No. 2 Huskers Use Balance to Stop Texas Tech

Lubbock, Texas ? Second-ranked Nebraska used a balanced offensive attack to subdue Texas Tech, 25-13, 25-23, 25-13, Wednesday night at the United Spirit Arena.

Nebraska (13-0, 5-0 Big 12) was led by Tara Mueller’s match-high 13 kills, as four Huskers totaled at least nine kills to help the Huskers to their first sweep in Big 12 action. Senior Amanda Gates continued her stellar play, drilling home 10 kills on just 14 swings, while Lindsey Licht and Jordan Larson added nine kills apiece to help the Huskers out-hit Texas Tech, .337-118. Licht hit a season-best .667 on 12 swings while Sydney Anderson dished out 37 assists and added four kills and a pair of aces.

The Huskers jumped out to an early lead turned in a dominant effort in taking the first set 25-13. NU hit .333 as a team with Larson, Gates and Licht combining for 13 of the Huskers 17 kills, while holding the Red Raiders to -.083 hitting. With the score tied at four, NU used the strong serving of Rachel Schwartz to run off four straight points, taking an 8-4 lead on an Anderson kill. Texas Tech pulled to within 10-8, but a pair of Gates kills highlighted a run of four straight points for NU, which took a 14-8 lead after a Licht kill and forced Texas Tech to take a timeout.  The Red Raiders made one last run, pulling to within 15-11, but the Huskers took control, running off five straight points to take a 20-11 lead after a Larson kill closed the set on a 10-2 run.

While NU exerted control in the opener, the second set was a battle until the end before the Huskers prevailed 25-23. The teams hit nearly identical hitting percentages (.267-.265) while neither team led by more than four points throughout the set. NU took control early on, using a 7-2 run to take its largest lead at 11-7 after a Mueller kill. Tech fought right back, running off five of the next six points to pull even at 12. With the score tied at 16, two Mueller kills and one from Anderson gave NU some breathing room at 19-16. NU led 20-17, but the Red Raiders chipped away, pulling within 21-20. NU pushed the back to 23-21 after a Licht kill, but Tech ran off two straight points, evening the score at 23-all after a Witte kill and forced the Husker to take their second timeout. That would be as close as Tech would get as Larson took a big swing that found the floor before Mueller ended a long rally with her ninth kill of the night, sending the Huskers to the locker room up 2-0.

The Huskers continued the momentum in the finale, hitting .429 as a team in posting an easy 25-13 victory. NU took much of the suspense out of the finale early, as Anderson keyed a 6-0 Husker spurt that silenced the United Spirit Arena crowd. The sophomore setter got a kill on the first swing and then ran off five straight points at the service line, including a pair of aces to give NU a quick advantage. NU kept building on the lead, as three straight Mueller kills turned the 13-6 lead into a 10-point lead  and the Huskers pulled away down the stretch.

Becca Baldwin and Amanda Dowdy had five kills apiece for Texas Tech (5-11, 0-5 Big 12), as the Red  Raiders were held to .118 hitting on the night.

The Huskers will return to action Saturday afternoon, as they host the Colorado Buffaloes beginning at 3 p.m. The match will be carried on selected Husker Network Stations, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Twister 93.3 FM in Omaha. Live video of Saturday’s match will also be available to HuskersNside subscribers.