Huskers Face First B1G Road Test at Illinois
MATCH PREVIEW
• The second-ranked Nebraska volleyball team plays its first conference road match of the season when it travels to Champaign, Ill., for a 6 p.m. match on Thursday against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Huff Hall.
• Thursday’s match will be televised nationally on FS1 and streamed on the Fox Sports App.
• Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations, on Huskers.com and on the Huskers App.
ABOUT THE HUSKERS
• Nebraska has won nine matches in a row since a loss at SMU on Sept. 3. Seven of the nine wins have been sweeps.
• The Huskers rank 10th nationally and second in the Big Ten with a team hitting percentage of .291.
• NU ranks 15th nationally in kills per set (14.00).
• Outside hitter Harper Murray is leading the Huskers with 3.19 kills per set.
• Opposite hitter Merritt Beason is averaging 2.84 kills per set for the Big Red. Over her last seven matches, Beason is averaging 3.17 kills per set with a .298 hitting percentage.
• Outside hitter Lindsay Krause adds 2.33 kills per set and has served a team-high 15 aces.
• Middle blocker Andi Jackson is averaging 2.66 kills with a team-best .475 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth nationally.
• Middle blocker Rebekah Allick adds 1.76 kills per set on .368 hitting with 1.41 blocks per set.
• Setter Bergen Reilly is averaging 10.98 assists per set, which ranks eighth nationally. She also adds 3.05 digs per set and has 11 aces.
• Three-time All-American Lexi Rodriguez guides the Husker back row with 3.73 digs per set. Rodriguez was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
SCOUTING REPORT: ILLINOIS
• Illinois (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten) opened conference play last week with a 3-0 loss at No. 11 Oregon and 3-0 loss at Washington.
• The Fighting Illini have only played one home match this season, a 3-1 win over Illinois State on Sept. 3.
• Illinois is hitting .230 on the season and holding opponents to .193.
• Raina Terry averages 4.11 kills per set and has 32 service aces on the season, seventh-most in the nation.
• Former Nebraska assistant coach Chris Tamas is in his eighth year as head coach at Illinois and is 139-85 overall. Tamas was an assistant at Nebraska from 2015-16 and was on the staff of the Huskers’ 2015 NCAA Championship team.
SERIES HISTORY
• Nebraska is 34-8-1 all-time against Illinois and has won nine in a row in the series, including 3-1 last year on Nov. 12 in Lincoln.
• Illinois is one of Nebraska’s three Big Ten double-play opponents this season. The teams will meet again on Oct. 25 in Lincoln.
• Cook is 11-1 all-time against Tamas, his former assistant. Cook is 25-2 all-time coaching against his former assistant coaches.
LAST TIME OUT
• Nebraska opened Big Ten action last weekend with a pair of home wins over new conference members UCLA (3-1) and USC (3-0). The Huskers held the Bruins to a season-low .153 hitting percentage and the Trojans to a season-low .137 hitting percentage. The Huskers had 13 blocks against the Bruins, their second-most of the season.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
• Nebraska led the nation in opponent hitting percentage in both 2022 (.128) and 2023 (.137).
• This year, the Huskers are holding all opponents to a .160 hitting percentage, which ranks 31st nationally.
• In conference play, the Huskers are holding Big Ten opponents to .147 hitting, which is second behind Washington (.093).
• Nebraska has turned up its defense of late, holding its last five opponents to a combined .126 hitting percentage.
SERVE AND PASS
• Nebraska has allowed just 26 service aces this season, which ranks second in the nation behind Pittsburgh (24). Over the last six matches, the Huskers have yielded just five aces and have not allowed more than two in a single match in that stretch.
BALANCED ATTACK
• Nebraska has seven different players averaging between 1.76 and 3.19 kills per set, led by Harper Murray’s 3.19 kills per set.
• Six different players have led the Huskers in kills in a match in the first 13 matches of the season.
• Setter Bergen Reilly ranks eighth nationally averaging 10.98 assists per set.
HOME SWEET HOME
• Nebraska has won 33 home matches in a row dating back to Dec. 1, 2022.
