The Rally: No. 12 Nebraska volleyball aims to go from "good to great"

No. 12 Nebraska volleyball’s goal for the week is to go from "good to great,” head coach John Cook said.

The Huskers started Big Ten conference play 2-0 with a 3-1 victory over Northwestern and a sweep of Iowa at home but have a long ways to go, according to Cook.

After Nebraska’s three-set loss to No. 5 Louisville, Cook said he was concerned for conference play. On Monday, he said he didn’t feel any better after NU’s first games.

After playing the two bottom-ranked teams in the conference, Nebraska’s competition will increase against Michigan, the No. 5 team in the Big Ten, and Michigan State, ranked No.9.

The Huskers host Michigan on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Michigan State on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Both games will be on BTN and the Huskers Radio Network.

Here are a full breakdown of Nebraska’s opponents and storylines to watch for:

Michigan:

The Wolverines (8-3) are coming off a big week of volleyball. They took No. 9 Minnesota to five sets after winning the third and fourth sets and lost in the fifth. Outside hitters Paige Jones and Jess Mruzik each had 18 kills against the Gophers. Jones hit .302 and had 10 digs.

Jones and Mruzik, both left-side hitters, each had 16 kills in Michigan’s 3-1 victory over Michigan State. The Wolverine’s opposite hitter May Pertofsky had eight kills and four blocks.

Michigan, which went 4-9 in the all-conference 2020 season, has four underclassmen, two juniors and one senior in their starting seven. Like Nebraska, they have a young, talented group that is still learning but has a bright future.

Michigan State:

The Spartans (7-4) haven’t won a Big Ten match yet. Indiana swept them, they lost to Michigan 3-1 and head to Iowa on Friday. Nebraska will be Michigan State’s fourth consecutive away game before returning to East Lansing for four straight home games.

Against the Spartans’ two conference opponents, they hit .152 and their opponents hit .231. Michigan State is ranked No. 9 in the Big Ten.

Scottee Johnson, Michigan:

The Wolverine’s setter Scottee Johnson can do it all.

In Michigan’s near upset of Minnesota, Johnson had 46 assists, 19 digs, three kills and one block. Because of her versatility, she can burn Nebraska in multiple ways and keep them on their toes.

In Michigan’s five-set win over Duke, she had a career-high 50 assists. Johnson has 19 kills on the season and has the second-most digs on the team with 109 behind libero Hannah Grant.

Jess Mruzik, Michigan:

Mruzik had one of the best games of her freshman season against Nebraska in the 2020 season. The Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection had 20 kills, a .259 hitting percentage, four blocks, seven digs and two aces.

This season, Mruzik had a career-high 31 kills against Duke. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter has 142 kills, is hitting .230, has 107 digs and 22 blocks on the season. Mruzik is following up a solid freshman season with a better sophomore campaign.

Naya Gros, Michigan State:

Middle blocker Naya Gros has the third-most blocks per set (1.79) in Division I volleyball. She has 59 blocks in 33 sets, including seven against Michigan. The 6-foot-3 senior had one block per set and 55 total sets in 2020.

Gros had 46 kills this season and is hitting .330. She is a big presence in the middle and will be one of the best blockers Nebraska faces all season.

Sarah Franklin, Michigan State:

Outside hitter Sarah Franklin leads the Spartans with 134 kills, a .268 hitting percentage, 83 digs and 21 blocks. The 6-foot-4 second-year freshman has three double-doubles this season.

Against Michigan, she had 25 kills, 14 digs and hit .255. In Michigan State’s 3-1 victory over Central Michigan, Franklin had 21 kills, a .422 clip and 10 digs.

After seven matches in the 2020 season, Franklin suffered a season-ending injury but has come back strong.

.321:

In the last edition of The Rally, I highlighted Nebraska's .158 hitting percentage against Utah, Stanford and Louisville. While its quality of opponent has decreased significantly, the Huskers hit .308 against Northwestern and .267 versus Iowa.

NU’s starting outside hitters, which have been struggled recently, had a strong week and hit .321 between the three of them. Left-side Madi Kubik had 34 kills, 14 errors and hit .244 on the week. Behind Kubik, freshman Ally Batenhorst had 14 kills, five errors and a .257 clip.

The group was lead by right-side hitter Lindsay Krause who had 27 kills, three errors and hit .500 in the two matches.

Outside hitter Lexi Sun came off the bench against Northwestern and hit -.169. However, she had three kills with no errors while facing Iowa. Cook said he was impressed with her .375 hitting performance because she “didn’t get one good set.”

