Nebraska volleyball swept Wisconsin for the third time in the last six weeks on Sunday.

The win pushed the Huskers (34-2 overall) into their 18th Final Four appearance in program history and marked their fourth win over the second-seeded Badgers (26-7) in their last five matchups.

Afterward, both head coaches and a pair of players from each team were made available for post-match interviews.

Here are the key takeaways from Nebraska coach John Cook and Husker stars Lexi Rodriguez and Harper Murray, plus Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield and Badger standouts Sarah Franklin and Charlie Fuerbringer.

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Opening statement:

“First of all, I think this is one of the hardest regional finals we have ever had because of Wisconsin. They are a phenomenal team, they’ve got great players, they are very well coached. We had to play our very best match of the year to win this match today. So much respect for the Badgers and I asked our team, I told them that we were going to have to really max it out today and they responded and did a great job. Even though a few times it wasn’t going really well, they just stayed with it and found ways to win. The other thing is, I asked our crowd to will us, and I'm not sure I have heard the Devaney this loud for this long every point, so thanks to our crowd they were unbelievable today."

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On fans traveling to Louisville:

“I think everyone had already booked tickets because I heard from everybody ‘I've got my tickets so see you in Louisville.’ I don't think anyone new is going, I think they already did that a long time ago, I mean it is sold out. One of our themes for this year is race for the roses it's on our poster, it's on our shirts and our goal is to get back to Louisville for the third time. We've already been there twice.”

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On Taylor Landfair’s match today:

“Well, she was matched up on Anna (Smrek) and Charlie (Fuerbringer) but yesterday in practice I tried to instill in her mind that she was going to have to go high and hard and she did that today, she got some big kills for us on some tough sets, so really happy for her because she hasn’t been to a Final Four yet, she's done a lot so I'm sure this is a big moment for her.”

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On the defense:

“The effort on both sides was incredible. Both teams were laying out, making unreal plays. I blow the whistle in practice when I think the ball is down. I would have blown the whistle several times today thinking the ball was down. Next thing you know, it’s up. When they have hitters like that, you have to dig balls, because you’re not going to block those guys all the time. Our pursuit – Harper (Murray) went into the crowd a couple times, I wanted to challenge that one. I don’t get that rule. Our team had tremendous effort on defense today.”

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On this ending for the senior class at Devaney:

“Merritt (Beason) is undefeated here. There was a lot of pressure on us. This is the third time we were playing these guys, we’re the ones that are at home and should win. Our seniors helped run this team and lead this team and they did a heck of a job. I already told both Lexi (Rodriguez) and Merritt that this is their team and they willed them to a win.”

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On how the team matched up against Wisconsin this year:

“On paper it’s hard to match up with them but Harper (Murray) basically for nine games was blocking Anna (Smrek) for nine games, three rotations for nine games, because we had the same matchups. You can look at the size difference. She got her kills, but Harper touched her a couple of times, got a block. They are a great serving team. We are a great passing team. You saw how they started off. They broke us down right away. Then we settled down and passed them really well. I thought our serving started stressing them. They are also a very good passing team, but we started breaking them down as the match went on. But it’s heavy weights. This is a slugfest, long rallies. It’s hard to put the ball away. You got this big block you’re dealing with all the time. It’s a heavyweight fight. It was like (Muhammad) Ali vs. (Joe) Frazier Round Three.”

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On Louisville and Dani Busboom Kelly making the Final Four at home:

“They were almost eliminated last week and they played unreal yesterday. We’ve done that a couple times, there’s so much pressure when you’re hosting. It can be suffocating. It is really hard, even though you’re hosting, knowing everybody expects you to get there. She’s done a heck of a job with that team and they played phenomenal yesterday.”

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On if there’s a preference for Thursday’s opponent:

“No. Nope. We’re going to celebrate today and worry about that tomorrow.”

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On if he’s going to celebrate by watching the game tonight:

“I don’t know, maybe. Yellowstone is on. It’s the season finale. I’m going to see if Tom Shatel is a prophet because he told me how it was going to end."

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On Laney (Choboy) diving into him:

“I was ready because I knew she was going, I was going to take the hit and not let her hit, because it was right there in the corner of the scores table, so I'm like I'm not letting her hit this thing. I took the hit, I was ready.”

