• Box Score: Nebraska def. Creighton 26-24, 25-18, 25-15

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• Photo Showcase: Nebraska vs. Creighton

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Nebraska wanted to prove it could survive a tough test on the road and overcome a hostile environment even when it wasn't playing its best volleyball.

Creighton was hoping to show it could perform light years better than it did last the weekend, and the Bluejays didn't want to disappoint one of their biggest crowds in program history.

It worked out that both teams felt like they accomplished their missions.

The seventh-ranked Huskers returned to Lincoln with a 26-24, 25-18, 25-15 sweep Tuesday night, rebounding from their five-set loss to No. 6 Florida Sunday at the AVCA Showcase. The turnout of 2,514 at Sokol Arena was the fourth-largest for a Creighton home match.

Nebraska was not sharp out of the gate, and the Bluejays almost made the Huskers pay for their sluggish start. Creighton played with a big lead the entire first set, and NU would have dropped the game if it wasn't for an impressive rally.

“We told (our players) they were going into a hornet's nest tonight,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “That place was buzzing and rocking. It's our first road match of the year, but I was really proud of the way we hung on and won that game. ... Creighton was playing really well. They deserve a lot of credit for making us look pretty bad there in the first game.”

Using some tough serving and strong defense, the Bluejays had Nebraska in trouble in set one. They built leads of 22-17 and 24-21, but that's when Nebraska hit another gear to race past Creighton at the finish line.

Behind a strong serving run from Tara Mueller — who delivered despite a few Creighton fans talking directly into her ear — the Huskers used a 5-0 run to avoid losing the opener. During CU's three shots at set point, the Huskers got two kills by Brooke Delano and another from Hannah Werth.

Then some nasty serves by Mueller would lead to a pair of Creighton attack errors that allowed the Huskers to go ahead 1-0. Had the Bluejays held on, it would've marked just the second time in series history that Nebraska dropped a set against CU.

“The negative for us was that we had great opportunities in game one to seal the deal,” said coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth, whose team was coming off a 1-2 showing at its Bluejays Invitational. “With that said, I told (our players) that we're a very good team. ... We played good volleyball, so I think that's huge to show we have the capability of hanging with Top 25 teams.”

Booth had no doubt that Creighton would've won set one had it not been for a spectacular play by NU libero Kayla Banwarth. During one of the Bluejays' shots at set point, Alicia Runge unleashed a rocket that Banwarth dug up. Booth said Runge's shot would've been a kill against almost every other team in the country.

“You always have that little fist pump, because you think it's going to go down,” said Runge, who led Creighton with 10 kills. “Then all of a sudden she digs it at the end, and you're like, ‘Urrgh!'”

Creighton and Nebraska went back and forth again in set two, but the NU pulled away after the score was tied 17-all. In the final game, the Huskers turned the tables on CU, cranking up the intensity on their serving and passing to polish off the sweep.

“I think there's a lot we can build on,” said Booth, whose team plays in St. Louis' tournament on Friday and Saturday. “Overall, it was a positive for us.”

The Huskers played without 6-foot-5 freshman right-side hitter Morgan Broekhuis, who has been nursing a minor foot injury. Cook said Broekhuis could've played if she needed to, but the coach wanted to rest her in preparation for the upcoming weekend, when the Huskers will appear in a tournament hosted by BYU.

Gina Mancuso filled in on the right side and had nine kills on .238 attacking. Delano had 10 kills on .474 hitting, while Jordan Wilberger added eight kills while swinging at a .615 clip.

Wilberger, a junior middle blocker, got her first playing time of the season Tuesday. If Wilberger's play against Creighton is any indication, she appears to be making a strong case that she should join Delano in NU's starting middle-blocker rotation.

“I think fighting back in that first set was really, really important,” Wilberger said. “Especially coming off Florida and coming up just a little bit short. I think we're growing as a team, and the confidence level is getting there. We're going to build on this.”

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com

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