Huskers Cruise Past No. 17 Purdue

LINCOLN, Neb. - The third-ranked Nebraska volleyball team put on a defensive clinic in a 25-17, 25-13, 25-17 sweep of No. 17 Purdue in front of 8,004 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Sunday afternoon.

The Huskers (14-1, 5-1 Big Ten) tallied 11 blocks as a team, including nine by Amber Rolfzen, to limit the Boilermakers (11-6, 1-5 Big Ten) to a season-low .031 hitting percentage. Nebraska never trailed after an early 2-1 deficit in the second set. 

Offensively, the Huskers hit .273 and got better as the match went on, finishing with a .364 clip in the third set. Kadie Rolfzen had 11 kills and nine digs while hitting .350. Mikaela Foecke had eight kills and hit .368. Briana Holman and Andie Malloy each had seven kills. Amber Rolfzen had five to go with her season-high-tying nine blocks. 

Kelly Hunter had 30 assists to go with five blocks - all of which came with Amber Rolfzen, including four in the second set. 

Kenzie Maloney and Justine Wong-Orantes each added seven digs, as the Huskers had a 38-35 digs advantage. Annika Albrecht chipped in six. 

Danielle Cuttino had 12 kills for the Boilermakers. 

Set 1: The teams played a sideout affair early before the Huskers got a Kadie Rolfzen kill and Purdue hitting error for a 12-10 lead. Kadie Rolfzen posted another kill and Amber Rolfzen won a joust for a 14-11 margin. Holman placed a kill to the back corner to make it 16-13, and she combined with Kadie Rolfzen for a block to push the lead to four, 18-14. A kill by Malloy and a Purdue hit into the net made it 22-16 Huskers. Malloy and Amber Rolfzen teamed up for a block for set point, and the Huskers finished set one, 25-17, with a Hunter dump. NU outhit Purdue .206 to .094. Kadie Rolfzen had four kills on five swings, and the Boilermakers served five errors in the first set.

Set 2: A trio of kills by Foecke and Kadie Rolfzen boosted the Huskers to a 13-6 lead, which came on a 6-0 run. The Huskers also posted three blocks to build the lead. Purdue trimmed it to 14-11 before Foecke and Malloy blasted consecutive kills. The lead was back at seven, 20-13, after a block by Amber Rolfzen and Hunter, and they teamed up again for a block to make it 23-13. The Huskers won the set, 25-13, with a 7-0 run to close it out. Hunter and Amber Rolfzen combined for four of the Huskers' five blocks in the set, as NU held Purdue to -.108 hitting. 

Set 3: Nebraska never trailed in the third set, finishing out the sweep with a 25-17 win. A kill and ace by Hunter around a Holman kill made it 3-0 at the start. Purdue tied it 6-6, but the Huskers answered with three straight points to go up 9-6. After Purdue pulled within 15-14, NU closed the set on a 10-3 run with Holman and Foecke each posting a pair of kills and Malloy tallying a block and a kill. Hunter ended the match with an ace. 

Up Next: The Huskers will make a road trip to Ohio State this Friday (5 p.m. CT) and to Maryland on Sunday (Noon CT).