The Huskers will have to overcome a strong Illinois team, while the Hawkeyes will have to fall against #25 Washington. This rivalry will be reignited in the first of two games of the season. One in Lincoln and one in Iowa City.

There could be questions about Nebraska’s starting lineup since Andi Jackson was sidelined with injury against Illinois on Thursday. This means that Leyla Blackwell could get the promise to start over in her place.

Taylor Landfair also made her first start in B1G conference play on Thursday in place of Lindsay Krause, who was dressed. Krause came into play at the end of the third set, but we’ll see what John Cook does with OH2 in this match.

The rest of the starting lineup should remain the same, barring any injuries that we don’t know about yet. Bergen Reilly will take over the lineup, Rebekah Allick as middle blocker, Harper Murray as OH1, Lexi Rodriguez in libero colors and Merritt Beason as counterpart.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are currently barely over .500 at 8-7. They are currently 2-1 in B1G play, with the two wins coming against two of the weaker teams in Maryland and Rutgers. Iowa’s last winning season was the 2015-2016 season when they finished 19-13.

When I looked for their last winning season, I noticed that the wins from 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 were all vacated. This happened because former coach Bond Shymansky paid an incoming transfer of $2,000 in cash so that she could focus on academics and not worry about work.

Freshman OH Malu Garcia is one of Iowa’s starting players and looks to be one of their best. She has a .225 batting average and 138 kills so far this year. It also adds 49 excavations and 43 blocks.

Senior OH Michelle Urquhart has played every set for the Hawkeyes so far this season and is hitting .189 on the year. SO OH Gabby Deery rounds out the Hawkeyes’ hitting team as she has 92 kills and a .190 batting average so far.

Seniors Anna Davis and Gracie Gibson will most likely start at middle blocker for Iowa on Sunday afternoon. Gibson has been a starter for most of the year, while Davis has only played 16 sets so far this season.

Since Davis hasn’t played all that much, she only has 9 blocks and 19 kills on the year. Gibson is second on the team with 58 blocks. She also has 98 kills, for a hitting percentage of .358. She currently has the highest hit rate on the team.

A freshman won the Iowa setter competition, with Jenna Meitzler sharing the responsibility with junior Claire Ammeraal. Meitzler is expected to start on Sunday. She has 328 assists, which is 9.94 assists per set. She also has 71 digs, which is the third most on the team.

Rounding out the starting lineup, sophomore Joy Galles will be Iowa’s starting libero for the day. She is one of the few players who has played every set so far this year. She has 225 digs and a 3.88 per set average. She also adds 56 assists.

Even though Iowa isn’t one of the strongest teams in the conference, they want to shock Nebraska and get the win. Nebraska will need to maintain the intensity of the past few weeks to beat Iowa.

The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. CT at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, NE. It will be televised on the Nebraska Public Media channel and also streamed on B1G+.

#2 Nebraska (13-1)

#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 Kennedy 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” SO MB
#21 Skyler Pierce 6’2” FR OH
#22 Lindsay Krause 6’4” SR OH
#27 Harper Murray 6’2” SO OH

Iowa (8-7)

#0 Joy Galles 5’6” Grad Student Libero
#2 Kenya Prescott 5’5” JR Libero
#4 Claire Ammeraal 6’2” JR Setter
#5 Dominique Phills 6’1” FR OH
#6 Hallie Steponaitis 6’1” FR OH
#8 Anna Davis 6’1” SR MB
#9 Gabby Deery 6’2” SO OH
#10 Olivia Lombardi 5’8” RS-FR Libero
#11 Jenna Meitzler 6’1” FR Setter
#12 Hannah Whittingstall 6’2” SO MB
#13 Jaimie Marquardt 5’7” FR libero
#14 Gracie Gibson 6’1” SR MB
#15 Michelle Urquhart 6’0” SR OH
#16 Emily Lavin 5’11” RS-FR OH/DS
#18 Malu Garcia 6’1” FR OH
#22 Pink Vesty 6’2” SO OH
#24 Aleksandra Stojanovic 6’3” FR MB
#39 Alyssa Worden 5’11” RS-FR OH