Nebraska Volleyball: Notes, quotes & start time, TV info for Sweet 16

It doesn't matter whether you loved, hated, loved to hate or were indifferent about the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick-led dynasty in New England. No matter what, you had to admit the Patriots went on a dominant run. And that's what we are in the midst of in John Cook's 24th season guiding Nebraska volleyball: A dominant run.

From 2001-18, the Patriots reached the AFC Championship Game an astonishing 13 times in those 18 seasons, which included a span of five in seven years and a separate run of eight consecutive appearances. Every year, it felt like it was a given, a preseason certainty, that you were going to see Brady and Belichick on Championship Sunday with a chance to reach the Super Bowl. And if they reached the Super Bowl, obviously, you were going to see the Patriots have a shot at winning another NFL championship.

Well, if we're looking exclusively at Cook's reign over the program, the Huskers' run during his 24 years in Lincoln has had a similar dominance as that era of the Patriots. After dropping Long Island University and Missouri in first- and second-round sweeps Friday and Saturday, respectively, the Huskers are onto the next round: the Sweet 16.

It's their 12th consecutive time reaching the Regional semifinal round. It's their 25th time (two years under Terry Petit, 23 years under Cook) cracking the Regional semifinal round in the 26 years since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 68 teams in 1998.

Nebraska volleyball reaching the Sweet 16 is inevitable. The Huskers are inevitable. Just like the Patriots were inevitable. The Patriots reached the Super Bowl nine times in those 13 years making the AFC title game and won championships in six of those nine. The Huskers have reached the Final Four 12 times, reached the national title game seven times and won a national championship four times in those 25 seasons that they reached the Sweet 16.

Is that Patriots/Huskers and AFC title game/Sweet 16 comparison a stretch? No, I don't think so (otherwise, I wouldn't have written this). At worst, it's just another way to look at something that has become difficult to make sound interesting – because the Huskers' dominance has made it uninteresting. It's easy to take it for granted. Because this is simply the step to get to the next step.

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And we know the setup for the Huskers to get to that next step: Start times for the Nebraska Quarter were released late Saturday night.

Here are the times and TV info for the three matches in Lincoln, plus the rest of the chalky field as 13 of the top 16 seeds reached the Sweet 16 with No. 4 seeds Florida, Kansas and BYU the only teams among that group to lose in the second round.

*All Sweet 16 matchups are on Thursday, all times Central

NEBRASKA QUARTER:

1 Nebraska (30-1) vs. 5 Georgia Tech (24-6)

>> 1 p.m. on ESPN2

2 Kentucky (21-7) vs. 3 Arkansas (27-5)

>> 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU

Elite Eight: Winners face off at 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU

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PITTSBURGH QUARTER:

1 Pittsburgh (27-4) vs. 4 Washington State (26-7)

>> 1:30 p.m. on ESPNU

2 Louisville (26-4) vs. 3 Creighton (29-4)

>> 11 a.m. on ESPN2

Elite Eight: Start time and TV info TBD

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WISCONSIN QUARTER:

1 Wisconsin (28-3) vs. 5 Penn State (23-8)

>> 6 p.m. on ESPN2

2 Oregon (28-5) vs. 3 Purdue (23-8)

>> 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU

Elite Eight: Start time and TV info TBD

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STANFORD QUARTER:

1 Stanford (28-3) vs. 5 Arizona State (28-6)

>> 10:30 p.m. on ESPNU

2 Texas (24-4) vs. 3 Tennessee (26-4)

>> 8 p.m. on ESPN2

Elite Eight: Start time and TV info TBD

>> Nebraska has reached the NCAA Regional for the 12th consecutive season (second-best current national streak) and 39th time in program history (most in NCAA history).

>> The Huskers have now won 30 matches in a season 24 times in program history, including 12 times under Cook, with the 2023 season being their first 30-win campaign since 2017.

>> Nebraska volleyball's all-time...

>> NCAA Tournament record: 127-36

>> Record in second-round NCAA Tournament matches: 29-2

>> Home record in NCAA Tournament: 81-7 (26-2 at the Devaney Center)

>> Record against unranked opponents in the NCAA Tournament: 59-1

>> Record against Missouri: 74-3-1 including 18 consecutive wins over the Tigers and 3-0 over Missouri in the NCAA Tournament

>> Record against current members of the SEC in the NCAA Tournament: 11-0

>> Nebraska ranks 2nd in NCAA history in postseason wins (127) and winning percentage (.779)

>> The Huskers' win over Missouri was their 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament win at home since 2013.

