After a hard-fought 5-set win last night against Purdue, the Huskers will need to turn around quickly as Rutgers is in town to take the win from them tonight.

The Purdue game last night was like a huge roller coaster ride. Sometimes it was fun to watch and be apart, and sometimes I just wanted to close my eyes and not watch what was going on. This happened especially in the 5th set, where every point counted.

However, the match really lived up to the hype. Purdue had Chicoine and Hudson with 20+ kills, but no one else on Purdue had 7+ kills. That’s a little crazy in a 5-set match.

Nebraska had Merritt Beason, Harper Murray, Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick, all with more than 10 kills. I think Nebraska’s strength last night really helped them get through this game.

Let’s relive Merritt Beason’s game-winning kill before we put this match behind us entirely for now:

Rutgers is a completely different team, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly because every 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 haven’t gotten off to the best start this year. They are also 0-5 in B1G play, currently in last place in the conference. They also got swept up in Iowa last night to begin their journey to the Midwest.

Their last win of the season came on September 20th against UMES. This was their last non-conference game before conference play began.

I had to go back to 2012 to find their last successful season. They finished with a record of 18-12 but 4-11 in conference play. They were also still in the Big East that year, so they didn’t play Nebraska.

Nebraska is 14-1 overall against Rutgers. They are currently on a 14-game winning streak, with the Scarlet Knights earning one victory in 1978. All but one of the Huskers’ 14 wins against Rutgers were sweeps.

RS junior OH Alissa Kinkela looks to be the leader of this Rutgers team. On September 30th she was teammate of the week. She currently has 196 kills with a .258 hitting percentage. This is the team best for players who played every set.

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

RS freshman Krista Dooley is a righty hitter for the Scarlet Knights and is hoping for a big season for them. She played again and again, but also cracked the starting line-up at times. She has played 25 sets and has 19 kills so far, for a hitting percentage of .167.

Their middle blocking room is very young with a freshman, a sophomore and a senior. Their freshman, Natalie Robinson, will likely start tonight against the Huskers. She has 67 kills on the team and stands at 6’1″ tall at the net. She is also good at hitting as she has 65 kills.

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

Freshman DS/Libero Alleigh Dutton has also gotten some playing time and 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 has an average of 6.64 per set. She also helps block a bit, with 10 of them and 1 alone.

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

First serve for this game is at 7:00 pm CT at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, NE. This game can only be streamed with a subscription on B1G+.

#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 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

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