Nebraska volleyball middle blockers thrive as Huskers defeat Iowa

And it was one of those Sunday afternoons where sometimes less effort or energy could creep in.

But the second-seeded Huskers were strong and focused, picking up a 25-17, 25-11, 25-13 win at the Devaney Center.

Sunday was a day for Nebraska middle blockers Rebeka Allick and Leyla Blackwell, who combined for 18 of the Huskers' 44 kills. Nebraska hit .404 and held Iowa to .155.

Even more impressive: Nebraska had seven aces to one error. The last time the Huskers had at least seven aces to one error was in 2017.

Coach John Cook praised captains Merritt Beason and Lexi Rodriguez for their focused effort.

“They had the team ready to play today,” Cook said. “It starts with leadership.”

The Huskers (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten) are on an 11-game winning streak and are one of two Big Ten teams that remain undefeated two weeks into league play. Penn State is the other.

Nebraska has championship aspirations and every day is a step in that process, including a Sunday afternoon game against Iowa (8-8, 2-2).

“My why is my superiors,” Allick said. “They are really good women, including (Blackwell). You always want to see the good guys win and guys like Lexi, who has lost twice now (in the national championship game). And Merritt Beason.

“Because we are led by such amazing women, we want nothing more than to be able to leave this program with what they rightfully deserve.”

Allick had nine kills on 12 attempts and hit .583. She also had three blocks.

Blackwell had nine kills on 13 attempts and hit .692. Blackwell played the second game of the week with injured starter Andi Jackson out. Cook expects Jackson to be back at practice early this week.

Neither Allick nor Blackwell had an error until midway through the final set.

“It's always a good day when we talk to our middles and setters about running middle and they go out and do it,” Cook said. “I thought we did a great job.”

Beason was also strong with 10 kills on .400 hitting. Rodriguez had a match-high three aces and added 12 digs as she continues her quest to set the program record in the category. She is currently third.

Nebraska now leads the series with the 1976 Hawkeyes 39-0.

Thanks to the solid passing game, the Husker midfielders were able to get a lot of hit attempts and kills early in the game. Blackwell and Allick posted a combined mark of 6 for 6 in kills. Blackwell had a good feeling early in the game.

“It’s just really exciting to see how hard our passers work,” Blackwell said. “And then of course we have Bergen Reilly, who plays the ball, and she just gives all the batsmen chances. When we’re in that flow, it’s really fun for everyone to benefit from it.”

Allick is grateful for Nebraska's key players serving and receiving and how their passes to Reilly at the net help the middle players make good attempts. On Sunday those were Olivia Mauch (twelve pass attempts), Rodriguez (eight), Laney Choboy (six) and Harper Murray (six).

“They absolutely nailed it,” Allick said.

Taylor Landfair started again at outside hitter in place of Lindsay Krause.

After Landfair had two kills on 12 attempts in the first two sets, Krause was back on court in the third set. The Omaha Skutt graduate had five kills while hitting .833.

“I’m just trying to get someone to feel comfortable in that position,” Cook said. “(Landfair) has done some nice things in Illinois. You just can't keep dragging people in and out. So I'm just trying to get one of these guys working properly.

“Lindsay came in and did a really good job tonight. I don't know if there's pressure when you start or what. We will continue to work on it.”

Michelle Urquhart led Iowa with 11 kills and a .269 hitting percentage.

The Huskers host No. 10 Purdue on Friday.

Iowa (8-8, 2-2) ……………. 17 11 13

At Nebraska (14-1, 4-0)…25 25 25

User interface: Gibson 6-0-2, Whittingstall 7-0-1, Deery 3-0-0, Meitzler 1-0-2, Garcia 5-0-1, Urquhart 11-0-1. Total 32-0-7.

NU: Blackwell 9-0-2, Landfair 2-0-0, Beason 10-1-2, Rodriguez 0-3-0, Krause 5-0-1, Allick 9-0-3, Reilly 2-1-0, Murray 7-2-1. Total 44-7-9.

Supports: UI 31 (Meitzler 29, Garcia 2), NU 41 (Reilly 35, Rodriguez 3, Mauch 2, Allick 1). Excavations: UI 29 (Galles 9, Urquhart 7, Lombardi 4, Malu 4, Marquardt 3, Meitzler 2), NU 36 (Rodriguez 12, Beason 5, Orr 5, Choboy 5, Allick 2, Reilly 2, Murray 2, Mauch 2 , Bösiger 1).