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Champaign, Ill. – The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team finished a perfect weekend in Illinois with a sweep of the No. 16 Fighting Illini (25-22, 25-18, 25-19) at Huff Hall on Saturday night.
The Huskers improve to 16-2 on the season. NU, now 7-1 in Big Ten play, has won 13 of its last 14 matches. The Fighting Illini dropped to 12-7 overall and 3-5 in the Big Ten. Illinois has lost five of its last six matches.
Freshman Mikaela Foecke had a match-high 12 kills and had five aces for the second straight night. Kadie Rolfzen had nine kills, seven digs and four blocks, and Kelsey Fien and Amber Rolfzen each added eight kills. Rolfzen had eight blocks as well, leading the Huskers to a 13-7 blocks advantage.
Kelly Hunter finished the night with 38 assists and added two kills and seven digs. Justine Wong-Orantes registered 27 digs, a career high in a three-set match. Wong-Orantes increased her digs average in conference play to a Big Ten-best 5.45 per set.
The Huskers hit .219 as a team, compared to Illinois’ .108 hitting percentage.
The Huskers and Fighting Illini fought back and forth in the first set, and were tied 6-6 before an NU run gave the Huskers an 11-6 lead. Amber Rolfzen started the rally with a kill before three consecutive Nebraska blocks and a kill by Fien. Illinois mounted a comeback to take a 16-15 advantage and it remained back and forth for the remainder of the opening frame. Tied 22-22, Kadie Rolfzen recorded a pair of aces before an Illinois attack error helped NU win the set, 25-22.
The match remained close at the start of the second set until the Huskers went on a 4-1 run to take a 12-9 lead. During that span, Kadie Rolfzen had two kills, while Fien added another. Illinois fought back to a 14-14 tie, but Nebraska responded to build a 23-16 lead. Foecke earned aces on four of five rallies during the Huskers’ run. Hunter finished off the set with a kill, as the Huskers won, 25-18. Wong-Orantes had 12 digs during the set.
In the third set, the Huskers jumped out to a 6-1 lead after kills by Fien, Foecke and Cecilia Hall. Illinois responded with a 6-1 run of its own to trim the deficit, but NU countered to extend its lead to 18-11. Back-to-back blocks highlighted the Husker run. Nebraska continued its momentum to finish off the third set, 25-19.
The Huskers return to action on Friday at the Devaney Center against Minnesota. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) and will televised on NET.