The Nebraska volleyball team had an impressive week, with a sweeping win over Oregon and another dominant performance against Washington. Just days ago, they took the court in front of a record-breaking 8,500 fans at Matthew Knight Arena, sweeping Oregon in three sets (25-12, 26-24, 25-18). Then, they headed north for a late-night clash with the Washington Huskies. But, nothing slowed the Huskers down — another sweep followed (25-17, 25-11, 25-21), extending their winning streak to 21 and their record to an impressive 24-1, with a perfect 14-0 conference mark.
In the Washington game, outside hitters Harper Murray and Taylor Landfair were on fire, combining for 22 of the team’s 44 kills. Murray finished with 12 kills and a .360 hitting percentage, and it wasn’t until her eighth attempt in the second set that she missed a kill. Landfair, who has been on a roll lately, added 10 kills, hitting a solid .471, and contributed three blocks. But despite all the victories and standout performances by Nebraska Volleyball, Nebraska’s head coach, John Cook, wasn’t totally satisfied, and he couldn’t shake his frustration with the team’s play last week.
In a recent video shared by Husker Online, John Cook sat down at a press conference after one of Nebraska Volleyball’s game, and when a journalist asked what helped Harper and Taylor rack up such impressive numbers last week, Cook gave a candid response. He said, “Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, our middles weren’t great, so I’d like to have everybody up there, but you know Andy’s taking a lot of blockers with her, which is opening things up. Merritt takes a lot of blockers with her, which opens things up.”
He pointed out that while some areas weren’t quite up to par, especially on the left side, the players could capitalize on the openings created by others. “Our left sides haven’t been that good, and they took advantage of it,” Cook acknowledged, emphasizing how the team could still make the most of the situation. He ended by hinting at what’s coming, saying, “We’ll see what happens this week when we’re playing our matches, how they defend us.” It’s clear Cook’s got his eyes on making adjustments to stay ahead and keep the momentum going.
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