No. 9 Minnesota dominated No. 5 Nebraska from start to finish in the Huskers last regular season game of the 2022 season (22-25, 23-25, 22-25). Even with the loss, the Huskers finished as Big Ten runner-ups behind No. 5 Wisconsin.
Pre-match, head coach John Cook continued the Husker tradition of handing roses to the opposing seniors. The Husker seniors — middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord, defensive specialist Kenzie Knuckles, outside hitter Madi Kubik and setter Nicklin Hames — were honored post-match.
“Give our fans credit for sticking around for the senior night,” Cook said postgame. “That’s pretty special… that's one of the things that helps you get through nights like tonight and weeks like this week, is seeing that. That’s really what it’s all about after wins and losses.”
With Hames sitting out on Saturday night due to an illness, Nebraska switched to a 6-2 scheme with sophomore Kennedi Orr and junior Anni Evans rotating at the setter position. The new setting duo looked to the right side and middle early and often.
The sophomore outside hitters — Whitney Lauenstein, Ally Batenhorst and Lindsay Krause — combined for six kills in the first 10 Nebraska points as the Huskers jumped out to an early 11-6 lead in set one.
Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon — who coached his last regular season game for the Gophers on Saturday night — wasn’t happy with his team’s performance and called his first timeout shortly after.
Out of the break, the early Husker dominance continued. The Minnesota frontline couldn’t stop the Husker youth, and McCutcheon was forced to call another timeout with the score at 17-10. This time, the timeout worked to perfection for the Gophers as they went on an 11-4 run which tied the set up, 21-21.
On the ensuing rally, Minnesota grabbed their first lead of the match with a kill from junior outside hitter Jenna Wenaas. A few points later, Kubik stopped a 6-0 Gopher run with a kill assisted by Orr, but the visitors couldn’t be stopped. Minnesota completed the miraculous comeback, ending the set on a 10-2 run for a 25-22 victory.The unexpected end to the first set drained the energy out of the Husker faithful in attendance.
Nebraska struggled to gain an advantage early on in set two as Minnesota matched every point on the following rally. Nebraska finally grabbed its biggest lead of the young set, 9-7, after a monster kill by Hord. Minnesota responded with a 5-0 run, going up 12-9 before a Cook timeout.
The Huskers were reeling and the Gophers saw blood in the water.
Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Landfair, who added six kills in set two alone, bolstered the Gopher attack as they reached set point, 24-20. The Huskers weren’t ready to go away quite yet, though, as a Minnesota service error, Allick ace and Lauenstein kill cut the deficit to just one, 24-23.
But after a Minnesota timeout, Allick served a ball too long and handed Minnesota a 2-0 set lead. The third set saw the match revert to what one would have expected from a top-10 matchup.
It began with a Minnesota lead, but it didn’t last for long. An error gave Nebraska its first points of the set, but the Gophers responded with a 5-1 run — capped off by a monster block on Hord.
A powerful Krause kill abruptly stopped the Minnesota run and kickstarted what was Nebraska’s biggest run of the night. The Huskers went seven straight points unanswered, helped by two kills from Batenhorst.
Minnesota used a timeout to stop the Huskers’ swing, but it only gave them one point before Nebraska resumed its command with four more unanswered points, which gave it a 14-8 advantage.
Nebraska retained its lead in the next few points, but Minnesota slowly began creeping its way back into the set. Soon after, kills from Landfair and Wenaas jump-started a 9-1 Gopher run to put the maroon and gold back in front, 20-17.
A kill from Krause briefly put a hold to this burst, but three more Gopher points had Husker fans heading for the exits. Another late Nebraska run — and the upcoming senior night ceremony — kept the majority of fans in the building for a little longer, but it wasn’t enough.
Minnesota took set three 25-22, completing the sweep. This marks only the second time the Huskers were swept this year, the last time coming at Wisconsin on Oct. 26.
Minnesota played stellar defensively all night, and it showed with its 10 blocks. Offensively, Landfair finished as the match leader in kills with 16 on a .273 hitting percentage. Minnesota junior setter Melani Shaffmasater finished with 34 assists, helping the Gophers to a .243 team hitting percentage.
Lauenstein and Krause were at the forefront of the Nebraska attack and both finished with 11 kills. Lauenstein led the Huskers in hitting percentage at .364, but the Huskers struggled mightily on offense as they hit .153 with 22 attack errors as a team.
“These girls have had to be adaptable… I saw some things tonight that I’ve never seen our players do,” Cook said. “Error wise and swing wise, there was just a lot of uncertainty tonight.”
Post-match, the emotions — and tears — flowed as the four aforementioned seniors participated in senior night festivities. Even though Hames sat out of the match, she was met with the biggest ovation from the Husker crowd.
Nebraska will now await its NCAA Tournament seeding. The selection show will unveil the 64-team field on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. CT on Sunday.