LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team swept Iowa 25-15, 25-21, 25-18 in front of 8,662 fans at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Thursday night.
Nebraska (27-0, 17-0 Big Ten) clinched a share of the Big Ten title with the win. The Huskers have three Big Ten matches remaining and need only one more win to clinch the outright Big Ten title. NU's first chance to do so will be Saturday at No. 17 Indiana at 5 p.m. (CT).
The Huskers clinched their 37th overall conference title and sixth in the Big Ten. It marks the first time the Huskers have won three consecutive conference titles since 2004-08 in the Big 12.
Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly became the first volleyball coach in Big Ten history to win a conference title in the first year of being head coach at a school. John Cook won a Big Ten title at Nebraska in his first year in the conference in 2011, but it was his 12th season as head coach at Nebraska at the time.
At 27-0, the Huskers have matched their record to start the 2023 season, which is tied for the fourth-best start to a season in school history in the NCAA era.
Celebrating their 350th consecutive regular-season sellout, the Huskers hit .384 and held Iowa to .073. The Big Red had the edge in kills (45-29), blocks (9-4), digs (34-26) and aces (6-3).
Harper Murray had 11 kills and six digs, while Andi Jackson had 10 kills (.571) and three blocks. Virginia Adriano tallied nine kills (.500) and had three blocks and three aces. Taylor Landfair added seven kills (.438) to surpass 1,500 for her career. Rebekah Allick notched five kills and six blocks.
Bergen Reilly dished out 34 assists with seven digs, four blocks and two kills.
Iowa (14-15, 5-12 Big Ten) got eight kills from Alyssa Worden.
Set 1: NU bolted to an 11-3 lead with aces by Murray and Jackson and kills by six different players. Jackson had two kills around an ace by Adriano for a 17-8 lead. Landfair contributed three kills and a block with Allick, and Skyler Pierce finished out a 25-15 win with a kill.
Set 2: Adriano pounded a kill and served her second ace for a 4-2 start. Jackson and Murray each tallied three kills as the Huskers held on to a 15-13 lead, but the Hawkeyes leveled the score at 16-16. Adriano answered with a kill, and Landfair served an ace to make it 18-16. Iowa came back again to tie the score at 19-19 and 20-20, but Murray answered with kills each time. Murray tipped another kill to make it 22-20, and Jackson and Reilly teamed up for a block and a 23-20 lead. Jackson added a kill as the Huskers held on for a 25-21 win.
Set 3: A tightly contested third set saw Iowa with a 12-11 lead before an Adriano kill and a block by Jackson and Reilly put NU in front, 13-12. Another Jackson kill and three Iowa errors helped NU take a 17-13 lead. Murray and Landfair tacked on kills before block by Allick and Adriano made it 22-17. The Huskers completed the sweep, 25-18, on Jackson's 11th kill.
Up Next: The Huskers play their final road match of the regular season at No. 17 Indiana on Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT). The match will be streamed on B1G+.