The outside hitter numbers have increased dramatically but keep in mind Nebraska’s competition, the two worst teams in the Big Ten. But, it’s good to know this team can hit accurately and make better decisions.

.151:

Michigan’s opponents have hit .151 against the Wolverines this season, ranking them eo No. 25 team in Division I volleyball in opponent hitting percentage and third in the Big Ten.

The Wolverines have held all by two opponents to less than a .200 clip. In their five-set victory vs. Duke, the Blue Devils had 39 kills on 148 total swings and hit .095.

Then-No. 9 Minnesota had the most kills against Michigan this season with 67. The Gophers took 195 swings on their way to a .221 clip. The Wolverines had 93 digs, libero Hannah Grant had a team-high 20 digs, Johnson had 19 and Mruzik added 14.

The Wolverines play great defense against good teams, including one of the best teams in the country. Nebraska will have to work hard to get kills and respond when balls are sent back over after big swings.

Lindsay Krause named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week:

Freshman outside hitter Lindsay Krause was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after two impressive performances in her first week of conference play.

Krause hit .500 in both matches against Northwestern and Iowa. Her hitting percentage was the second-highest in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin middle blocker Dana Rettke, who hit .517.

Cook said Nebraska’s lineup for the first week of Big Ten play will be the lineup they stick with for a while to create consistency for its players. Krause won the right-side hitter job over fellow freshman Whitney Lauenstein.

At Omaha Skutt high school, Krause won four straight Nebraska Class B state championships.

“I love the way (Krause) competes, she competes hard and it's every day,” Cook said. “She's got a real gift in regards to her mindset. That's why they won so many state championships I think.”

Krause still has a lot to prove against some of the Big Ten’s best teams, but she has progressed a lot since the beginning of the season.

“We have not arrived yet,” John Cook said:

That is Cook’s message to his team this week. As previously stated, he wants them to focus on going from good to great.

The Huskers played well last week, but Northwestern and Iowa are the two worst teams in the Big Ten. But only in the Big Ten do you have a 2020 first-team All-Big Ten selection (Courtney Buzzerio) on the losingest team in the conference.

"Life in the Big Ten in volleyball right now is not really easy for anybody," Cook said.

The Wildcats won their first set against Nebraska since 2013, marking major improvements within their program.

As for going from good to great this week, Cook had a few areas his team needs to improve on.

“We have to be more disciplined,” he said. “We've got to kill the ball better, hit for a higher percentage. There are some little plays that we're letting points sneak away from us that we shouldn't. Great teams don't do that and so it's just a combination of those things and playing with more confidence.”

Two conference wins might help Nebraska play more confidently.

Lauren Stivrins update:

Cook said on Monday, All-American middle blocker Lauren Stivrins returned to normal practice this week. He said she will not play until she is confident physically and mentally.

On the Nebraska Volleyball Show with John Cook and John Baylor, Cook said when Stivrins returns, she will be 105% of the player she was before her injury.

“She will change our team dramatically,” Cook said after the Iowa match.

Sister of Husker commit on Michigan team:

Michigan outside hitter Kendall Murray is the older sister of Nebraska volleyball commit Harper Murray. Harper, also an outside hitter, is the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2023 by PrepVolleyball.com.

HuskerOnline wrote a story about Harper wearing No. 27 as a Husker to honor her father, Vada Murray, who passed away from lung cancer when she was 6. Read it here.

A Weekend of Champions:

Husker volleyball will honor three members from the 2020 and 2021 Nebraska Hall of Fame on Friday during the Michigan game. Jordan Larson and coach Terry Pettit are in the 2020 class and Cathy Noth is from the 2021 class.

Larson is a three-time Olympic medalist and was a Nebraska volleyball outside hitter from 2005-08. Some consider her one of the greatest Nebraska volleyball players of all time. Pettit coached from 1977-99 and led the Huskers to their first National Championship in 1995.

Lastly, Noth played at Nebraska from 1981-84 and was an integral part of building Husker volleyball into the program it is today. The setter and outside hitter led NU to its first NCAA tournament in 1982 and the Huskers haven’t missed one since.

The Huskers 1990 volleyball team, which were NCAA tournament semifinals and went 32-3, will be honored during Friday’s match.

On Sunday, Cook’s 2000 and 2001 teams will be recognized. The undefeated 2000 squad was Cook’s first Nebraska team and his first National Championship. The 2001 team went 31-2 and lost in the national semifinals to Stanford, which Cook called “one of the best college volleyball performances I’ve ever seen.”

The weekend will be full of honoring Nebraska’s rich volleyball history while its current Husker team goes out to try and create some of their own.