Three Takes: Nebraska Volleyball crush No. 6 Purdue, finish 2nd in Big Ten

No. 11 Nebraska Volleyball knocked off No. 6 Purdue for the second time this season, 3-1 (25-21, 25-10, 22-25, 25-15).

The Huskers finished the regular season 22-7 and 16-4 in the Big Ten. NU finished second in the conference behind Wisconsin. Purdue, Minnesota and Ohio State all tied for third.

After Nebraska lost three consecutive games to ranked opponents in the post-season, it felt impossible that they could win big in the Big Ten. They proved the world wrong.

Here are my three takes from Nebraska's big-time victory over Purdue:

Nebraska Head Coach John Cook said the Huskers had luck running the middle and frequently setting the middle blockers against Purdue the first time they met, so they tried it again.

Middles Kayla Caffey and Lauren Stivrins were up for the challenge.

Stivrins had 10 kills and hit .185. She had a team-high five blocks. Caffey had 13 kills, no errors and hit .650. She added four blocks including the match-winning point.

"Kayla, she was seeing the court," Cook said. "She gave them every shot tonight. I mean, tips, rolls, pounds. She was just really seeing the block."

Before complimenting the 6-foot-0 senior middle, Cook gave credit to setter Nicklin Hames and the passers.

Hames had three hitters with double-digit kills and 44 total assists. When Hames took the first touch (18 digs total), libero Lexi Rodriguez set up the hitters. She had four assists.

Rodriguez was Nebraska's star passer as she had a career-tying 28 digs.

"She was really good," Cook said. "And not only was she digging the ball, they were digging them right to (Hames)."

He said the pass quality reminded him of the 2017 Nebraska team when setter Kelly Hunter barely had to move, the passes went right to her. That team won the national championship.

This squad has grown more consistent with its passing through the season but still struggles at points. We'll see if they can show up when everything is on the line.

For those of you who have followed along with my three takes, I'm sure you could guess what's coming next: Nebraska's outside hitter debate.

On the left, Madi Kubik has the first position on lockdown as she had 16 kills and hit .204 against Purdue.

Outside of that, Lexi Sun started the match but was replaced by Ally Batenhorst after she hit -.250 in the first set. Batenhorst had four kills, three errors and hit .083 in three sets.

Now for the right, Whitney Lauenstein started again after starting against Wisconsin on Friday. However, Lauenstein was pulled partway through the first set. Lindsay Krause took over of the right and had six kills, hit .167 and had three blocks.

"You just hope somebody takes it," Cook said. "But I guess we'll just play them all, whoever's hot. Otherwise, I don't know what else to do."

Cook has been much quicker to pull players who aren't doing well. He switched Lauenstein for Krause when the Huskers were up 10-7 in the first set.

He probably knows the stakes are rising and there is no more time to give a player time to work through it and risk errors.

Cook will likely continue this tactic until someone takes the job, as he said. However, Nebraska is 29 games in and still waiting for those two players.

Cook gave his best pitch to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee on the Huskers Radio Network after the match. It was pretty simple.

"We're second in the toughest conference in the country," he said.

The committee will announce the seeds for the NCAA Tournament, which starts on Dec. 2, on Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The Huskers will know if they host a regional then as well.

Cook continued on to say Nebraska's seven losses are to top 5 ranked opponents and they have no bad losses. For example, Wisconsin lost to Maryland in their first conference match.

The committee bases a large part of their decision on the team's RPI, which Nebraska is No. 13. Cook said the RPI is "flawed" because teams like Creighton, who have two "bad" losses, are ranked above the Huskers.

The coach said he told his team he was proud of how they finished in the Big Ten.

"There are five or six teams that could go all the way to the Final Four and compete for a national championship," he said.

We will see where the Huskers end up seeded and what regional they are in. However, Cook made a solid argument for his team.