Tonight at 5:00 PM PT on Big Ten Network, #9 Stanford women’s volleyball will take on #2 Nebraska on the road. Stanford comes in at 4-2 overall while Nebraska comes in at 7-0.
Last time out: On Saturday, Stanford defeated #3 Minnesota on the road 3-1. Kendall Kipp led the way for Stanford with 17 kills, 6 digs, and 3 blocks.
RECAP: #11 Stanford WVB bounces back at #3 Minnesota
On Nebraska: Nebraska is one of the top teams in the nation, not having lost a match at all this year. However, in their lone match against a ranked opponent (at #17 Creighton), they won 3-2. That indicates that they are vulnerable. This match in a lot of ways will be as big for them as it will be for Stanford if not bigger.
The Cornhuskers have two excellent outside hitters in senior Madi Kubik (3.43 kills per set) and sophomore Whitney Lauenstein (3.74 kills per set). Both players are off to really strong starts and are a major reason why the Cornhuskers are undefeated through seven matches. They also have a really talented sophomore defensive specialist/libero in Lexi Rodriguez who averages a team-high 4.13 digs per set. This gives them a really good combination of offensive fire power and strong defense.
A big part of Nebraska’s success is they don’t commit a lot of errors. On average, they pick up 14.3 kills per set while averaging 4.6 attack errors per set. Their opponents in contrast average 9.65 kills per set and 5.9 attack errors per set. When you win the turnover battle and are better on the attack, you’re going to be tough to stop.
Keys to the match: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is play a clean match. Nebraska is used to being the cleaner, more efficient team. If Stanford can win in that department or at least keep it really close, they’ll have a great shot at winning this match.
Secondly, Stanford needs to get another strong performance from both Kendall Kipp and Caitie Baird. Your stars need to deliver on the road and against the number two team in the nation, they need their best two outside hitters to come up big.
Finally, Stanford needs to win the defensive battle. Nebraska plays really good defense and so Stanford is going to need to find a way to match that. McKenna Vicini and Sami Francis have made some big plays at the middle blocker position and they’re going to need to do so again tonight against the Cornhuskers.
Prediction: I didn’t see Stanford beating Minnesota 3-1 and I also didn’t see them losing to Penn State, so anything can happen in this match. It should also be noted that Stanford did defeat Nebraska 3-1 last year on The Farm. Since Nebraska is at home, I’ll give the Cornhuskers the slight edge, but I think it’ll be a very competitive match. I got Nebraska winning in five tight sets.
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