The Home Stretch

[knapplc]

The final four matches of Big Ten conference play are all that remain, and Nebraska is in hot pursuit of another Big Ten title. Nebraska currently sits alone at #2 in the conference with a 14-2 record, one game behind 15-1 Penn State.

 

Both teams' next three matches feature familiar opponents. Nebraska faces #25 Purdue at West Lafayette, then they travel to Bloomington to take on Indiana and to Iowa City to face Iowa.

 

Purdue sits at #9 in the Big Ten, ranked #25 overall, and represents the toughest test remaining on the Huskers' schedule before the final showdown against the Nittany Lions. The Boilermakers stunned Nebraska in Lincoln in mid-October, defeating the Huskers 3-1. The road trips to Indiana and Iowa represent mere formalities for Nebraska. The teams are mired at the bottom of the Big Ten, with a combined two conference wins.

 

Penn State faces familiar foes as well. They have already defeated their next three opponents once this season, sweeping both Northwestern and Ohio State, and winning a wild match in Champaign against Illinois in five sets. Neither Northwestern nor Ohio State should pose any problem for the Nittany Lions, and it is unlikely that Illinois will be able to take down Penn State in Rec Hall.

 

Nebraska's road to this point has been rugged. Thirteen of their last eighteen opponents, dating back to mid-September against Iowa State, are currently ranked in the Coaches Poll. In those 18 matches Nebraska went 15-3, with a five-set loss to #1 Texas in Austin, a four-set loss to Michigan State in East Lansing, and the aforementioned loss to #25 Purdue.

 

The Huskers look to keep their title hopes alive and avenge the Purdue loss this Friday. The Boilermakers have struggled of late, losing four straight matches to Penn State, Ohio State, Northwestern and Illinois, all on the road. They have won only two sets and have hit no better than .225 in any of the four losses - a stark contrast to their .309 kill percentage against Nebraska in Lincoln.

 

Nebraska has not lost since the Purdue match, defeating five ranked opponents in their eight-match winning streak.

 

If both Penn State and Nebraska win out, as both should, the November 30th match at the Devaney Center in Lincoln should decide the Big Ten championship.

[Landlord]

If both teams win out, I think it is about time I attended my first volleyball game.

[VectorVictor]

If both Penn State and Nebraska win out, as both should, the November 30th match at the Devaney Center in Lincoln should decide the Big Ten championship.

 

Son of a b***h...that's the day we're going back home from Nebraska, too. May need to see if I can get a day extension from the wife and take the family there. May be worth sleep deprivation at work come Monday...

[GM_Tood]

The PSU game should determine who gets a #1 seed in the NCAAs between the two teams.

[HuskerVBFan93]

The PSU game should determine who gets a #1 seed in the NCAAs between the two teams.

 

Not likely NE will get a number one seed even if they win out. Their RPI isn't high enough.

[HuskerVBFan93]

If both teams win out, I think it is about time I attended my first volleyball game.

 

Word of warning. If both teams win out, you'll have to shell out some decent $$$ to get tickets. Right now, SRO tickets are $100.00. They will go up a great deal more if NE wins their next three.

[GM_Tood]

The PSU game should determine who gets a #1 seed in the NCAAs between the two teams.

 

Not likely NE will get a number one seed even if they win out. Their RPI isn't high enough.

 

Guess I don't see how it would be out of the question that they could move up from #6 RPI to #4...especially with a win over PSU. Guess it could also depend on how the others ahead of them finish too.

[knapplc]

I'm not an RPI guru, but is our RPI that low because of the Auburn loss? We have four losses, three to ranked teams, only one at home. The Auburn loss was ugly, and we play that team another ten times we win all ten matches. But is that loss enough by itself to drop us that far down?

 

I would be astounded to see Missouri get one of those #1 seeds. They're #5 right now in RPI, and just beat #4 Florida. Mizzou is 31-0.

 

This is nearly a couple of decades ago now, but I can still vividly remember year after year utterly trouncing Missouri in the 90s. There were matches where, in sideout scoring, Missouri didn't get five points - for the match. I remember more than one 15-0 win.

 

This is as odd to me as seeing Kansas State in a BCS bowl game in the late 90s after decades of horrible play.

[HuskerVBFan93]

The PSU game should determine who gets a #1 seed in the NCAAs between the two teams.

 

Not likely NE will get a number one seed even if they win out. Their RPI isn't high enough.

 

Guess I don't see how it would be out of the question that they could move up from #6 RPI to #4...especially with a win over PSU. Guess it could also depend on how the others ahead of them finish too.

 

You could be correct. Their RPI will improve also for beating PSU, maybe not enough to move into the top four. That would certainly be nice if they got a #1 seed.

[Huskball]

Win or lose on Saturday, the chances that we are the regional #2 seed with either Texas or Penn State being the #1 are very high due to the geographic seeding that they like to do.