LINCOLN—The Stanford block didn’t want to get burned by Rebekah Allick again.
As junior setter Bergen Reilly took a pass from Taylor Landfair, Allick loaded like she was ready to jump and attack the ball. Both Stanford defenders, Logan Parks and Erika Sayer, stuck on the NU middle blocker as she faked the attack. The set from Reilly sailed over Allick and right to Allie Sczech on the left pin, where she slammed home a kill with a line shot with an open net in front of her.
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The top-ranked Huskers’ offense was clicking on all cylinders Sunday afternoon as they swept No. 6 Stanford in a 25-13, 25-19, 25-14 sweep at Pinnacle Bank Arena as part of the AVCA First Serve Showcase.
NU looked dominant in nearly every facet of the match as it finished with a .385 hitting percentage and never trailed after the third point of any set. The Huskers limited Stanford to a .094 hitting percentage, including .000 in the third set.
NU coach Dani Bubsoom Kelly said the Huskers looked like they were having fun on the court in a rambunctious atmosphere in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,734 in the arena.
“Today wasn’t an anomaly. That is us,” she said. “We’re not going to play that great every single night, but now we set the bar of what we’re capable of.”
Sczech earned her first start for the Huskers and led the Huskers with 12 kills, including seven in the second set.
The 6-foot-4 opposite earned her undergraduate degree from Baylor earlier this summer, but quickly built a rapport with Reilly, who finished with 36 assists. Sczech recorded two kills from the left pin, but also mixed in power attacks with roll shots from the right side.
“She got me one-on-one quite a few times, so she made my job pretty easy. Thanks, Bergen,” Sczech said. “I would say she’s one of the quickest setters, and her IQ is really high up there, so that’s what makes her so good.”
Allick did plenty of her own damage against Stanford when she wasn’t tying up the defense. The senior middle blocker finished with 11 kills on a .600 hitting percentage to go with five blocks, including two solo stuffs.
After fellow middle blocker Andi Jackson earned MVP honors on Friday’s win over Pitt, it was Allick’s turn to earn the award against Stanford. Both middles played well as Jackson finished with five kills on eight swings and four blocks.
“We’re a couple of dogs, man,” Allick said. “We were saying this for years, the middles — me and Andi, and Manaia (Ogbechie) and Kenna (Cogill) as well, and even the others we’ve had in the past — we’re constantly pushing ourselves. We speak for most middles on every team everywhere, we want to be set. When you are set that ball, you have to deliver, and that’s exactly what me and Andi do. It feels good to be fed some more.”
Nebraska also put on a clinic with its defense. Stanford struggled to find a rhythm and finished with a .094 hitting percentage. In the third set, the Cardinal hit .000 with eight kills and eight errors. All-American outside hitter Elia Rubin finished with eight kills, but hit just .167.
Stanford was flummoxed by the Huskers’ defense, which tallied nine blocks. Libero Laney Choboy and defensive specialist Olivia Mauch each recorded 12 digs, while allowing just one Cardinal ace.
The pair has adjusted to new positions in the back row, with Mauch playing back right and Choboy moving over to the traditional libero spot of back left. Busboom Kelly said their work ethic, communication, and hustle set the tone.
“It’s unbelievable how good they are together, and when we talk about smothering teams, they’re leading the charge,” Busboom Kelly said. “Our out-of-system setting was much improved from Friday. There are so many things that we need to continue to get better at, and they are leading that charge.”
The match capped off three days of elite volleyball and packed crowds. More than 41,000 people watched six matches over the weekend. Busboom Kelly said a family from Colombia asked her for a photo before the match.
In the press conference on Thursday, she reflected upon how far the sport has come from her days playing in front of 4,000-plus fans at the NU Coliseum. While she can sometimes take for granted the support that volleyball and women’s sports get in the state, Busboom Kelly wants to continue to raise the standard.
“What Nebraska does obviously sets the bar, and this weekend showed it,” she said. “We’re becoming a worldwide brand.”
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