Nebraska Cornhuskers send statement with obliteration of Stanford
Remember back, almost two weeks to the day ago, when we were worried about the Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team? When they suffered a massive upset to an SMU squad that had no business being on the same court, let along beating them?
I said back then that the Huskers seemed like they needed a reset. Head coach John Cook sent a statement to his players, saying they needed to stop acting like everyone was just going to lay down because Nebraska was in the house.
It turns out that reset happened. The Nebraska Cornhuskers sent a statement almost exactly two weeks after that abysmal loss. They’re the best team in the sport when they’re in sync. And boy, were they in sync against the second-ranked Stanford Cardinal on Wednesday night.
That the Huskers won isn’t a shock. They were at home and despite that loss to SMU they’re still ranked 5th in the country. No, this wasn’t a massive upset against a team they had no business beating. But the way they dismantled the Cardinal is going to raise eyebrows all over the country.
Nebraska Cornhuskers blow away Stanford
When the smoke cleared on Wednesday night, the Huskers had swept away the No. 2 team in the country, 25-17, 25-22, 25-14. The former Pac-12 and now ACC power had a fighting chance in exactly one of the three sets. And they needed a comeback in order to make that set close.
The heroes were all around. Nebraska finished with a .263 hitting percentage, and held Stanford to .100 while Andi Jackson logged nine kills on .600 hitting. She also had five blocks. Lindsay Krause’s nine kills included the match-point. Merritt Beason had eight kills and Harper Murray had six.
But it’s what this win says that’s really impressive. Wednesday night marked the third straight win against a Top 15 team in the last two weeks.
The Huskers beat No. 9 Creighton in five sets and then No. 14 Arizona State in a sweep. A sweep of TCU was apparently just a tuneup for the devastation they wrought on Stanford.
On the season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are now 4-0 against Top 15 teams and 3-0 against Top 10. Most people knew the loss to SMU was an outlier, but it’s worth realizing just how much of an outlier it was. The Huskers look like giant killers once again.