Volleyball team bounces back to beat Virginia

The NU volleyball team overcame its early errors, and a stellar defense led the No. 5 Huskers past Virginia in three sets Thursday 25-20, 25-11, 25-16.
NU came out of the gates a little flat as six of UVA's first eight points came on Husker errors.

"I thought we started off really shaky and nervous," NU coach John Cook said. "Serving is always the tell-tale sign and our serving was awful that first game. But once we settled down, I thought we did some good things."

Nebraska turned the game around from there, as diving digs brought 4,115 red-clad fans to their feet.

Five different Husker players finished with at least five digs, led by libero Kayla Banwarth with 14.

A kill by outside hitter Tara Mueller put Nebraska up 14-13 in first set and the Huskers never trailed the rest of the match.

"Something that our coaches talk to us about everyday is putting pressure on teams and keeping it on them," Mueller said. "That's not missing serves, that's not shanking balls, doing the little things. Sometimes it's difficult, but when you can do that, it's really good."
Mueller was able to keep the pressure on Virginia throughout the entire match and led the Huskers with 14 kills in 24 attacks, without committing an error.

It was a record night for the All-American as it marked the first time Mueller has logged at least 10 kills in a match while not committing an error. Her .583 match hitting percentage was the third highest in her career.

The next two sets were dominated by Nebraska at the net both offensively and defensively.

The defensive performance at the net helped the Huskers hold the Cavaliers to only 22 kills and a .031 hitting percentage.

Virginia coach Lee Maes, a former NU assistant, said the Huskers' blocking game made it difficult to attack.

The Huskers finished the match with 10 total team blocks. Jordan Wilberger led the team with six block assists.

"(The players) are doing a nice job at following the game plan," Cook said. "Jordan Wilberger did a nice job blocking tonight. She figured out what she needed to do."
During Tuesday's press conference, Cook said the block defense on the left side of Nebraska's front line might be a problem. Freshman outside hitter Hannah Werth stepped up in a big way, logging one solo block and being able to disrupt her opponents.

"Hannah Werth had a couple big stuffs," Cook said. "When you block out there like Hannah does, it really starts messing with hitters and setters."

Even with the slow start, the Huskers were able to improve in every part of their game throughout the match. After seven service errors with only one ace in the first two sets, the team bounced back in the third by recording three aces and only one error.

"We held a team that was hitting .260 on the year to .031," Cook said. "The stats don't lie. I like that defensively; it makes us really tough."

dougburger@dailynebraskan.com