No. 2 Nebraska volleyball tallies its 10th sweep of the season over No. 13 Penn State (2024)

Nebraska came out on top of this B1G rivalry, sweeping Penn State (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) and now claiming a 27-11 overall advantage over the Nittany Lions. The Huskers are still undefeated in 2023 with 17 straight wins this season.

With this win, the No. 2 Huskers notch their 10th sweep in 17 matches, and their third top-15 victory.

The tandem of Merritt Beason and Lindsay Krause led the attack for Nebraska, combining for 26 kills and seven digs. Libero Lexi Rodriguez had a fantastic outing in the backcourt, digging up 18 to match her season-best (her previous season-bests were claimed in four sets).

Who else for the finish but @lindsaykrause_? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #GBR pic.twitter.com/oMCVNbZlRp

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— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) October 15, 2023

The Huskers were somewhat successful in containing the firepower of Jess Mruzik, holding her three kills behind her season average. Mruzik hit a .073 clip with 12 kills on 55 swings. Although Nebraska tacked on two service aces at the hand of Krause, they tallied 13 errors at the service line, a statistic that nearly cost them a set.

This is just a start of tests for the Huskers, who look forward to Big Ten foe Northwestern and No. 1 Wisconsin next week. However, a win over another volleyball powerhouse is further proof that the Huskers can keep up with the dominant Badgers ahead of their top-2 matchup.

After Nebraska took the first point, Penn State stole its largest lead of the night to begin the set, knocking down eight unanswered to stump the Huskers, 8-1. Nebraska crept back into the game, snipping their deficit to 1 point on three different occasions before finally knotting the score at 18-all.

ON TOPPPPPP! @BergenReilly EQUALIZES! 🟰🥶

TO, Penn State! pic.twitter.com/sJx8bxcmYZ

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) October 15, 2023

The teams traded the lead until a Lindsay Krause missile to the right side nabbed the Huskers' first advantage of the frame, 22-21. A couple of Penn State attack errors and a kill by Merritt Beason sealed the deal for Nebraska, as they took Set 2, 25-22.

Serves were hot and cold this set for both teams. Nebraska's effort at the service line was highlighted by two Lindsay Krause aces, but was plagued by six service errors this set. The Huskers have averaged 7.75 service errors this season, and they've already eclipsed 10 after only two sets tonight. Penn State erred on four serves this set, totaling six in the match overall.

The Nittany Lions surged early in the second frame, scoring eight points unanswered with a .800% hitting and kill percentage. Nebraska has erred five times already this set, trailing 9-3.

5-0 run!

4 swings, 4 kills for @AllieHolland_#WeAre pic.twitter.com/TEDq77KoR9

— Penn State Women’s Volleyball (@PennStateVBALL) October 15, 2023

Swinging .283, Nebraska marched its way through the first set, out-killing the Nittany Lions 18-13. Outside hitter Lindsay Krause killed more ballsthis setthan her match average this season (6.06), tallying eight rockets on 18 attacks.

Nebraska maintained a comfortable lead until a four-point Penn State run trimmed its deficit to 16-18. After head coach John Cook called a timeout, the Huskers regained their composure and — despite Penn State forcing three set points — Nebraska took the first, 25-22.

B1G RALLY TO END THE FIRST. 😤

BUCKLE UP, BIG RED. pic.twitter.com/exiTFQHcRx

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) October 15, 2023

It's already clear that this match will be about which team will outlast the other, as shown by this scrappy rally. Nebraska currently leads the Nittany Lions 11-5, with Lindsay Krause shining with six kills on 10 swings.