• The Huskers’ home win streak is its longest since moving into the Devaney Center in 2013.
• Nebraska’s longest all-time home winning streak was 88 matches from 2004-09. Since then, NU also has a home win streak of 38 matches in a row from 2009-11.
RODRIGUEZ AMONG ALL-TIME GREAT NU LIBEROS
• Lexi Rodriguez is in her final year of a stellar career as the Huskers’ libero. A four-year starter and a three-year team captain, Rodriguez will go down in history as one of the all-time greats in Nebraska volleyball history.
• Rodriguez has 1,588 career digs, which ranks third in school history. In the home wins over UCLA and USC, she passed Jennifer Saleaumua and Nicklin Hames to move to No. 3 on NU’s all-time digs list. U.S. Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes is the career leader in digs at NU with 1,890. Kayla Banwarth is second with 1,706 career digs.
• On Sept. 30, Rodriguez was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the sixth time in her career. She averaged 4.71 digs per set in the first weekend of conference play, helping the Huskers hold UCLA and USC to season-low hitting percentages at the time.
• Rodriguez is a three-time AVCA All-American, earning first-team honors in 2021 and 2023, and second-team honors in 2022. She will look to join Kadie Rolfzen (2013-16) and Sarah Pavan (2004-07) as the only four-time All-Americans in program history.
• Rodriguez made her mark instantly as a freshman in 2021, earning AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Over the last two seasons, Rodriguez has guided the Huskers to the No. 1 defense in the country, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year again in 2023 to become the fifth player in Big Ten history to receive the honor twice in a career.
BEASON BACK TO LEAD HUSKER ATTACK AGAIN
• Opposite hitter Merritt Beason put together a sensational season in 2023 - her first as a Husker after transferring from Florida - earning AVCA first-team All-America honors and AVCA North Region Player of the Year, becoming just the second Husker (Kelly Hunter) to earn that honor.
• Beason averaged a team-leading 3.76 kills per set on .282 hitting with 2.05 digs per set. She was named Big Ten Player of the Week four times and was the AVCA National Player of the Week on Oct. 23 after averaging 4.25 kills per set and 1.75 digs per set in wins against Northwestern and top-ranked Wisconsin.
• Beason was the MVP of the NCAA Lincoln Regional after 19 kills, 11 digs and a career-high eight blocks in a regional final win over Arkansas.
VERSATILE MURRAY HIGHLIGHTS SOPHOMORE CLASS
• Sophomore outside hitter Harper Murray is the team leader in kills with 3.19 per set and adds 2.14 digs per set and 12 aces.
• Along with Bergen Reilly, Andi Jackson and Laney Choboy, Murray made an instant impact at Nebraska in 2023, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year, All-Big Ten First Team and AVCA All-America Third Team honors.
• Murray finished her freshman campaign with 3.23 kills per set, the highest kills per set average by a Husker freshman since Kadie Rolfzen (3.46) in 2013. One of the Big Ten’s best six-rotation players, Murray also added 2.07 digs per set with a team-high 36 aces. She was a three-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
KRAUSE PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
• Senior outside hitter Lindsay Krause has been NU’s best threat at the service line this season with a team-high 15 aces. Krause is also averaging 2.33 kills per set.
• Krause was having the best year of her Husker career in 2023 before it ended in mid-October with an ankle injury. At the time of her injury, Krause was averaging 2.50 kills per set and was hitting .285 for the season.
• Not only that, Krause was putting up 2.82 kills per set on .366 hitting through six Big Ten matches, which led all Big Ten outside hitters in conference action at the time.
• Krause was named Big Ten Player of the Week last year on Oct. 9 following a season-high 15 kills on .519 hitting at Michigan and nine kills on .381 hitting at Michigan State.
REILLY SETS THE TONE
• Sophomore setter Bergen Reilly ranks eighth nationally with 10.98 assists per set this season.
• Reilly was the Big Ten Setter of the Year in 2023, becoming the first freshman to win the award since it originated in 2012. Reilly was also an AVCA second-team All-American and an All-Big Ten first-team selection.
