A chilly night outside leads to fire inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center as Nebraska sweeps Ball State 25-13, 25-18, 25-10 Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Nebraska led by sophomore setter Nicklin Hames’s 34 assists. The Huskers set the tone early tearing through the first set 25-13, hitting .548%.
“It’s fun, it feels like we’re flowing,” Nicklin Hames said. “It just feels like we’re in the zone.”
The second set saw the Cardinals of Ball State shake the nerves of the environment way going into the media timeout down 12-8. Nebraska’s defense took over after the timeout allowing the Cardinals to hit .029 in the second set. The Huskers won the set 25-18.
Ball State once again opened the third scoring first. They did so in all three sets. The Huskers did not allow that to faze them as they went on a 6-0 run before Ball State took its first timeout. Fans in the sold out arena of over 8200, took a breath of relief as Nebraska showed why they are the five seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Huskers marched through the rest of the set, taking it 25-10.
Leading the Huskers in kills tonight was Madi Kubik and Lauren Stivrins with 11 kills. Madi Kubik and Lauren Stivrins led the Huskers with 11 kills. Nebraska finished with a .425 hitting percentage while Ball State hit .010 on the night.
The Huskers will next take on Missouri Saturday night. The Tigers swept Northern Iowa 25-11, 25-13, 25-14. First serve is set for 7 CST.
