Huskers outslug Texas at Coliseum
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BY TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star
Two days prior to Nebraska’s clash with Texas, Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook described Lindsey Licht’s role as “huge.”
And, in her first true moment in the spotlight, the sophomore outside hitter came up big.
Don’t be confused. Second-ranked Nebraska’s 25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18 win against No. 3 Texas will go down as an incredible team victory, a win that ranks among the most impressive regular-season victories in Husker history.
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But when Big Red faithful look back upon the win years from now, they’ll likely remember the match as Licht’s introduction to the national stage. She had 17 kills, seven more than her previous career high, and hit .500. And although Licht had only three blocks, Nebraska’s defense did its job in slowing down the high-flying Longhorns.
“I just really took a lot of time to visualize what happened tonight,” said Licht, who had kills on nine of 16 swings over the final two sets.
“I think my confidence in myself showed, and I really felt like I could do a lot of things with the sets Sydney (Anderson) was giving me,” she added. “I felt like I could do anything.”
Indeed, this team, which began the season with lower-than-usual expectations, now must feel like it can do anything after knocking off a fifth top-25 opponent to open the season.
Senior Jordan Larson said the atmosphere in the NU Coliseum topped anything she could remember in her four years at Nebraska. The crowd of 4,193 helped NU extend its home-court winning streak to 86 matches.
“I don’t know how the Husker Nation could be any more proud of this team,” Cook said. “They (the Huskers) were unbelievable tonight. Their effort. Their commitment to go on to the next point. Just hanging in there.
“They gave a great effort tonight.”
The only All-American for Nebraska playing against four All-Americans from Texas, Larson was sensational. She had a double-double of 19 kills and 11 digs, but it was far from a two-person show on NU’s side of the net.
After sitting out Wednesday’s match at Kansas State for disciplinary reasons, Kayla Banwarth and Tara Mueller returned to the lineup and provided outstanding performances. Mueller took over the first set, serving eight straight points after the teams played even through 34 rallies. And offensively, she had 14 kills, including the match winner.
Banwarth had 15 digs, but also provided a highlight-reel play that helped the Huskers win the first set. Banwarth scrambled in front of the 3-meter line and sent a bump set over her head that Larson crushed for a kill.
It was a feel-good moment, one that Cook wasn’t sure was possible this soon after last week’s one-match suspensions.
Cook said Nebraska had its worst practice of the season Friday, as Banwarth and Mueller seemingly were trying too hard to get back on the good side of the coaching staff and their teammates. Cook even threatened to throw them out of practice at one point.
But unbeknownst to him, Nebraska’s three seniors took Banwarth and Mueller to breakfast Saturday morning, and the sophomores were treated to manicures. On Saturday night, they had a big hand in an impressive win.
“They brought those guys back into this team,” Cook said. “That’s why I was so confident that we would play well.”
The match turned late in the third set. Trailing 22-21, the Huskers regained the lead on back-to-back kills from Licht, who just three days earlier had a line reading “six kills, seven errors” at Kansas State.
Larson followed with two more kills to secure the third-set win, and the Huskers rolled in the fourth set.
Nebraska (10-0, 2-0 Big 12) returns to the Coliseum to host Kansas on Wednesday. The Huskers will visit Texas (6-2, 0-1) on Nov. 19.
Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7320 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.
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