Huskers blast Baylor at sold-out Coliseum

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BY TODD HENRICHS / Lincoln Journal Star

If Wednesday’s match was Nebraska’s midterm volleyball exam, the Huskers confidently answered a number of questions in blitzing Baylor.

-- Playing their fifth match in 12 days, could they make it their best effort in the busiest stretch of the season?

“They responded,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “They came out with energy and fire.”

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Nebraska's Rachel Schwartz dives for a ball during Wednesday's game against Baylor. (Jacob Hannah)

Nebraska's Rachel Schwartz dives for a ball during Wednesday's game against Baylor. (Jacob Hannah)

-- Could they maintain a high level of play throughout an entire match against an overmatched opponent?

Nebraska maybe doesn’t get full credit here, but in winning 25-14, 25-11, 25-20, the Huskers allowed fewer points than in any match this season.

“The things we did on our side of the net, we did at a very high level tonight,” Cook said. “And we did it for a long period of time. That’s why you’re seeing them have fun and smile.”

-- How fast can a volleyball hit the floor when blocked by Lindsey Licht?

On Wednesday, we learned it can bounce before a stunned attacker, in this case Baylor’s Ashlie Christenson, can return to the floor.

“We were like, ‘Are you kidding?’” senior Jordan Larson said in describing her team’s reaction in the ensuing timeout. “That was the sweetest block ever.”

For the 4,142 fans who filled the NU Coliseum for the 113th straight time, the question was, “When have you seen the Huskers smile so much during a match?”

From Licht’s crushing block to Larson’s long, high set to Tara Mueller for a kill, to back-to-back Amanda Gates aces and countless brilliant digs, Nebraska’s performance brightened faces much like you’d see if you went around handing out free tokens at Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Teamwork was the key, said sophomore libero Kayla Banwarth, stressing the point that working hard for each other is what will make or break Nebraska as a national-title contender this season.

Defensively, if the block wasn’t there, the diggers were on Wednesday. Combined, NU had 66 blocks and digs to 45 for the Bears (12-6, 4-4 Big 12), who hit .000 — the lowest hitting percentage by a Big 12 opponent against Nebraska in three years.

And in transition, the Huskers seemingly took turns bettering the ball for their teammate. Nebraska put away 16 of 28 swings in a near-perfect first set.

“When we do it for each other, we have more fun, I think,” Banwarth said. “That showed tonight. We were making some pretty sweet digs for each other tonight. People just stepped up at different moments and made big plays.”

Added Larson: “When you have that going on, it just creates energy … and a lot of smiles.”

Nebraska (18-0, 9-0) probably couldn’t have entered its weekend off on a higher note. In the days leading up to Wednesday’s match, Cook said he thought the Huskers were “starting to feel burned out.”

He planned a strategy for how they could recharge their batteries. Wednesday’s match was a nice jolt.

“One last push before we get a little bit of a break,” Larson said.

Briefly

With 18 digs Wednesday, Banwarth is averaging 5.83 digs per set over Nebraska’s last four matches.  … Setter Sydney Anderson had five blocks to share team-high honors with Gates. … Baylor, which leads the Big 12 in aces, had one against the Huskers.

Reach Todd Henrichs at 473-7320 or thenrichs@journalstar.com.