• Reilly led all Big Ten setters with 10.51 assists per set in 2023, and she has received six career Big Ten Setter of the Week honors, including on Sept. 2 and Sept. 16 this season.
• Reilly was named Best Setter at the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Louisville, Ky., as she guided the Huskers to a 3-1 win over No. 9 Kentucky with 39 assists and 11 digs.
JACKSON IN ACTION
• Sophomore middle blocker Andi Jackson has elevated her game to new heights in 2024, as she is averaging 2.66 kills per set with a .475 hitting percentage, which ranks sixth in the nation and first among Big Ten players.
• Jackson showed enormous athleticism and potential the first time she stepped on the floor as a Husker, and she followed through with a strong debut season that included AVCA All-Region, All-Big Ten Second Team, and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.
• Jackson averaged 2.01 kills per set and 1.09 blocks per set with a .399 hitting percentage in 2023, which ranked third in the Big Ten and 19th in the nation. Her hitting percentage was the best ever by a Husker freshman and ranked seventh all-time in the rally scoring era.
• Along with Reilly, Jackson helped the U.S. U21 National Team win the gold medal at the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto this summer, hitting .654 throughout the tournament with 39 kills and 10 blocks.
ALLICK BRINGS THE BLOCK
• Junior middle blocker Rebekah Allick leads the Huskers with 1.41 blocks per set so far this season. Offensively, she has provided 1.76 kills per set on .368 hitting.
• Allick’s career 1.19 blocks per set ranks No. 5 in school history in the rally scoring era.
• Allick is a two-time AVCA All-Region and All-Big Ten second-team selection. Last season, she averaged 1.76 kills per set with a team-high 1.50 blocks per set, which ranked second among Big Ten players and seven in the nation. Her 1.50 blocks per set was also the No. 2 mark in school history in the rally scoring era.
• Allick was at her best at the end of the 2023 season, registering a career-high 12 blocks in the NCAA regional final win over Arkansas and 10 blocks in the NCAA semifinal sweep of Pittsburgh.
• In the season-opening victory over Kentucky, Allick had 11 kills and hit .667 while tying her career high with 12 blocks. Her performance earned her Best Middle Blocker and Most Valuable Player honors at the AVCA First Serve Showcase. She averaged 1.90 blocks per set in the first three matches of the season, which earned her Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
HALL OF FAME COACH COOK IN YEAR 25 AT NU
• Nebraska head coach John Cook is in his 25th season as the Nebraska volleyball head coach in 2024. He has led the Huskers to four national championships, 11 final fours, 13 conference championships and 22 top-10 final rankings since 2000.
• Cook has 862 career wins and is one of the all-time winningest coaches in NCAA history. Since taking over the program in 2000, Cook has led the Huskers to a nation-leading .874 win percentage (701-101).
• On Sept. 10, 2024, the Huskers defeated No. 9 Creighton 3-2 for Cook’s 695th win at Nebraska, which moved him past Terry Pettit for most wins all-time as the Nebraska volleyball head coach.
• Under Cook, the Huskers have achieved 68 AVCA All-Americans and 20 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, both among the best in the nation. He is a three-time AVCA National Coach of the Year, earning the prestigious honor in 2000, 2005 and 2023, and an eight-time conference coach of the year, including Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2016, 2017 and 2023.
• In 2023, Cook was voted AVCA National Coach of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading a young Nebraska team with no seniors to its first Big Ten title since 2017. The Huskers finished the regular season 28-1 overall, their best regular season record since going 28-1 in 2005. After going 26-6 last year and missing the NCAA regional finals for the first time since 2011, the Huskers started over with a starting lineup featuring four true freshmen and a junior transfer (Beason). Cook’s Huskers won their first 27 matches of the season and held the No. 1 ranking from Oct. 23 through the end of the regular season. Despite having no seniors on the roster for just the second time in Cook’s time at Nebraska - as well as starting a true freshman at setter for only the second time in Cook’s tenure - the Huskers earned the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and the sixth time overall under Cook.
• Cook was inducted into the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2017, joining former Husker volleyball coach Terry Pettit in the hall.