COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Nebraska Cornhuskers (26-7) defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers (30-4) early Friday morning in their Final Four matchup at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The Panthers fell to 0-14 all-time against the Huskers and saw their magical postseason run, the deepest in program history, come to a screeching halt after four sloppy sets.
No one stood out offensively for either team. Junior outside hitter Madi Kubik paced Nebraska with 13 kills, but hit just .222; Senior outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh led the Panthers with 13 kills off a paltry .150 hitting percentage.
Both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the first set. Pitt committed eight errors; the Huskers committed six. Despite the sloppy play, the Panthers managed to take the first set easily, 25-16.
The disjointed play continued in the second set, this time with Nebraska controlling play. After a narrow 8-7 lead, the Huskers began to pull away, going on an 8-2 run. The Panthers committed another 12 errors in the set and were unable to overcome the mistakes, dropping the second set 25-17.
The third set was a tightly contested comedy of errors that saw 22 committed, along with 14 ties. Neither team led by more than two going into an 18-18 tie, but Nebraska reeled off four straight on the way to a 25-20 victory, pushing the Panthers to the brink of elimination.
The Panthers began the fourth set ice cold, going down 3-0 and then 9-5, the Huskers stifling each attempt at a rally. The Panthers clawed their way back into the game, tying the set at 20, but a 5-1 Nebraska run ended the game and their season.
The Cornhuskers will face the Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA Volleyball title game at 7:15p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 18.
An incredible season for the ladies. I am not a volleyball expert, but besides for the missed serves, I thought our play was good. Member-Meneh will have left an imprint of the volleyball on that one Nebraska player’s face so deep that even future generations of Nebraska volleyball will feel it. Serena Gray was a revelation. Rachel Fairbanks has been impressive for a freshman. Ashley Browske saved a ton of points. Lexis Akeo did a good job of setting up the offense. Chiamaka Nwokolo seemed to be everywhere. I am not saying we played our best game. I am not… Read more »
Agree. The author comes off as a volleyball novice & his comedy of errors crack is just ridiculous.
Just absolutely love and adore this team and staff. Such great ambassadors of our university, city, and surrounding community.
Thank you for all the great memories and I look forward to so many more.
Great year ladies and I echo what others have said one thing I’m going to say I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that this game started at almost 11 and ended at 1 in the morning no wonder they were sloppy and I’m saying that for both teams