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On Kennedi Orr:

“I want to echo that there is a great story with Kennedi and her role. She’s been here and she’s found a way to help this team win. She came in today and I know we scored the most points in her rotation. That’s a great story and that’s why we call her a game changer.”

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On the expectation to get to the Final Four and his feeling:

“This one is excitement because I know how good Wisconsin is. This is a really tough matchup, seed-wise, and it’s to go to the Final Four. They’ve been there how many times? The last 7 out of 10? Last 10 years? I don’t know, some crazy number. Like I said, these are two heavyweights and two teams that deserve and are good enough to be in the Final Four.”

On the feeling of taking a large lead in the second set:

“It’s kind of just a flow state. Everything is kind of going our way. After that first set was back and forth, a close two-point game that we had to battle out, I knew going into the second set that we were going to come out with a lot more urgency, which is exactly what we did. We were just on a roll. It was awesome.”

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On the last lap around Devaney:

“It was definitely emotional. It definitely doesn’t feel real that that was my last game in Devaney. Like you said, there’s no better way to go out. It was giving a little bit of appreciation for the Devaney Center and for all the fans for helping us get to this point and helping us get to the next stage. That’s one of my favorite parts of the whole year, is getting to go around and celebrate with all of them."

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On the goal of getting to Louisville:

“From the beginning of the year it was definitely something we had to kind of challenge ourselves with and finding a way to let go of last year and let go of all the pressures and just have a clean slate. Obviously we’ve had a goal to get back to the Final Four. We achieved that goal but the job’s not done. I think just having that same mentality of the next point, the next match, taking what’s right in front of us and just going with that will help us a lot.”

On getting the MVP of the region

“It means a lot, but I think I owe it all to my teammates and the coaches, because I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them. I’m just really thankful that I’m involved in a program like this and I don’t know where I would be without this whole staff and our whole team. It means a lot, but I wouldn’t be here without them.”

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On the goal of getting to Louisville:

“The expectation here is to make it to a National Championship. With that comes a lot of pressure, but at the same time we like to tell each other that we are playing for each other. I think that’s what keeps us balanced and calm because we’re always going to have pressure when you play in a program like this, but I think it’s about just playing for each other and not listening to outside noise because it’s an expectation here and we know that but it’s still a lot of pressure. Just staying focused on us and not what’s around us.”

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On what the team’s game changer was today:

“At first, I think we weren’t serving them tough enough. Throughout the second and third sets, we got into that more. I also think at some points, we could have cleaned it up a little bit. I want to give credit to Kennedi (Orr). Coach gave her credit in the locker room. She comes in and she does her job perfectly. I think we really feed off of her energy and her presence, so I want to give a lot of credit to her for that. Other than that, I think serving was a big factor.”

Thoughts on Nebraska:

“It was just an unbelievable defensive team. I thought both teams were just making some big plays. We probably made a few more errors than what they did. But some of the defensive plays they were making, no one in the country is making in the back court. That’s nothing new to anybody in this room. Those of you guys that are from here have been seeing that all year long. We took some really, really big time swings and they came up with some big time bids. I’m proud of our efforts. I thought we stayed in the fight all the way to the end. There’s a reason these guys haven’t lost a home tournament match at home in a long time, they’re going to give it their best effort that’s certainly out of our team and the effort that they gave.”

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On the Badgers' seniors:

“I have lots of love for them. They had amazing careers. It’s always hard when you lose your last match. You feel for them, especially when you see the work that they do day in and day out stacking years on top of that. I’m just proud of the people they’ve become and the players they’ve become and how they’ve grown as a team. I think they’ve represented their university and their community and the state of Wisconsin really well. Like I told them, they’ve got nothing to hang their hats on. It was going to take a great effort to beat this team and we saw a great effort on the other side of the net tonight. You don’t hang your head on that.”

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On Harper Murray in the back row:

“She is just so explosive there. The previous matches, she hasn’t had as much success on us in the front row, but she’s had quite a bit of success on the back row. Certainly, we didn’t solve that. That’s a real credit to her and her explosiveness and her ability to get on the ball. She’s a real deal back there and having her and (Merritt) Beason both be able to attack the back row, and how fast (Andi) Jackson gets up and how (Rebekah) Allick works it. It stresses the defense on our side of the net. I thought we did, other than probably three minutes of that match, a great job at controlling the ball. They picked up their serving pressure in the third set big time. I mean really, really dialed in. But I thought for most of the match, we were able to run our offense and got some really good swings. Defensively, they were really, really good and pursued some balls that you would’ve thought would have been unpersuadable.”

