Nebraska hands Illini first volleyball loss

LINCOLN, Neb. — Gina Mancuso had 15 kills, 18 digs and a pair of aces to lead Nebraska to a 24-26, 25-18, 25-19, 25-11 win over previously undefeated Illinois on Saturday in a Big Ten showdown between two of the top teams in the nation.

Illinois (20-1, 9-1 Big Ten) entered the match ranked first in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Nebraska (17-1, 10-0) was ranked fourth. The win was the Huskers’ first over a top-ranked team since it defeated UCLA in five sets in 1990, and it came as they play their first season in the Big Ten.

“As a team, this was our best match of the season,” said Nebraska coach John Cook. “I thought Morgan (Broekhuis) did a heck of a job tonight. Hayley Thramer had her best night tonight. She took that match over. It was a team effort, there’s a lot of trust out there. It’s like a wolf pack. We hunt together.”

Illinois came from behind to take the opening set, running off four consecutive points, the last two on Colleen Ward aces, to go up 20-18. Getting on top and staying there was the Illini game plan, said coach Kevin Hambly.

But Illinois struggled in the second game, committing a half-dozen service errors in a set it lost by seven points.

“Those errors were key,” Hambly said. “We wanted to do a great job of serving and get them out of system. We didn’t execute. They play as well as anybody. They got rolling. The energy level they played with at the end we knew they could play with. We had to figure out a way to stop it and didn’t.”

Nebraska broke open the final two sets with long runs. In the third set, Mancuso’s kill, service ace and kill triggered a 9-1 Husker spurt that ended at 22-9

In the fourth set, Nebraska led 10-6, then closed with a flurry, outscoring Illinois 12-3 and ending the match with an emphatic slam by Hannah Werth. Nebraska hit .696 in the final game, while holding Illinois to hitting .148.

For the match, Nebraska hit .361 while holding Illinois to .196 hitting.

“The number one team in the country held to .196 is a great effort,” Cook said. “The crowd got going. It was ridiculous how loud it was down there. It was deafening. That took some of the energy out of Illinois.”

A host of emotions ran through Thramer when Werth slammed down the final kill.

“Relief, ecstatic, excited, all of the above,” she said. “It was a huge win for us.”