After a hard-fought five-set victory against Purdue last night, the Huskers will have to turn the page quickly as Rutgers is in town tonight to try to steal a win from them.

That Purdue game last night was like a giant roller coaster. Sometimes it was fun to watch and be apart of, and other times I just wanted to close my eyes and not look at what was going on. This especially happened in the 5th set, where every point counts.

However, the match really lived up to the hype. Purdue had Chicoine and Hudson with more than 20 kills, but no one else on Purdue had more than 7 kills. This is kind of crazy in a 5 set match.

Nebraska had Merritt Beason, Harper Murray, Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick all with 10+ kills. I believe Nebraska’s depth really helped them survive in this game last night.

Before we leave this match behind completely for now, let’s relive Merritt Beason’s game-winning kill:

Rutgers is a very different team, but not one to be taken lightly as any team in the B1G is very capable of stealing a big win from anyone at any time.

The Scarlet Knights are currently 5-11 on the season, so they aren’t off to the best start this year. They are also 0-5 in B1G play and this currently puts them in last place in the conference. They were also overrun by Iowa last night to start their Midwest journey.

Their last win, this season, came on September 20 against UMES. This was their last non-conference game before starting conference play.

I had to look all the way back to 2012 to find their last winning season. They went 18-12, but 4-11 in conference play. They were also in the Big East that year, so they didn’t face Nebraska.

Nebraska is all-time 14-1 against Rutgers. They are currently on a fourteen-game winning streak, with the only win coming from the Scarlet Knights in 1978. All but one of the Huskers’ fourteen wins against Rutgers were sweeps.

RS-Junior OH Alissa Kinkela appears to be the leader of this Rutgers team. She was Co-Player of the Week on September 30. She currently has 196 kills for a hitting percentage of .258. This is the team high for players who played every set.

SO Anna Hartman is another part of the outside hitter crew that will likely start tonight. She has 84 kills for a hitting percentage of .140 and also has 29 total blocks and 55 digs.

RS freshman Krista Dooley is a right side hitter for the Scarlet Knights and is looking to have a big season for them. She has played occasionally, but has also cracked the starting lineup on occasion. She has played 25 sets so far and has 19 kills, for a hitting percentage of .167.

Their middle block room is very young with a freshman, sophomore and a senior. Their freshman, Natalie Robinson, will likely start tonight against the Huskers. She has a team-high 67 kills and stands 6 feet tall at the net. She can also punch and has 65 kills.

Sophomore Kenzie Dyrstad is Rutgers’ starting Libero, as she is one of two players who has played every set for the Scarlet Knights this season. She has 161 digs this season and an average of 2.93 per set. Her stats are noticeably less than Rodriguez’s, but it’s Lexi, so that’s not surprising.

Freshman DS/Libero Alleigh Dutton has also gotten some playing time and she has collected 55 digs in 37 sets played this season. She also adds 10 assists.

Junior Aly Borellis is Rutgers’ leading setter with 50 sets played and 332 assists this season. She scores an average of 6.64 per set. She also helps a bit with blocking, of which there are 10 and 1 is solo.

Nebraska will look to extend their winning streak to 13 games tonight when Rutgers comes to town to try to steal one from them.

First service for this match will take place at 7:00 PM CT at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, NE. This match can only be streamed on B1G+ with a subscription.

#2 Nebraska (15-1, 5-0)

#2 Bergen Reilly 6’1”SO Setter
#5 Rebekah Allick 6’4” JR MB
#6 Laney Choboy 5’3” SO DS/L
#7 Maisie Boesiger 5’6” JR DS/L
#8 Lexi Rodriguez 5’5” SR DS/L
#9 Kennedi Orr 6’0” SR setter
#10 Olivia Mauch 5’6” FR DS/L
#11 Leyla Blackwell 6’4” SR MB
#12 Taylor Landfair 6’5” SR OH
#13 Merritt Beason 6’4” SR OH
#15 Andi Jackson 6’3”ZO MB
#21 Skyler Pierce 6’2” FR OH
#22 Lindsay Krause 6’4” SR OH
#27 Harper Murray 6ft SE OH

Rutgers (5-11, 0-4)

#1 Zora Hardison 6’2”SO MB
#2 Ema Grubanov 6’4” FR OH
#3 Kenzie Dyrstad 5’7” SO DS/Libero
#4 Uliana Yastrub 6’0” FR OH
#5 Aly Borellis 5’10” JR setter
#7 Krista Dooley 6’3” RS-FR RS
#8 Lexi Visintine 6’0” JR OH/DS
#9 Natalie Robinson 6’4” FR MB
#10 Georgia Lee 6’1”SO Setter
#11 Lily Bolen 5’7” FR Setter
#13 Ece Emrullah 6’3” SR MB
#14 Anna Hartman 6’2” SO OH
#15 Alleigh Dutton 5’4” FR DS/Libero
#17 Avery Jesewitz 6’3” FR OH
#20 Rebekah Williams 5’9” ​​​​JR OH
#22 Alissa Kinkela 6’4” RS-JR OH