NU volleyball sweeps Creighton 3-0

John Schreier

daily nebraskan

The Cornhusker volleyball team hadn't played a regular-season match at in-state rival Creighton since 1980, and by the middle of the first set, it looked as if NU might want to wait another 30 years before doing it again.

While the Huskers stretched their all-time record against the Bluejays to 13-0, NU started its 26-24, 25-17, 25-15 sweep rather slowly. But after parrying three set points in the first set, Nebraska won the set and took charge of the match with a late run in the second set.

Unlike their matches at Qwest Center Omaha this weekend, which featured a Nebraska friendly crowd, the Huskers found themselves in a hostile environment Tuesday night at the new D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha. And it appeared as if NU needed some time adapting to the presence of  2,514 fans dressed predominantly in blue.

"We told them we were going to into a hornet's nest tonight," said NU coach John Cook, "and that place was buzzing and rocking."

Creighton opened the match with an ace and ran off six of the first eight points, en route to a 23-18 lead late in the set, causing Cook to call a timeout as his team teetered on the brink of dropping the first set.

But the Huskers came out swinging after the timeout, winning the next three points before CU earned three set points with a 24-21.

At that point, Creighton's new arena seemed on the verge of an explosion if the Bluejays won the first set.

Senior Brooke Delano, however, refused to back down.

"A phrase that I've been saying … any time I catch myself in that position, I tell myself, ‘This is why I play,'" she said. "I say, ‘This is why I play' and go for it."

Delano notched two kills in three points as NU scrapped back to tie it at 24-24. The Huskers captured the set 26-24 as they forced CU into two attacking errors to end the game.

"I think fighting back in that first set was really, really important coming off of Florida," said junior Jordan Wilberger. "I think we're growing as a team, and the confidence level's getting there, and we're going to build on this."

The second game, like the one before it, was a battle until the very end.

Neither team could forge a lead larger than three points as the game drew to a 17-17 tie. The Huskers capitalized on serving runs by senior Tara Mueller and Delano to again clinch eight of the last nine points to take the second set 25-18 for the visiting Huskers.

In the third set, Nebraska finally found a way to obtain an early lead. Behind the spotless performance of Wilberger – who hit .615 with eight kills and no errors in her first appearance this season – the Huskers cruised to an early 8-2 lead.

The Huskers never looked back as they finally silenced the CU's boisterous crowd and claimed the third set 25-15 in a relatively easy manner.

"I'm really proud of how we hung in there and found a way to win that game because we were playing ugly volleyball," Cook said. "We turned it on, and great teams show (resilient) qualities; that they can struggle and still find a way to win."

johnschreier@

dailynebraskan.com