No. 4 Huskers beat No. 5 Stanford 3-1 in epic battle

The Nebraska Volleyball team slayed its biggest dragon of the 2023 so far Tuesday night in California. Facing off against No. 5 Stanford on the road, the Huskers showed off their rapid ascension with a 25-23, 25-16, 19-25, 25-21 victory.

Tuesday’s victory for the Huskers is the first over Stanford since 2008 and snaps a five-game losing streak to the Cardinal. Inside Nebraska’s Geoff Exstrom gives his three quick thoughts on a season-changing win for the Huskers.

***Story will be updated with quotes and analysis

Much like Stanford did a year ago in Lincoln, Nebraska walked into Maples Pavilion and pulled out a 3-1 victory over the No. 5 Cardinal Tuesday night. You’re talking about a Husker team with six newcomers and four freshman in the starting lineup walking into a hostile environment and taking a win over the most successful volleyball program in history.

With a national audience on ESPN witnessing the win, Nebraska has officially entered the national championship picture. And with how young this team is, plenty of improvement is yet to come. The expectation for this group just skyrocket after tonight.

The freshman outside hitter continues to make strikes as an effective six-rotation hitter. She struggled to pass early against an aggressive Stanford serve, but her game came alive in the second set with six kills.

She was extremely efficient as well recording only one hitting error through two sets while chipping in some some blocks as well as a pair of aces. With an offense that exploded against the Cardinal, Murray was the leader finishing with 12 kills on a .417 clip with six digs, four blocks and three aces.

Stanford averaged a .326 hitting percentage going into Tuesday’s showdown that ranked No. 6 nationally. Assistant coach Jaylen Reyes set up a fantastic gameplan for the Huskers who limited the Stanford attackers all night long.

Despite losing national block leader Kaitlyn Hord, defensive specialist Kenzie Knuckles and six-rotation attacker Madi Kubik, the Big Red machine continues to churn on with outstanding defense led by Lexi Rodriguez that limited the Cardinal to a .218 hitting percentage. Passing was suspect in the first set, but adjustments were made leading to a dominant performance against one of the best offenses in college volleyball.

Nebraska returns to action on Sunday when they host No. 21 Kentucky in Lincoln. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Devaney Center with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.