After a “sloppy” three-set victory against the Big 12 Conference’s worst team, the Nebraska volleyball team will be looking to rebound quickly before facing the daunting task of toiling with No. 2 Texas on Friday night.
The Huskers will be facing an unbeaten Texas team who many mark as a 2009 NCAA tournament finalist. In the latest UPI polls, Texas topped the list in front of Florida State and Penn State.
“Texas is a team planning on going to a final four,” said NU head coach John Cook. “This is a really great opportunity for us to get better.”
Nebraska, who currently sits at 9-3 in conference play, will look for any way to stop or at the very least slow down, the Big 12’s most productive offense. Texas leads the Big 12 with a .329 hitting percentage; the closest team to the Longhorns, offensively, is Texas A&M at .260.
Cook is confident that with certain improvements his team will remain competitive with the offensive powerhouse.
“First thing is we’ve got to serve it in the court and serve tough to put pressure on them that way. Second thing is that our block is going to have to try to slow some of those hits down,” Cook said. “And then our defense is going to have to dig it so we can transition. They’re so good offensively we’ve got to be real good at those three things.”
Aside from a team standpoint, Texas is home to some of the country’s best players.
Senior All-American Destinee Hooker leads the Big 12 in kills, posting a 4.70 kills-per-set mark. She also holds a .350 hitting percentage through 56 sets. Senior teammate Ashley Engle may also cause some problems for the Huskers on Friday.
Engle leads the conference in hitting percentage .395 on 95 kills in 47 sets.
But Texas is a very well rounded squad; the UT‘s defense is just as good.
Nationally, the Longhorns sit fourth in the NCAA in blocks, with a 3.00 blocks-per-set average. That puts them first in the Big 12 ahead of Iowa State at 2.66.
In its first match-up with Texas, NU committed a season-high 34 attack errors and had 15 serving errors, and UT won that match handily in four.
“We have improved in serving and passing,” Cook said. “I think we’re significantly better in that department. We’re starting to play more as a team. There is more confidence as a group now, opposed to the first time we played Texas.”
The game in Austin will mark an end to the team’s longest road trip of the season, something Cook is not complaining about.
“I think we’re actually playing better on the road then we do at home,” Cook said. “I feel like our players are feeling less pressure.”
The Huskers will rely on big performances from their big players if they’re going to steal a win from the Horns.
In Wednesday’s game against Tech, All-American Tara Mueller put up a career night. Mueller posted a .360 and had 11 kills against the Red Raiders. She hopes to take that same aggression into Austin.
“We need to go into the match on Friday trusting our serve and especially serving and passing,” Mueller said. “We need to do the small things, and we have to play every point. We can’t give them anything.”
No matter the outcome, the game will certainly hold a variety of Big 12 and national title implications.
“It’s Texas, and our kids want to be great,” Cook said. “I think we want to find out what we have to do to get to a final four.”
jaysloan@dailynebraskan.com
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