The No. 4 Nebraska volleyball team rolled to a 25-16, 25-17, 25-7 sweep in their 300th consecutive regular-season sellout on Friday night with a crowd of 8,207 on hand at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers improved to 22-2 (14-1 Big Ten) while Iowa fell to 7-19 (1-14 Big Ten). Nebraska has now swept its last five home matches in conference play.
Nebraska’s defense had a strong showing, holding Iowa to just 17 kills in the match, tied for the fewest by a Husker opponent this season. The Hawkeyes finished with a -.070 hitting percentage, the lowest hitting percentage by a Husker opponent since 2013 and the best defensive effort by the Huskers in Big Ten play since joining the conference in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Huskers hit .305, led by 25 assists from Nicklin Hames. Madi Kubik had 12 kills to pace the Nebraska the with a .400 hitting percentage, while Whitney Lauenstein hit a season-high .500 with 11 kills. Ally Batenhorst finished with eight kills on .316 hitting, including five kills in the final set. Lindsay Krause added five kills.
Kaitlyn Hord had a match-high seven blocks, helping Nebraska outblock the Hawkeyes, 9-4. Batenhorst had five blocks. The Huskers also outdug Iowa, 45-36, as Lexi Rodriguez led the back row with 17 digs. The sophomore libero also served two of Nebraska’s five aces. Kenzie Knuckles, Maisie Boesiger and Kubik each served an ace as well.
Delaney McSweeney led the Hawkeyes with six kills on the night.
Set 1: Nebraska went up 5-1 after kills by Lauenstein, Hord, Kubik and a block by Hord and Lauenstein. The lead increased to 9-3 after another kill by Lauenstein and two Iowa hitting errors. Batenhorst tallied a kill and a solo block, and Lauenstein blasted another kill for a 14-6 lead. Two more kills by Kubik made it 16-8, and the senior served an ace for a 19-10 advantage. Krause posted a kill to help NU to a 22-13 lead. After Iowa scored three in a row, Lauenstein terminated and Knuckles served an ace, and Kubik ended the set at 25-16 with a kill. NU hit .294 and held Iowa to .028.
Set 2: Back-to-back kills by Lauenstein helped Nebraska rally from down 3-2 to up 6-3. Kubik added two kills for a 9-5 lead, and the Huskers led 15-10 at the media timeout after kills from Batenhorst and Lauenstein. After Iowa cut it to 15-12, Kubik and Maggie Mendelson posted consecutive kills and then combined for a block and an 18-12 advantage. After an Iowa timeout, Nebraska continued to roll with another block by Mendelson and Lauenstein and an ace by Rodriguez, as the lead increased to 22-12 after the 7-0 run. Nebraska won the set, 25-17, and outhit Iowa .265 to -.061.
Set 3: A solo block by Hord, a kill by Batenhorst and a block by that duo got the Huskers out to a 5-0 lead. Lauenstein, Kubik and Hord then combined for four kills, and Rodriguez served an ace for a 10-2 lead. Krause put down three kills to take the Huskers to a 16-6 margin as they looked to close out the sweep. Batenhorst tacked on three kills and a block with Hord as the Big Red increased their lead to 15 at 22-7. Nebraska finished off Iowa, 25-7, with a .370 to -.194 hitting percentage advantage in the final set.