Nebraska volleyball sweeps Mizzou, extends New England Patriots-style run

John Cook has the Nebraska volleyball program humming at just a different level, so reaching the Sweet 16 barely even feels like a goal anymore. Winning the program’s sixth national championship ring is the expectation every year and especially in 2023 during a historic season.

Still, to get to the ultimate step, you have to complete the next one.

Cook’s Husker squad completed that “next step” once again on Saturday night. No. 1 overall seed Nebraska cruised past No. 8 seed Missouri in a sweep (25-14, 25-19, 25-21) at the Devaney Center to roll right into the Huskers’ 12th consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.

Nebraska (30-1) reached the 30-win mark for the 24th time in program history with its 18th straight win over Missouri (18-13), which moved the Huskers to 74-3-1 all-time against their former Big 8 and Big 12 opponent, and another home win (19-0) to keep this year’s unbeaten streak going.

The last time the Huskers and Tigers met was four years ago, almost to the day, on Dec. 7, 2019 and in a 3-1 Husker win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Oh, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Speaking of that...

Nebraska is now set up with a Sweet 16 matchup against No. 5 seed Georgia Tech (24-6, 13-4 ACC) on Thursday (Dec. 7) at the Devaney Center in Lincoln after the Yellow Jackets outlasted No. 4 Florida in a tight five-set finish on Friday night. The winner of Nebraska-Georgia Tech will face the winner of No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 3 seed Arkansas on Saturday (Dec. 9) in Lincoln.

The Huskers have now reached the Sweet 16 in 23 of 24 seasons under Cook. The only blemish came in 2011 – the Huskers’ first year in the Big Ten – in a second-round exit when No. 2 seed Nebraska fell to unseeded and former Big 12 opponent Kansas State.

It’s difficult to say “don’t take Sweet 16 appearances for granted” when those have become so bankable and pretty much a given. But, as the saying goes, water and air are the same: Nobody cares about either one until you’re not getting any. You could probably say the same thing about Husker volleyball and its annual trip to the Regional semifinal (and, typically, the Regional final).

Nebraska’s routine dominance in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet 16 is reminiscent of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick run from 2001-2018. The New England Patriots dynasty reached the AFC Championship Game in 13 of those 18 seasons – including five in seven years (2001-2007) and eight in a row (2011-18).

But, as Patriots fans will tell you, don’t forget the good times. Don’t forget about this unbelievable run because you never know when it could all be over. Trev Alberts will tell you the same thing about this Husker program.

“I’ve said this before: Don’t take the volleyball program for granted,” Alberts said in September. “We look back now on our football program during that run, and you’ll get comfortable thinking that it’ll always be this way. There’s no guarantee that volleyball at Nebraska will always be like this. So embrace it, enjoy it and take it in.”

Roughly 24 hours after a balanced Husker effort paved the way in a sweep of Long Island University in the first round, the love was shared again in the second-round sweep of Mizzou.

Merritt Beason (12 kills, 5 blocks), Ally Batenhorst (7 kills, 4 blocks), Harper Murray (6 kills, 3 blocks), Bekka Allick (5 kills, 8 blocks), Andi Jackson (3 kills, 6 blocks) and Bergen Reilly (4 aces, 26 assists, 10 digs) all lead the way on Saturday night.

Set 1 was a game of runs. Nebraska exploded with a 7-0 lead out of the gate, Missouri answered with an 8-3 run, and the Huskers then went on a 6-1 run before a 9-3 run closed it out. Nebraska scored 15 of the last 19 points in the set led by Reilly's three aces to begin the match (she finished with four aces one night after putting three against LIU), plus three kills and four blocks from Beason and five blocks from Allick, who was back in the lineup after sitting out the first round for rest.

For a second straight time, Missouri pulled to within a 10-8 deficit in Set 2. But Nebraska's 7-2 run (and eventually a 10-4 run) jump started the Huskers to cruise in another.

Just like Friday night against LIU, and just like what has happened all year for this Nebraska squad, it wasn't a cake walk from start to finish. Set 3 saw 10 ties and seven lead changes between the two teams with neither taking a lead of higher than four points.

After a 9-9 tie early, the Huskers rattled off a mini 5-1 run jump-started by Reilly's fourth ace for their biggest lead of the set (14-10) until the final tally of the set. Missouri battled back, though, scoring seven of the next eight, including five straight points, for a 16-15 advantage. The two clubs then stayed either tied or within one point of each other until Nebraska scored six of the final seven points after Mizzou had taken a 20-19 lead late.

1 Nebraska vs. 5 Georgia Tech

2 Kentucky vs. 3 Arkansas/TCU

2 Louisville vs. 3 Creighton

4 Washington State/5 Dayton vs. 1 Pittsburgh

1 Wisconsin vs. 5 Penn State

2 Oregon vs. 3 Purdue

2 Texas vs. 3 Tennessee

1 Stanford/8 Houston vs. 4 BYU/5 Arizona State

Nebraska’s victory over Missouri marked a win for the Big Ten all around. The conference is now 9-1 in this year’s NCAA Tournament as 1 Nebraska, 1 Wisconsin, 3 Purdue and 5 Penn State have all reached the Sweet 16 while unseeded Minnesota upset 6 Utah State before bowing out to 3 Creighton in the second round.

All Times Central

FIRST ROUND:

1 Nebraska def. Long Island University, 3-0

8 Missouri def. Delaward, 3-0

5 Georgia Tech def. South Alabama, 3-1

4 Florida def. Florida Gulf Coast, 3-0

3 Arkansas def. Stephen F. Austin, 3-0

TCU def. 6 Florida State, 3-1

Baylor def. 7 James Madison, 3-0

2 Kentucky def. Wofford, 3-0

SECOND ROUND:

1 Nebraska def. 8 Missouri, 3-0

5 Georgia Tech def. 4 Florida, 3-2

3 Arkansas def. TCU, TBD

2 Kentucky def. Baylor, 3-0

As a refresher, here is the rest of the NCAA Tournament schedule by round:

Regionals: Thursday, Dec. 7 (Sweet 16) and Saturday, Dec. 9 (Elite Eight)

National Semifinals: Thursday, Dec. 14 (Final Four)

>> Semifinal 1: Begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN

>> Semifinal 2: Begins approx. 30 minutes following Semifinal 1 on ESPN

National Championship: Sunday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. on ABC