Nebraska volleyball is elite once again.
OK, OK. The Huskers have been elite for a long time. But they are back into the round that signifies that label.
Nebraska, the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament, cruised past Georgia Tech, the No. 5 seed in the Nebraska Regional, with a 3-0 sweep (25-11, 25-16, 25-21) in the Sweet 16 on Thursday afternoon at the Devaney Center.
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Don't pay mind to any belief that this one didn't mean A LOT
Nebraska volleyball has been at that elite tier of the sport for a long time. The Huskers earned that distinction throughout the tenure of Terry Petit and nearly the entire tenure under John Cook.
The Huskers (31-1) now have two decades' worth of Elite Eight appearances in the John Cook Era, which is in the midst of its 24th season. That's right, this is Nebraska's 20th Elite Eight appearance in those 24 years with Cook at the helm.
The Cook Era began with a bang with 2000 national championship in his first year, and the Huskers reached at least the Elite Eight in nine of his first 10 seasons from 2000-09 (the only year they failed to do so was 2003, bowing out in the Sweet 16).
After losing in the Sweet 16 and the second round in back-to-back years (2010, 2011), the Huskers rattled off 10 consecutive tournaments in which they reached at least the Elite Eight (including five Final Fours, four national title game appearances and two national championships) before seeing that streak snapped at the hands of Oregon in last year's Sweet 16 in Louisville.
Just like appearances in the third round of the tournament, reaching the fourth round almost seems like a given, a birthright, if you're involved in any way with the Nebraska volleyball program.
But don't pay any attention to those who may think that Thursday's win over the Yellow Jackets (24-7) doesn't mean much. You could see how much it meant to the Husker players after seemingly every point. The screams, the chest bumps, the fists flying. There was a lot of emotion packed into that one. Maybe it was the fact of losing last year to the Ducks, I don't know. But that one felt like there was juice end-to-end and not just for half or two-thirds of the match.
Huskers left no doubt, still followed same formula as first two rounds
All three of the Huskers' tournament sweeps have followed a similar – almost identical – formula on the path to a victory: Nebraska absolutely obliterates its opponent in both the first and second sets but then finds itself in a battle in Set 3 before eventually polishing off a 3- or 4-point win in the third and final set. Just looking at the three final scores when lining them up side-by-side is a little eery. A little impressive, too:
vs. Long Island University: 25-13, 25-16, 25-22
vs. Missouri: 25-14, 25-19, 25-21
vs. Georgia Tech: 25-11, 25-15, 25-21
Despite what I said above – that there was juice and energy from start to finish – it was still a grind for the Huskers to finish off their tourney opponent.
In Set 1, the Huskers jumped on Ga Tech out of the gate with a 15-8 lead and scored 10 of the final 13 points.
In Set 2, the Huskers were ahead 15-12 and scored 10 of the final 14 points.
In Set 3, things got a lot more rugged, a lot more back-and-forth, just like against LIU and Mizzou. The third-and-final set against Ga Tech featured 15 ties and seven lead changes. But it was Nebraska taking the seventh and final lead change in the game's most critical moments.
Neither team had taken a lead of more than two points by the time Georgia Tech took advantage, 19-18, deep in Set 3. That's when the Huskers put on the afterburners, taking control of the set – and the match – with five consecutive points on three kills from Merritt Beason, another kill by Ally Batenhorst and an ace from freshman Harper Murray.
Once again, as was the case in the first two rounds, the Huskers' stars became stars when they needed to be and made big plays in the clutch moments.
Beason (11 kills, 4 blocks, 8 digs), Batenhorst (10 kills, 2 blocks) and Bekka Allick (6 kills, 4 blocks) led the way for the Huskers in the stat sheet, while Murray (5 kills, 2 blocks, 3 digs), Andi Jackson (4 kills, 5 blocks) and Bergen Reilly (30 assists, 10 digs, 3 blocks) also contributed.
And now, the Huskers await their fate.
They will face the winner of the Nebraska Regional's No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 3 seed Arkansas. It's a Top-10 national matchup as the Wildcats (21-7, 17-1 SEC champions) were ranked No. 8 in the regular season's final AVCA Top 25 national poll and the Razorbacks (27-5, 15-3 to tie for 2nd in the SEC) finished No. 9 in the country.
Sweep 16!
Count 'em up. That's three consecutive sweeps for the Huskers in this year's NCAA Tournament.
And, well, things are lining up a bit eerily to the way they went in 2005, huh?
Least we forget, the Huskers started that season 28-0, seven games away from completing the second undefeated season in program history to follow in the footsteps of the magical run in 2000. They lost, however, on the final day of the regular season to its biggest rival in the Big 12, the Texas Longhorns, on the road (Nov. 26, 2022).
This year, the Huskers began the year 27-0 with just eight games left to reach that incredible undefeated height. They lost, however, on the second-to-last day of the regular season to their biggest rival in the Big Ten, the Wisconsin Badgers, on the road (Nov. 24, 2023).
In 2005, the Huskers blitzed their way through all of their pre-title match opponents with sweeps in the first two rounds, the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight and their Final Four semifinal game.
In 2023, the Huskers have now blitzed their way through all of their pre-Elite Eight opponents with sweeps in the first two rounds and the Sweet 16. And a favorable matchup would await against Kentucky, if the 'Cats take down the 'Backs for the third time this season, as Nebraska has already beaten UK on the Huskers' home floor in four sets (25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21) on Sept. 17
Buyer of Husker stock beware, of course: Nebraska looked headed for destiny in that 2005 season after winning 15 consecutive sets. Everything was lining up for a showdown against a fellow top seed from either the Big Ten (Penn State) or the Pac 10 (Washington), and it wound up being the Huskies.
Washington and Nebraska met in that fateful game after having BOTH swept their way to the national title match. It was the Huskies, however, sweeping Nebraska en route to becoming just the second team to sweep every opponent on the way to winning an NCAA Women's Volleyball national championship (Texas, 1988).
In this year's NCAA Tournament, the Huskers look like they are on a similar path against a fellow top seed from the Big Ten (Wisconsin) or from the Pac 12* (Stanford), albeit if it's the Cardinal then it will not be two teams meeting after a run of sweeps-only (Stanford won in five sets in the second round over Houston).
We will see.
If you want to keep tabs on the Badgers, who are undeniably the Huskers' No. 1 threat to a national championship ring this year, flip on ESPN2 or pop open your WatchESPN app at 6 p.m. Central Time as Wisconsin and Penn State duke it out in their own Sweet 16 matchup.
*You can insert your "Stanford is actually an ACC team here