EARLY MATCH RALLY AND IT’S A DOOZY. 🤯@lindsaykrause_ terminates! #GBR pic.twitter.com/n1yYOmzaMz

— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) October 15, 2023

Here are the starting rotations for tonight's match:

🦁 Penn State:

• Taylor Trammell
• Mac Podraza
• Camryn Hannah
• Jess Mruzik
• Anjelina Starck
• Allie Holland
• Gillian Grimes

🌽 Nebraska:

• Laney Choboy
• Harper Murray
• Bekka Allick
• Andi Jackson
• Merritt Beason
• Bergen Reilly
• Lexi Rodriguez

Here's how to watch Penn State-Nebraska:

• 🗓️ When: Saturday, Oct. 14
• 📍 Where: Lincoln, Neb.| Devaney Center
• ⏰ Time: 8p.m. ET
• 📺TV: Big Ten Network
• 👉🏼Click here for live stats

Despite their slow start, the Nittany Lions are now on an nine-match win streak, with notable wins over ranked Ohio State and Western Kentucky. Their demise was a strong schedule early on — which the Nittany Lions usually handle well — but consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and Florida bumped their preseason No. 8 spot all the way to No. 14 in Week 1; they haven't gotten back to the top 10 since.

To be fair, Penn State has seen a lot of turnover on its roster, and the team has had to learn how to play together through some trial and error.Transfers Mac Podraza and JessMruzik entered the starting rotation at the beginning of the season and have completely commanded the court, leading the team in assists (591) and kills (244), respectively.

What Nebraska has that Penn State doesn't, however, is depth throughout the entire rotation. The Huskers are on a dominant 16-0 run right now, and their roster boasts some of the best of the best in the nation. Bekka Allick swarms the block, ranking 11th in the nation defensively with 1.45 B/S. AVCA All-American Lexi Rodriguez takes care of backcourt defense — averaging 3.5 D/S — while Merritt Beason and Andi Jackson handle things up top... It's a dream setup.

What both teams can take advantage of? The serve.

If you scroll all the way to the last page of "team service aces" for this year, you'll find Nebraska at No. 316 with 64 aces, and Penn State at No. 330 (out of 332 teams) with 53. This is a statline that both teams can capitalize on for this game, as well as limiting service errors. Nebraska has erred 124 times (about 8 per game) at the service line this year, while Penn State has 115 SE.

Penn State has just now started to get challenged in conference play, battling through its first five-setters against Indiana and Ohio State during Week 6 to maintain its perfect conference record (7-0). The Nittany Lions picked up their most recent win against Iowa on Friday night. As for No. 2 Nebraska, it has cruised through its early schedule thus far and just took care of Michigan State in four sets yesterday before switching its gears to PSU tonight.

Both squads are undefeated in the Big Ten, and have been unbeaten for weeks. Who will it be?

This storied Big Ten rivalry dates back to 1981 and Nebraska holds a 26-11 advantage over the Nittany Lions. Here are some notable tidbits about these adversaries:

• 🔢 RANKED COMPETITORS: In all but one of their 37matchups, both teams have been ranked in the AVCA top-25. This trend will continue on Saturday, as Penn State is ranked No. 13 and the Huskers are No. 2.
  • This exception was their second match in December, 1982, when No. 15 Nebraska beat unranked Penn State in straight sets.
• 👀 TOURNAMENT:The teams have met 11 times in the NCAA tournament and three times in the national semifinals.
  • Nebraska knocked the Nittany Lions out of the national tournamentsix timesbetween 1982 and 1996
• 🔥 STREAKS:The longest win streak in this rivalry is seven matches, held by Nebraska, which dated from October 2015 to December 2017.
  • This Dec. 2017 match in particular rustled some feathers — in the national semifinal, the Huskers busted PSU's 23-match win streak, narrowly defeating them in five sets and going on to win the 2017 title.
• 🏆 TOP COACHES:Husker HC John Cook and former PSU HC Russ Rose both have win percentages over 80%. Cook has four national championships while Rose retired in 2021 with seven.
  • Penn State's current head coach,Katie Schumacher-Cawley, played for PSU from 1998-2001, and beat Nebraska in both matches against the Huskers in 1998 and 1999. She was hired by Penn State in 2022 and has won about 71% of her games with the Nittany Lions.

Nebraska has maintained top-5 status in every 2023 AVCA poll, whereas Penn State has been banished from the top-10 after consecutive losses in its season openers plummeted its preseason No. 8 ranking to No. 15 — the Nittany Lions have been clawing back ever since.

Below is the Week 7 AVCA poll:

Through games Oct. 8, 2023.