>> Nebraska has won 126 consecutive matches against unranked opponents dating back to 2017 (regular and postseason)

>> Cook coached in the 118th NCAA Tournament match of his career tonight, including his time at Wisconsin. He tied John Dunning (Pacific/Stanford) for the second-most NCAA Tournament matches coached in NCAA Division I history.

>> Cook ranks 2nd all-time in career NCAA Tournament victories (94) and NCAA Tournament victories at one school (86)

>> Cook's NCAA Tournament record at Nebraska: 86-19 (94-24 combined at Nebraska and Wisconsin

>> The Huskers won the first two sets against Missouri and are 96-1 in the NCAA Tournament when taking a 2-0 lead. Nebraska has won 95 consecutive postseason matches when winning the first two sets.

>> Nebraska held Missouri to a -.240 attack percentage in the opening set. The Huskers had six blocks in the first set as the Tigers had five kills and 11 errors on 25 swings.

>> The Huskers totaled 14 blocks in the match. That marked their third-highest total this season and highest in a three-set match.

>> Nebraska had five service aces and four service errors, marking the second straight match that it totaled more aces than errors. Before this weekend, the Huskers had produced more aces than errors only once in their first 29 matches.

>> Bergen Reilly had a career-high four service aces in the match. She had an ace to score three of the match’s first six points. Nebraska scored nine points with Reilly at the service line in the first set and 15 points on her serve in the match.

>> Lexi Rodriguez had a match-high 11 digs. She increased her career total to 1,372 digs, moving past Hanna Werth (1,367) and into seventh place on Nebraska’s all-time digs list.

>> Merritt Beason had 12 kills on 23 swings while hitting .435. Beason hit .457 on the weekend with 25 kills on 46 swings.

JOHN COOK

Opening Statement:

“I thought Missouri came out and played great. I thought their two left side hitters really did a nice job on killing balls. They played really hard, they served great, Dawn’s (Sullivan) building a great powerhouse program there, and it was a really tough match. Congrats to Missouri on getting to this point, we’re happy we got a win tonight, and I thought our team made some big plays and we needed them and kept the momentum and the crowd into it, which I think was huge. That was a really well played match.”

On Bergen Reilly’s serving rotation and personnel that makes it such a strong rotation:

“It depends on the night. She’s a really good server, and it’s a strong rotation for us. It’s just been working for us. Just depends on the week, a couple of weeks. Rotations fluctuate a little bit, but it’s been one of our better rotations. We got Merritt (Beason) up there, and Harper (Murray) and Bekka (Allick). Then you have Laney (Choboy) in the back row and Lexi (Rodriguez) back there with Bergen (Reilly).

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BERGEN REILLY

On being settled during her second NCAA match:

“Yeah everything was just a little more settled in even though the crowd was a lot louder tonight. I think our team was just a little more calm. It obviously translated.”

On her service runs:

“We like to start off strong. Getting that lead right away is always huge. I was just going into the match with that mindset. It helps me groove right away.”

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BEKKA ALLICK

On bringing more energy this match:

“It’s a huge focus. It’s pretty known on the team and throughout Husker Nation that my personality is one of my assets on the team. When I am quiet there is a difference in us getting into a grove and finding our way on the court. I knew that bringing a lot of energy tonight was going to be huge.”

On if she put extra emphasis on providing energy:

“No, I just kind of do what I always do. I never feel the need to overcompensate. I believe in Coach (Cook) and the decisions he makes. I know that when it’s my turn it’s my turn.

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MISSOURI HEAD COACH DAWN SULLIVAN

On Nebraska serving Missouri’s libero:

“They went after her (Maya Sands) right away, right in that seam between her and one of our outsides. First time playing in this environment, and they said, ‘okay let’s try.’ They challenged a couple different individuals, and they just kind of landed with her, but by set two and three she settled down. It was just early on in this environment. It’s something really special to play within, and we’re grateful for this opportunity, and I think she learned a lot about herself and how to handle the pressure, and she absolutely killed it by the end.”

On ways they could keep up with Nebraska, how they were outmatched by Huskers:

“I think some areas we were able to (keep up), once we settled down, was on the service line. We were able to get them out of system a little bit more than early on. I think early on, they were in system a little bit too much, and we missed some serves at some critical times. Once we were able to settle down, we were able to get them out of system and drive that serve on them, and then be able to make some good touches on our block.”

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OUTSIDE HITTER DILARA GEDIKOGLU

On going up against the Nebraska block:

“This whole season we were working for high hands, and I’m also undersized, so that’s the way I can get kills. I needed to work hard on those things, and I was just trying to put it all out and go high, hard and deep.”