Some opening act.
After topping No. 4 Pitt in four sets Friday, No. 1 Nebraska dominated No. 6 Stanford, winning 25-13, 25-19 and 25-14 in front of another sellout crowd at Pinnacle Bank Arena in the AVCA First Serve Showcase Sunday.
Once again, the Cornhuskers (2-0) were stifling at the net, outblocking the Cardinal (1-1), 9-2. Nebraska outhit Stanford, .385-.094, outdug them 56-36 and piled up 46 kills to the Cardinal’s 31.
Allie Sczech sparkled in her first start as a Husker, leading NU with 12 kills on .400 hitting. Rebekah Allick earned MVP honors for the match with 11 kills, five blocks and a .600 hitting percentage. Harper Murray added 10 kills and nine digs.
Stanford’s last lead in set one came with the score, 3-2. Nebraska won six of the next eight rallies and led the rest of the way in the opening stanza. The Huskers’ finishing kick was strong as NU won nine of the last 11 rallies to lock down the first set. In the second set, the teams traded points in the first two rallies. After that, Nebraska took the lead for good in the second set, establishing control of the set after winning six of seven points to lead 12-6. Stanford never drew closer than three points for the rest of the set.
The Cardinal won the first two points of the third set, but the Huskers won five of the next six rallies to take an early 5-3. Six straight Nebraska points in the middle of the set built the lead to 16-7 and removed any doubt of a sweep. To punctuate the weekend properly, the Huskers won six of the final seven rallies to end the sweep quickly.
Nebraska hits the road for the next two games. On Friday, NU heads to Nashville, Tenn., to face Lipscomb. First serve is slated for 6 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 5 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.
AVCA First Serve Showcase Photo Gallery, photos by NRG Media photographer Kenny Larabee