Box Score: Northwestern 3, Nebraska 1

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EVANSTON, Ill. — As the curtain closed on the regular season Saturday night, the No. 2-ranked Nebraska volleyball team left Evanston, Ill., exhibiting a startling case of stage fright as the NCAA tournament looms next week.

Behind a pair of outstanding performances from freshman Yewande Akanbi and sophomore Stephanie Holthus, the Wildcats shocked Nebraska 25-20, 9-25, 25-21, 25-23 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The outside hitters combined for 39 kills to will Northwestern to victory over the newly crowned Big Ten champions.

Going into the weekend, Nebraska was all-but-certain to be one of the four top national seeds when the NCAA tournament brackets are released Sunday afternoon. But this loss may put that status up in the air.

NU coach John Cook didn't mince words in brief, post-match radio comments about his concern for the Huskers on the eve of the postseason. Nebraska hasn't been overwhelming in recent victories, and Saturday's match left Cook expressing equal parts frustration and bafflement at his club's performance.

"We haven't played well the last five matches, so maybe this team has decided they've had enough. I don't know," Cook said following the match. "In October, we were the best team in the country, and I don't know where that's gone."

Nebraska (24-4, 17-3 Big Ten) saw its three-match win streak snapped despite nearly doubling the Wildcats' attack percentage (.186 to .099) and out-blocking Northwestern 10-8.

Three Huskers recorded double-doubles, led by Hannah Werth's 15 kills and 14 digs. Gina Mancuso hit .400 with 13 kills and 17 digs, while Morgan Broekhuis had 12 kills and 10 digs.

But it seemed much of Nebraska's statistical superiority was compiled during a blowout in Game 2 that seemed to erase another first-set struggle. Northwestern (16-15, 7-13) reeled off a 6-0 run to break a 19-19 tie in the opener and hand the Huskers their eighth first-set loss in the last 11 matches.

Nebraska dominated the second, racing out to a 16-5 lead while holding the Wildcats to negative-.205 hitting. But while other teams have wilted after giving the Huskers a strong first punch, Northwestern kept swinging.

"Northwestern played really well," Cook said. "They played fearless, and we didn't make plays when we needed to get it done."

The Wildcats used a 10-2 run to erase Nebraska's 15-11 lead in Game 3, and the Huskers could get no closer than 22-20 before Holthus and Akanbi each put down kills late in the set to put Northwestern up 2-1 heading to the fourth.

Needing a win to become eligible to even be considered for the postseason, Northwestern sent the ball to its star duo on every crucial point. The two combined for 11 of the Wildcats' final 12 kills. Akanbi had a match-high 20 kills and Holthus followed closely with 19, but no other Northwestern player had more than five kills in the match.

"They set their left-sides every ball and we couldn't stop them," Cook said. "We were so undisciplined — a pathetic performance on our part."

A Werth kill notched the final deadlock at 23-23, but Akanbi put down another ball to give Northwestern match point before a final swing from Hannah Crippen marked the exclamation point on one of the biggest shockers of the Big Ten season.

"We played a team tonight that had nothing to lose," Cook said in a phone interview with the World-Herald. "They swung away and went for it."

The loss left a bittersweet scene in the Huskers' locker room, where Nebraska was awarded its Big Ten championship trophy while Northwestern was left to celebrate its signature win of the season.

The trophy remains a reminder of the Huskers' successful navigation of the choppy conference seas. But as Nebraska limps into the postseason with an unexpected loss, could the effort put into that accomplishment be an anchor for a team that suddenly looks like it's having trouble keeping its head above water?

"They know every match is the season now," Cook said. "We have three parts to the season: the non-conference, the conference, which we took care of, and now the NCAA tournament. That recharges the batteries because it's every point now that matters a lot."

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