make a step toward becoming a great team," NU coach John Cook said. "This was an opportunity to do that. When you go through a match like this and you're successful, it builds a ton of confidence."
After a season-opening three-set loss to Michigan, Nebraska had been working to find a big win this season.
The Cyclones (20-4, 12-3) were coming off a shocking five-set victory against No. 2 Texas, and an Iowa State record 10,203-person crowd greeted the Huskers in the Hilton Coliseum in Ames.
It was a perfect setting for the Huskers to pick up that season-turning victory.
"As a team, we're getting so much better," NU setter Sydney Anderson said. "We are taking two steps forward and maybe a step back, but it's getting us in the right place. I think a match like this is definitely showing people and showing us what we're capable of."
NU (18-6, 11-4 Big 12) hit .327, a significant improvement from its .160 hitting percentage in the first match-up with ISU. Cook credited Anderson for spreading the ball around well on a night in which not one Husker had more than 10 kills.
"Sydney did a great job with the game plan," Cook said. "We were constantly changing it. I thought she did a masterful job of running the offense and got our hitters one-on-one a lot."
Kori Cooper, Lindsey Licht and Hannah Werth each notched nine kills on the night, and Brooke Delano and Tara Mueller added eight more each. Werth had 15 digs and helped hold the Cyclones to a .178 hitting percentage.
The Huskers won the first two sets, but ISU was able to jump out to an early 4-0 lead in the third. Mueller was ineffective in the first two sets, with only two kills and two errors, but she was able to put the first two sets behind her and come up big in the third.
"She has stepped up in her role, and tonight was the first night I saw her enjoy playing volleyball," Anderson said. "I think that's what she's been missing."
The outside hitter had six of her eight kills in the deciding set, including the final kill and another one to end a 3-0 ISU run. Cook said Saturday night was the first time he's seen Mueller in the same form she was during the team's national semifinal run last season.
"That was vintage," Cook said of Mueller's third-set play. "That was really the first time in a while I've seen her just strive and just take ‘big girl rips.' We've been trying to get her to do that all year."
The Huskers are now only one game behind ISU for second place in the Big 12 Conference standings with five conference matches left.
The season may not have started out how the Huskers wanted, but the win at Iowa State is a considerable step as the season comes to a close for Nebraska.
"They are excited," Cook said of his players. "We've had a lot of matches that we haven't felt great after. We feel great after this one."
DOUGBURGER@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
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