Huskers Pass first True Road Test

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

Sure, it was sultry for everyone inside Ahearn Field House on Wednesday. But pressed into her first start, Brooke Delano likely would have been feeling the heat playing volleyball inside an ice chest.

 

Describing her emotions as “anxious,” Delano played a stunning role in a road win that senior teammate Jordan Larson summed up as “incredible.”

 

Second-ranked Nebraska, with sophomore starters Tara Mueller and Kayla Banwarth not playing because of disciplinary reasons, beat No. 18 Kansas State 25-18, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19 to preserve its unbeaten record and add to the anticipation for Saturday’s showdown at the NU Coliseum with third-ranked Texas.

 

Delano, who only began training as an outside hitter a month ago, finished with more errors than kills and served out of bounds four times. But playing in place of Mueller, the redshirt freshman came up with 16 digs while the bull’s-eye of K-State attackers, and the Huskers were able to score in transition enough to generate nine more kills than the Wildcats.

 

“I didn’t know how it was going to turn out,” said Delano, whose only significant playing time prior to Wednesday came in NU’s win against overmatched Northeastern.

 

“Defense, it’s very new to me,” she added. “On offense, I hit a lot of balls out of bounds, but my teammates, they were talking to me, saying, ‘Next play, next play,’ and that helped me to get through it.”

 

Delano drew confidence from Nebraska’s three seniors, who all turned in brilliant efforts. Larson and Amanda Gates each equaled a career high with 21 kills and 10 blocks, respectively. Rachel Schwartz, who played as the libero, added 17 digs and shared virtually all of the passing chores with Larson.

 

Nebraska coach John Cook said the decision to bench Mueller and Banwarth was made Monday after he consulted with the seniors. He didn’t rule out that both players would return for the Texas match.

 

“Simply put, they didn’t uphold the standards that we ask them to uphold,” Cook said, declining to offer specifics. “They made some poor choices that reflected on our team.”

 

Both players have played significant roles in Nebraska’s spectacular start. Mueller is ninth among Big 12 attackers with 3.20 kills per set. Banwarth, meanwhile, is averaging 4.00 digs a set to rank fourth in the league. And what the statistics won’t show is their importance in Nebraska’s serving pattern.

 

The Huskers entered play Wednesday tied for the Big 12 lead in fewest aces allowed.

 

But outside of the second set, Nebraska’s radically altered passing pattern held up against K-State. And even when the passes weren’t great, setter Sydney Anderson still managed to direct an offense that hit a respectable .220 hitting efficiency.

 

“It was bad, I’m not going to lie about it,” Larson said. “But Rachel and I, we’ve been through a lot together, and it was our trust in each other and motivation that got us through. We found a way.”

 

At times, K-State (10-2, 0-1 Big 12) seemed to be trying too hard to take advantage of what Nebraska (9-0, 1-0) was lacking.

 

Delano had four kills and three blocks in the early going, but it was three aces, including a service winner from Larson to tie NU’s career record, that allowed the Huskers to pull away.

 

K-State evened the match, and with Rita Liliom and Natalya Korobkova heating up, the Wildcats seemed on the brink of taking command. Instead, it was Larson who took over. The senior’s kill pulled NU to 19-18 in the third set, and her jump serve sparked a four-point run that gave the Huskers the lead for good.

 

Nebraska even benefited from an official’s inadvertent whistle that took away an apparent K-State point. The Huskers won the replay and ultimately celebrated a third-set win.

 

Nebraska never trailed again as the Wildcats, who swapped their setter and rolled 11 different players in and out of the lineup, sprayed 10 hitting errors in the fourth set.

 

NU never subbed once, and for Delano and Lindsey Licht, there was some comfort in playing all six rotations for the first time.

 

“I said, ‘Hey, you ain’t coming out,’” Cook said. “So get after it.”

 

Licht’s poor hitting night was overshadowed by seven blocks. Kori Cooper added 11 kills on .524 hitting for NU, which offered proof that effort can overcome a lot of things.

 

“We were just going to compete our butts off,” Gates said. “That’s all we wanted to do tonight, and we did it.”

 

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