Baylor came in looking like a top-20 team, and Nebraska had to grind through every set to prove why it sits at No. 1.
In the end, the Huskers did what elite teams do: they absorbed the pressure, answered every push and finished the night with a 25-20, 25-22, 26-24 sweep Friday at John Cook Arena.
“Super composed. Our seniors led the charge there and I thought they were leading, and it never really felt like it was really in danger of losing,” said Husker coach Dani Busboom Kelly.
The win moved Nebraska to 6-0 before a sellout crowd of 10,497 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, while Baylor fell to 5-2.
Sophomore middle blocker Manaia Ogbechie was the headline act. She put down a career-high 12 kills with no errors on 21 swings, finishing at .571. Bergen Reilly said Ogbechie kept Nebraska moving in the biggest stretches of the match.
“I think you all saw it today: She's a terminator and she's ready to go up and get a kill at any point,” Reilly said. “She can move it around, she can hit just about any set. I think she saved us in Game 2 and she got us out of a lot of rotations in Game 3, too.”
Harper Murray also turned in a season-high 12 kills, and Virginia Adriano added a season-high eight while hitting .385.
The first set was tight from the start, with nine ties and two lead changes before Nebraska finally started to separate. Trailing 8-7, Ogbechie sparked a three-point run with a kill, and Murray followed with back-to-back points for a 10-8 edge. Andi Jackson later made it 22-18 with a kill, Teraya Sigler hammered two straight kills to bring up set point at 24-19, and Reilly closed it out with a kill after Baylor saved one point.
Nebraska had to dig out of an early hole in the second set. After an NU error and two Baylor kills, the Bears grabbed a 7-3 lead.
The Huskers answered with five straight points, finishing the burst with an Olivia Mauch ace. That was Nebraska’s 16th run of at least five points through six matches.
Ogbechie and Murray helped rebuild the lead, and Murray joined Jackson on a block to make it 19-15. Baylor got within 23-21, but Sigler’s kill set up set point and Nebraska finished the set 25-22.
The third set brought the most drama. Nebraska moved ahead 15-10, but Baylor kept hanging around and trimmed the gap to 17-16 on a block. Murray helped push the Huskers back in front 22-19, only for Baylor to answer with four straight points and take a 23-22 lead.
“Really confident, and they were just talking about what we're going to do to sideout or score a point. Then they executed,” said Busboom Kelly.
Nebraska responded with four of the last five points, and Reilly capped the sweep with an ace on match point.
Reilly finished with a season-high 41 assists, nine digs and a team-best three aces. Nebraska also got season-high 13-dig performances from Laney Choboy and Mauch as the back row held up under Baylor’s pressure.
Straight-set wins can still take some work. This one certainly did.
In Other News...
Nebraska Unveiled An Old School Wrinkle Fans Will Want More Of
Anthony Jones Jr. gave Nebraska a little old-school flavor in the win over Ohio, lining up as a fullback and helping clear the way for touchdowns while still making his presence felt on defense. The defensive lineman also made three tackles in his Husker debut, a tidy start that only added to the value coaches have already seen in his versatility and leadership.
Jones is expected to keep contributing on defense when Nebraska meets Bowling Green next, but the wrinkle he brought to the offense was the kind of detail fans tend to notice quickly. It is not every day a lineman can help in the trenches on one side of the ball and then step into a lead-blocking role on the other, which is part of why his early impact has stood out. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Gets A Key Defender Back With One Big Concern
Owen Chambliss is working his way back at a time when Nebraska could use another steady piece on defense. The linebacker has been dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of practice and cut into his availability last game, but the coaching staff is still holding out hope he can get on the field against Bowling Green. His value goes beyond simple depth, too, since Chambliss has already shown he can be a key defender and knows defensive coordinator Rob Aurichs system well.
Even so, there is still real uncertainty around how much he can handle in game action. Hamstring issues can be tricky, and Nebraska does not sound ready to lock in a role for him just yet. For a defense trying to build consistency early, getting Chambliss back in any capacity would help, but the bigger question is whether he can return with enough confidence and enough burst to matter right away. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Showed Off Something Dangerous After That First Set Loss
Nebraskas response after dropping the opening set looked like the kind of depth and balance that can make a season interesting in a hurry. The Huskers turned the match around against Georgia Tech with three straight set wins, getting important help from Mania Ogbechie, Skyler Pierce and Teraya Sigler while also tightening up on the other side of the net. Nebraska finished with an 8-7 edge in aces and held Georgia Tech to a .112 hitting percentage, a strong sign that the match changed as much through pressure and defense as through pure scoring.
Pierce and Ogbechie gave Nebraska the offensive lift it needed once the early hiccup passed, and the way the Huskers closed out the match suggested they can get production from more than one place when a match starts to tilt. Siglers role added another layer to the win, giving Nebraska another option it could lean on as the fourth set arrived and the pressure started to build. For a team trying to prove it can absorb an early punch and still take control, that was a useful reminder of how dangerous it can look once it settles in. [Read more 🡒]