#1 Nebraska rolled into Happy Valley tonight and absolutely blanked #16 Penn State with a dominant 3-0 sweep (25-20, 25-17, 25-18) to kick off their East Coast road trip. This team is for real, proving that even a near-apocalyptic amount of rain back home in Lincoln couldn’t slow them down. Seriously, the focus these Huskers showed was wild considering everything going on.
The Storm Before the Calm
Before the match even started, the entire city of Lincoln was dealing with almost 24 hours of straight rainfall, racking up around 6.5 inches of rain and causing some serious flooding. Antelope Creek, which runs right by the Devaney Center, overflowed, taking out walking paths to the arena and almost wiping out a bridge. It was everywhere. Our writer here at On Tap even had floodwater in their basement! So, while everyone back home was battling shop vacs and dehumidifiers, this match in Happy Valley was a major bright spot. You just gotta wonder if that looming weather emergency back home was extra fuel for this squad.
Locking In and Letting Loose
The Huskers were on a mission, sweeping the Nittany Lions in about an hour and a half. They came out firing, leaving Penn State scrambling, already down 7-1 in the first set. PSU did claw their way back to make it 19-18, but Nebraska showed why they’re #1. They’re an amazing “red zone” team, allowing only two more points before slamming the door shut on that first set. Sets two and three were tighter, a real back-and-forth battle, but Nebraska consistently hit 15 and then 20 first, then locked it down every single time. That’s the hallmark of a champion squad right there.
Teraya Sigler was back in full swing, playing all three matches and looking like she never even had an injury last week. Bergen Reilly gave us a scare early, twisting her foot landing on a Penn State player, but she popped right back up and didn’t miss a single point. That’s grit! Harper Murray was an absolute beast tonight, racking up 13 kills, hitting a ridiculous .414, and making only one error. Murray can be a little error-prone sometimes, but tonight she was completely locked in and just lights out. Shoutout to Campbell Flynn, too, who came in as a serving sub with Laney Choboy in the second set, acting like another DS in the back row to keep a rally alive for a kill. Harper Murray definitely had some words for Penn State after that next point, and you just know it was well-deserved. Caroline Jurevicius barely played, and Whitney Lauenstein looked ready to pop a blood vessel when she thought the 24th point in the third was out. That’s the kind of passion we love to see!
What’s Up With These Refs, B1G Network?
The match wasn’t without its head-scratching moments. The B1G Network had a questionable announcer on air, someone I haven’t seen before, who was spreading some wild misinformation, saying Whitney Lauenstein was teammates with Murray and Andi Jackson. Quick fact check, buddy: Lauenstein’s last season at Nebraska was 2022, which was when the current senior class was still in high school. C’mon, do your homework!
Then the reffing got pretty questionable near the end of the match. There was an obvious net violation and a touch that got missed, and the Huskers had to challenge to get their points back. It almost felt like the refs were promised some of that Penn State frat coke if they threw the match. Probably not, but hey, it’s Happy Valley after all, right? Jokes aside, the team kept their composure and still got the job done.
This sweep to start their East Coast road trip is massive. It shows that even with distractions at home and some bizarre officiating, this #1 team knows how to focus and dominate. What a statement win to take into the rest of their away games!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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