Huskers Continue Streak, Win 3-1 at Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The No. 6 Nebraska volleyball team cooled off one of the Big Ten's hottest teams with a 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19) win over Michigan at the Crisler Center on Saturday night. 

On a snowy night in Ann Arbor, the Huskers (24-4, 15-3 Big Ten) slowed down Michigan (18-11, 8-10 Big Ten), which had beaten top-15 opponents in its last two matches. The Huskers, winners of eight straight, hit .318 and are 243-0 when hitting .300 or better under John Cook. NU held Michigan to .258, but most of the Wolverines' damage was limited to set two (.583), as NU held Michigan below .200 in the other three sets.

Four Huskers tallied double-digit kills, led by Kadie Rolfzen's 17 and 11 digs. Kelsey Fien also had 17 kills, while Mikaela Foecke had 13 and hit .393. Amber Rolfzen tacked on 10 kills, six blocks and hit a career-best .769. Kelly Hunter spread the ball around with 52 assists and nine digs. Justine Wong-Orantes had a team-high 15 digs in her return to the lineup after missing two matches with an injury. 

The Huskers had a 10-8 edge in blocks, as six Huskers posted at least two, led by Amber Rolfzen's six. 

Michigan got 20 kills from Caroline Knop and 17 from Abby Cole. 

Set 1: Nebraska went on a 7-1 run to take an early 12-7 lead. Fien sparked the Huskers with two kills and a solo stuff. The Huskers extended the lead to 19-13 with Foecke and Amber Rolfzen blasting kills, then combining for a block. Fien and Kadie Rolfzen each had five kills to lead the Huskers to the 25-19 win. 

Set 2: Michigan connected for 10 kills on its first 12 attacks (.833) in set two to build an 11-6 advantage. The teams cominbed for 25 kills in the set before an attacking error was committed, as Michigan got a block to go up 17-12. Nebraska trailed 19-14 before coming out of a timeout with a pair of Fien kills that brought the Big Red within 19-16. A Cecilia Hall and Kadie Rolfzen block followed, along with a Kadie Rolfzen kill to trim the deficit to one, 19-18. The Huskers drew even, 20-20, after a Kadie Rolfzen kill and ace by Annika Albrecht. But Michigan restored a two-point lead, 23-21, on a Claire Kieffer-Wright kill. Michigan closed out the 25-22 win, hitting .583 in the set compared to Nebraska's .429. The Wolverines had 22 kills and one attack error. 

Set 3: The Huskers rebounded from a 6-1 hole for a 25-22 win by cooling down Michigan's hitting to .184. Nebraska immediately came back to tie it 8-8 with a 7-2 run. Amber Rolfzen had a kill and two blocks to help Nebraska get back in it. Michigan fought it off, though, and rebuilt a 14-10 lead. But a 5-0 Husker run gave the Huskers a 15-14 lead. Fien, Kadie Rolfzen and Foecke combined for four kills, and Michigan never led again. The Huskers went up 21-20 on a Fien kill and led 22-20 after a Michigan attack error. Kadie Rolfzen finished off the victory with two more kills.

Set 4: Nebraska carried its momentum into set four, bolting to a 6-1 lead with kills by Kadie Rolfzen and Foecke and an Albrecht ace. Nebraska did not let up, as Amber Rolfzen and Fien pounded two more kills to make it 13-5. With the Huskers up 17-10, Michigan attempted a rally and got within 17-13. But out of a timeout, NU reeled off three straight points, keyed by a Foecke and Amber Rolfzen block, to go back up 20-13. Michigan made one last rally to get within 23-19, but Fien got a kill and Kadie Rolfzen and Meghan Haggerty closed out the road win with a block.

Up Next: The Huskers host Illinois on Wednesday at 7 p.m.