VB Preview: vs. No. 20 Creighton

NO. 1 NEBRASKA vs. NO. 20 CREIGHTON
September 16, 2026 | 6 PM
Pinnacle Bank Arena | Lincoln, Neb.

BROADCAST INFO
TV – BTN
RADIO NETWORK – John Baylor, Lauren (Cook) West
INTERNET AUDIO – Huskers.com
APP AUDIO – Official Huskers App

Follow the Match
• Wednesday’s match against No. 20 Creighton can be seen on BTN, with Larry Punteney and Emily Ehman on the call.
• Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast all the action on their volleyball affiliate stations, on Huskers.com and on the Huskers App. 

Nebraska vs. Creighton
• Through 24 all-time meetings, Nebraska holds an unbeaten 24-0 lead in the series against Creighton. 
• In three of their last four meetings, the Huskers and Bluejays have played to a decisive fifth set.

Huskers at No. 1 in Latest AVCA Poll
• The Nebraska volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll released on Sept. 14. 
• The Huskers collected 1,560 points in the poll and came in ahead of No. 2 Pitt (1,527), No. 3 Louisville (1,419), No. 4 Kentucky (1,370) and No. 5 SMU (1,206). Nebraska got 48 first-place votes, followed by Pitt with the remaining 15. 
• It marks Nebraska’s 127th week all-time at No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the most of any program in the nation.

Largest Indoor Home Crowd For the Big Red
• With more than 15,000 fans expected, tomorrow night’s match at Pinnacle Bank Arena is set to be the largest indoor home crowd in program history.
• The current indoor home record is 13,870 against UCLA at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in 2009.
• Wednesday’s matchup will be the eighth home match in program history with a crowd of at least 11,000 fans.

Ogbechie Named Big Ten Player of the Week
• Sophomore middle blocker Manaia Ogbechie was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday.
• It is Ogbechie’s first career Big Ten Player of the Week selection and the first Nebraska player to earn Big Ten Player of the Week since Andi Jackson on Nov. 10, 2025.
• Ogbechie led the top-ranked Huskers to a 3-0 week against New Mexico, No. 20 Baylor and Georgia Tech last weekend. On the week, the sophomore middle blocker was the only player in the country to hit above .540 with at least 53 swings.
• Across the three matches, Ogbechie totaled 33 kills on a blistering pace of .547 hitting and added 12 blocks.

Block Party for the Big Red
• Through seven matches, Nebraska is second in the Big Ten and 14th nationally with an average of 2.77 blocks/set.
• Three Huskers have 15 or more blocks this season - Manaia Ogbechie (27), Andi Jackson (19), and Teraya Sigler (16). Virginia Adriano also has 14 blocks.
• Ogbechie’s average of 1.35 blocks per set ranks third in the Big Ten. She had a season-high seven blocks against No. 2 Texas on Aug. 30. 
• As a team, Nebraska has four matches with 10 or more blocks.

Protect the Vault
• Wednesday marks the third time Nebraska has played volleyball in the 15,500-seat Pinnacle Bank Arena. PBA opened in 2013 and has primarily been home to Nebraska men’s and women’s basketball, as well as a large-scale entertainment venue in Lincoln that hosts concerts and other shows.
• The Huskers are 2-0 all-time at Pinnacle Bank Arena after opening the 2025 campaign with a 3-1 win against No. 3 Pitt and sweep over No. 6 Stanford at the AVCA First Serve.

NU’s Two-Way Dominance
• After leading the country in hitting percentage and opposing hitting percentage last season, Nebraska became the first team to finish first nationally in both categories since at least 2014, the NCAA’s first season tracking opposing hitting percentages.
• The Husker offense hit at a school-record pace of .351 and hit over .400 in nine matches last season, which is a school record in the rally-scoring era.
• The NU defense has led the nation in opponent hitting percentage three times in the last four seasons (2022, 2023 and 2025) after limiting opponents to a pace of .129 in 2025.
• Through seven matches in 2026, Nebraska leads the country with an opposing hitting percentage of .101.
• The Huskers are hitting .330 as a team this season, which ranks fifth nationally and second in the Big Ten. NU has hit .300 or better in all but one match, including a season-high clip of .434 in a 3-0 win over DePaul on Sept. 4.
• With a hitting percentage of .330 and an opposing hitting percentage of .101, Nebraska has a differential of +.229, ranking only behind Michigan State at +.230. The Huskers and Spartans are one of two teams in the country with a margin of +.200 or better.

NU’s Race to the Red Zone
• Nebraska is 117-0 in sets under head coach Dani Busboom Kelly when reaching the red zone (20 points) first.
• The Huskers are 21-0 when reaching the red zone first in 2026 after posting a 96-0 mark last season. 

Big Red on the Run
• Nebraska has recorded 20 runs of five-plus unanswered points through seven matches this season, highlighted by a season-long streak of 10 in the first sets against No. 2 Texas and New Mexico.
• The Huskers have scored five consecutive points on 11 occasions, six straight points five times, a seven-point streak, a nine-point streak and a pair of 10-point streaks.