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On difficulties:

“I never felt like when we were in our huddles, or between sets, or afterwards that the team was beaten down or any of that. Those are some of the things you look for as a coach. If you’re going to come in here, you better be resilient. I wish we had a few points back, but that’s what happens when you get to this stage of the game. We’ve got to not only be aggressive, but find a way to be clean in game situations and we weren’t quite there.”

Thoughts on Nebraska:

“It just makes the game harder. I felt myself making some pretty decent shots. They’d get it up and come back with the same type of shot. It’s definitely just trying to get through the whole match.

On her first time through the tournament:

“I’m just super proud of our fight throughout the season. I think we improved so much more than other teams and I’m just so grateful to be surrounded by these girls. They’re amazing. The worst part about losing today is not being able to play with them next year for sure.”

>> With the win, Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 18th time in program history and for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons. The Huskers’ 18 NCAA Semifinals rank second in NCAA history, and Nebraska’s seven semifinal appearances in the last 10 seasons lead the nation.

>> Nebraska has made 13 NCAA Semifinals since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998. The Huskers’ 13 trips to the semifinals in the 64-team NCAA Tournament era lead the nation.

>> John Cook has led Nebraska to an NCAA Semifinal for the 12th time in his 25 seasons. He is one of only two coaches two make 12 NCAA Semifinals with one school.

>> Cook improved to 101-25 in his NCAA Tournament career, including a 93-20 record at Nebraska. He ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament victories and NCAA Tournament wins at one school.

>> With the win, Nebraska improved to 134-37 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.784).

>> Nebraska improved to 33-2 on the season with the win. The 33 wins tie for the most victories by a Husker team since the 2000 national championship team went 34-0.

>> NU improved to 18-15 all-time in NCAA Final matches, including a 10-5 record in matches played in Lincoln.

>> NU improved to 87-7 all-time in home NCAA Tournament matches, including 32-2 at the Devaney Center.

>> The win was Nebraska’s 26th consecutive home victory in the NCAA Tournament, a school record.

>> Overall, Nebraska has won 45 consecutive home matches dating back to Dec. 1, 2022. The Huskers own the nation’s longest home winning streak, and the streak is the longest since Nebraska moved into the Devaney Center in 2013.

>> Nebraska finished the 2024 season with a perfect 22-0 home record. The 22 home victories are a school record, one year after the Huskers set a then-school record with 21 home wins in 2023.

>> The Huskers finished with back-to-back undefeated home seasons for the first time since posting four consecutive undefeated home seasons from 2005 to 2008.

>> With the win, Nebraska improved to 13-1 against ranked opponents this season, including 8-1 against top-10 opponents. The Huskers’ eight wins against top-10 teams ties the school record, as the 1995 national championship team also had eight victories against top-10 opponents.

>> Nebraska improved to 104-1 in the NCAA Tournament when taking a 2-0 lead. The Huskers have won 103 consecutive postseason matches when winning the first two sets.

>> Lexi Rodriguez had 17 digs in the match. Rodriguez now has 265 career digs in the NCAA Tournament. In the match, she passed Kayla Banwarth (253 digs) for the most career digs by a Husker in the NCAA Tournament.

>> Rebekah Allick had four blocks in the match. Her first block was the 500th of her career, as she became the sixth Husker in the rally-scoring era to record 500 career blocks.

>> Harper Murray (10 kills, 12 digs) recorded her eighth double-double of the season and her second straight. Six of Murray's eight double-doubles this season have come against ranked opponents.

>> Nebraska held Sarah Franklin, the 2024 AVCA National Player of the Year, to a season-low .128 attack percentage. The Huskers held Franklin to under .200 hitting in each of the three matches against Wisconsin in 2024.

>> The Huskers held Wisconsin to a .126 attack percentage. That was the second-lowest mark of the season for the Badgers, trailing only the .094 they hit against the Huskers in their first matchup this season (Nov. 1).

>> Overall, Nebraska held Wisconsin below a .170 attack percentage in each of their three matches this season.