Defense. Resilience. Dominance.

All three came for No. 5 Nebraska volleyball (9-1) in a 25-17, 25-22, 25-14 sweep of No. 2 Stanford (7-1) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Cardinal leave Lincoln with their first loss of the season and their first loss at Nebraska since the Big Red moved to The Bob in 2013.

The Huskers seemed to be in control throughout the match, taking a big lead in each set. Only in the second set was Stanford dangerous.

Nebraska was on a roll, finishing with a .263 hitting percentage and beating Stanford 38-33 despite being outscored 95-110. The Blackshorts were also on a roll, holding the Cardinal to a meager .100 hitting percentage and putting on a blocking clinic, finishing with nine total blocks.

When middle blocker Andi Jackson was asked if they could imagine holding the talented Stanford team to a .100 hitting percentage, the talented sophomore said they could.

“I’m sorry,” Jackson said, covering her mouth. “It was our goal. It’s an incredible number and we train really hard and I mean, that’s what we train for.”

American setter Bergen Reilly led the team to an impressive offensive performance with 27 assists, while also contributing with her offensive performance and collecting four kills.

Jackson and Lindsay Krause led the Huskers with nine kills each. Jackson led all forwards (with 10+ swings) with a .600 hitting percentage and also had a night at the net defensively with five blocks.

Merritt Beason finished with eight kills, two of which ended sets one and two, and six digs.

Harper Murray was a real stat-star, as she contributed on all fronts with six kills, two aces, five digs and two blocks.

In the first set, the Huskers came out firing, hitting an astonishing .406 while limiting the Cardinal to a meager .114 hitting percentage before being routed 25-17.

Several impressive defensive performances, including diving attempts by Lexi Rodriguez and Laney Choboy, led to a convincing victory for Nebraska.

The second set started out much like the first, with it looking like the Huskers would go away with another set. Stanford had other plans and went on an 8-0 run, including back-to-back aces.

Reilly was forced to be more aggressive than usual as she contributed two kills in the set, including a full swing on an overpass that brought the crowd to its feet. The Huskers took a late 19-18 lead on back-to-back Jackson slide kills.

Neither team hit particularly well, with both teams finishing under .200, but Nebraska did just enough to win 25-22.

In the third, as in the first, Nebraska jumped on Stanford early, trailing only once when the score was 2-1. The Huskers finished the third with a .400 batting average and again put on a defensive clinic, stifling a tough Stanford offense and forcing them into nine errors for a .062 hitting percentage.

Up next for Nebraska is another top-5 matchup. This time, the Huskers head back to Louisville to the KFC Yum! Center to take on the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals.

Scoreboard

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