Kenny Larabee, NRG Media
No. 1 Nebraska volleyball clinched the outright Big Ten championship with a 25-23, 25-20, 25-12 sweep of No. 25 Illinois Thursday at John Cook Arena. The Cornhuskers (26-0, 15-0 Big Ten) had clinched a share of the conference championship with two wins in the Pacific Northwest, but the victory over the Fighting Illini (17-9, 9-6) gave NU sole possession of the conference championship.
The first set was a battle, with Illinois opening a 16-11 lead and pushing it to 18-13. But an eight-point run by Nebraska swung the lead to the Huskers, 21-18. The Illini tallied three straight points to tie the set at 21, but Nebraska won three of the next four points to bring up set point, 24-22. A Paityn Chapman kill brought Illinois to within one, but an Andi Jackson kill clinched the set for NU.
The Illini again battled in set two, taking a 12-11 lead midway through the set. Three straight Huskers points push the lead to NU, 14-12. Nebraska kept Illinois at arms length and clinched the set, winning four of the last five points to finish the second set.
The Illini took an early 8-7 lead in set three, but the Huskers surged, scoring three straight points to take a 10-8 lead. Illinois cut NU’s lead to 12-11, but Nebraska all but wrapped up the set and the match with nine straight points to open a 21-11 lead. After an Illini point, the Huskers tallied the last four points to finish the match.
Nebraska hit a dominant .483 for the match, outhitting Illinois, which hit just .200. The Huskers outblocked the Illini, 7-2. Teraya Sigler led Nebraska with 13 kills, hitting a blistering .684. Harper Murray notched 12 kills while hitting .391. Manaia Ogbechie had nine kills while hitting a surgical .750. She also notched five blocks. Bergen Reilly piled up 40 set assists. Chapman led the Illini with 11 kills.
The Huskers play their next-to-last match of the regular season Saturday against Iowa. Pregame coverage begins at 5 p.m., with first serve at 6 p.m., on B-107.3.