No. 1 Nebraska volleyball earned its 49th straight home win with a sweep of Grand Canyon, 25-12, 25-23, 25-18, Saturday at John Cook Arena in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers (8-0) won six of seven sets on the weekend and have won 15 of the last 16 sets since falling down to Kentucky 2-0 before rallying to win on Aug. 31.
With the Nebraska lineup juggled, Teraya Sigler led the Huskers with 14 kills on 30 attempts, hitting for a healthy .267 percentage. Manaia Ogbechie added 10 kills and three blocks while hitting .500. Rebekah Allick and Virginia Adriano both added eight kills. Harper Murray was a healthy scratch for NU, managing her workload.
Nebraska steamrolled through the first set, scoring the first four points to take the early lead. A seven-point run in the middle of the set boosted the Huskers’ lead to 15-6 and removed most of the drama from the opening stanza. A six-point run pushed the NU lead to 22-9 and the Huskers coasted to the finish from there.
The second set was much closer. The set was tied 10 times, including at 16. The Lopes took a 17-16 lead on a Nebraska service error, but the Huskers won seven of the next nine points to build a 23-19 advantage. GCU scored four of the next five points to pull within 24-23, but Ogbechie and Campbell Flynn combined on a block to win set point.
Then in the third set, the Lopes took an 11-9 lead. Nebraska won the next four rallies to build a 13-11 lead. GCU scored two points to tie the third set at 13-13. The teams traded points to tie at 14, the ninth tie of the set. The Huskers won five of the next six rallies to lead, 19-15. The Lopes nudged closer in the set, 20-17, before Nebraska won five of the last six rallies to finish the match. It was the Huskers’ fifth sweep of the season.
Nebraska plays its first road match in the month of Sept. Tuesday as the Huskers travel up I-80 to take on nationally-ranked Creighton at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.