Huskers Shut Down No. 16 Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The eighth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team held the Big Ten's top hitting team in check, as the Huskers swept No. 16 Purdue 30-28, 25-20, 25-17 on Wednesday night before a crowd of 2,279 at Holloway Gymnasium. 

The Huskers (19-4, 10-3 Big Ten) trailed for just seven rallies in the entire match as they snapped Purdue's 15-match home win streak dating back to last season.

Purdue (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) entered the match hitting a league-best .273 in conference play, but the Huskers tallied six blocks and forced 19 Purdue hitting errors for a .205 hitting percentage for the match. Offensively, the Huskers hit .277.

Kadie Rolfzen had 11 kills, five digs, three blocks and hit .357. Amber Rolfzen posted 10 kills with no errors for a .526 hitting percentage, along with five blocks, all of which came in the first set. Kelsey Fien had nine kills, and Mikaela Foecke had seven. Kelly Hunter had 37 assists, seven digs and three kills. Justine Wong-Orantes led all players with 14 digs.

Purdue got 14 kills from Annie Drews, but the rest of the lineup combined for 30 kills and 17 errors.  

The Huskers were dominant at the service line, posting a 6-1 advantage in aces, while Purdue committed eight service errors to just five for NU. 

Set 1: The teams traded the lead early on, but the Huskers went in front 14-11 after a 3-0 run off of back-to-back blocks by Amber Rolfzen, combined with Kadie Rolfzen and Mikaela Foecke. After a Foecke kill, Amber Rolfzen's third block made it 16-12. A Fien kill pushed the lead to five, 18-13. Purdue pulled within 19-17 with a 3-0 run after a kill and block by Danielle Cuttino. The Boilermakers then tied it 21-21 after consecutive Husker hitting errors and an ace by Drews. Purdue claimed set point first after a Lydia Dimke kill made it 24-23 Boilermakers. But Amber Rolfzen produced clutch kills, and Purdue committed a hitting error to give NU set point at 26-25. On the Huskers' fourth set point, 29-28, the Rolfzen twins posted a block on the right side to give the Huskers the 30-28 win. It was Amber Rolfzen's fifth block of the set. There were 18 ties and six lead changes in the first set. 

Set 2: Nebraska went in front, 10-6, after consecutive Purdue net violations. But Purdue answered with a 5-1 run to tie it at 11-11. The Huskers regained a 14-11 lead with two errors by Purdue and a Hunter kill. The Boilermakers quickly tied the set after the media timeout, 15-15, with back-to-back points. It was 18-16 Nebraska after a kill by Hall and Purdue hitting error. The Huskers turned a 20-19 lead into 22-19 after a kill by Kadie Rolfzen and Purdue hit long. Amber Rolfzen closed out the set, 25-20, with a pair of kills. 

Set 3: The teams were neck and neck as the Huskers took a 15-13 lead into the media timeout on kills by Amber Rolfzen and Hunter. After the timeout, Purdue committed a hitting error for a 16-13 Husker lead. Later, Sydney Townsend made it 19-15 with her second ace of the night. The Huskers closed the match on a 6-1 run with Hall and Fien each chipping in a pair of kills. 

Up Next: The Huskers continue their stretch of four straight road matches at Indiana on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT).