Volleyball nights in this state do not need a sales pitch. They need a building big enough to hold the fans. No. 1 Nebraska gave Pinnacle Bank Arena one on Wednesday, sweeping No. 20 Creighton 25-13, 25-15, 25-19 in front of 15,405 fans, the largest indoor home crowd in program history, and remaining unbeaten at 8-0.
The old mark of 13,870 had stood since Sept. 13, 2009, when the Huskers packed the Bob Devaney Sports Center against UCLA. Wednesday’s turnout was also the third-largest volleyball crowd ever at Pinnacle Bank Arena, behind only a pair of AVCA First Serve matches last season. For a midweek I-80 rivalry date, it sure didn’t feel like a Wednesday.
The match itself never really became a fight. Nebraska improved to 25-0 all-time against Creighton and held the Bluejays to a season-low -.033 hitting percentage, including -.065 in the opening set. The Huskers put up nine blocks and never looked like a team missing a starter.
Middle blocker Manaia Ogbechie, last week’s Big Ten Player of the Week, was ruled out before first serve because of illness. The Big Red did not blink. Andi Jackson led Nebraska with nine kills and six blocks. Kenna Cogill, making her first start, posted a career-high eight kills on .727 hitting. Virginia Adriano and Harper Murray added eight kills apiece, with Murray moving into eighth place on Nebraska’s rally-scoring era career kills list.
Bergen Reilly ran the show with her third double-double of the season: 33 assists and 11 digs. Teraya Sigler matched a season high with 11 digs, and Olivia Mauch also finished with 11. When the Huskers needed a serve to tilt a set, Laney Choboy provided an ace that helped break Set 2 open.
Creighton fell to 5-5. The Jays had taken three of the previous four meetings the distance. This one never reached that kind of tension. Nebraska’s first sweep of Creighton in Lincoln since 2011 looked less like a narrow in-state escape and more like a top-ranked team reminding everyone why the poll looks the way it does. The Huskers stay home Friday, hosting No. 25 North Carolina at John Cook Arena inside the Devaney Center. First serve is 7 p.m. CT.
