Penn State's seniors had never beaten Nebraska. The Nittany Lions' freshmen had never lost to the Huskers.
That was the setup for the scene that unfolded at Rec Hall on Saturday night when Penn State (15-3, 6-2) rallied 3-2 to end its seven-game losing streak to the Huskers (15-3, 6-2). It was yet another chapter in the rivalry of two of the most storied teams in the sport -- teams that have won 12 of the 37 NCAA national championships awarded.
"I'm hype," said Nia Reed, a redshirt in 2014, the last time the Nittany Lions beat Nebraska. "I've been here for five years and never beaten them once."
Bryanna Weiskircher's 18th ace of the season on match point culminated a comeback that almost wasn't in front of 5,045 people in Happy Valley. The Huskers were two points away from wrapping it up in four when a Reed kill, a block and a Nebraska attack error sent it to a final set, where Penn State dominated, 15-9.
The last time these teams met was in the national semifinal last fall in Kansas City, Missouri, when Simone Lee, Ali Frantti and Haleigh Washington, now all playing professionally, were wearing blue and white. Penn State held a match point and had a free ball for a chance to reach the championship game for an 11th time. It unraveled after two Nittany Lions collided. That point, then the set, then the match and, ultimately, the national championship, Nebraska's fifth, went to the Huskers.
While this one didn't have those stakes, it had plenty of drama on a night when the numbers don't tell the story. Nebraska dominated every significant statistical category except one (digs). Credit Penn State junior Kendall White for that. The Nittany Lions' libero scooped up 25 of Penn State's 89.
"It's a pride win more than anything," White said through a raspy voice, a result of her demonstrative displays of emotion throughout a contest that lasted nearly three hours. "We didn't get down. Nobody crashed under pressure. When we needed people to play, they played."
Winning ugly? Coach Russ Rose doesn't exactly embrace that term despite his Nittany Lions dropping the second set 25-11 and hitting .023 in a fourth set that they won.
"It was just a match of teams doing different things," said Rose, the sport's winningest coach who notched No. 1,261. "We really need to battle and try to dig a lot of balls and scramble. They've got two All-Americans on the floor and we've got three freshmen on the floor. It's just a whole different scenario of challenges."
Nebraska has youth in important spots, too; setter Nicklin Hames and middle blocker Callie Schwarzenbach, both starters, are freshmen. But the Huskers rely heavily on two-time final four Most Outstanding Player Mikaela Foecke, along with All-American Lexi Sun. The pair combined for 37 kills.
Penn State is full of new pieces; seven of their eight freshmen see significant time, including starting opposite hitter Jonni Parker and middle blocker Serena Gray, both of whom played a role in upsetting the Huskers. Gray finished with eight kills and a team-best six blocks. Parker, already a six-rotation player at times, added eight kills, seven digs and chipped in four blocks.
A caveat, Kaitlyn Hord, PSU's leading hitter among starters, sat out the weekend, which included a victory over No. 17 Purdue, recovering from an injury.
Instead Reed came through to seal Penn State's first five-set victory of the season. Five of her career-best 20 kills were in the final set.
So what does it all mean?
A few weeks ago it wasn't even clear if Penn State was the best team in Pennsylvania. Pitt (20-0, 8-0 ACC) is one of two undefeated teams in the nation along with BYU (18-0, 8-0 WCC). On Sept. 23, the Nittany Lions lost to an Ohio State team that was on a three-game slide and then fell to Minnesota to start the Big Ten 0-2.
But Rose, 40 years in this business and counting, didn't feel like the sky was falling then. And he's not overplaying a win over Nebraska now. Highs, like on Saturday night, happen with a young team, he said. But so do lows.
"What we're finding is we're in every match we play because of our youth and inexperience," said Rose, who reminds his freshmen that they've been in the gym eight weeks now. "At some point in time we need to transition and say, 'You're not the person you were eight weeks ago.' Some of these experiences have to result in a transfer of learning."
They don't have the consistency of previous Penn State teams yet. But you got to think it's coming. Penn State has won six straight and is sitting alongside Nebraska in second place in the Big Ten, both with 6-2 marks. Minnesota (14-2, 8-0) still has not lost in the conference, and guess who's on tap for the Huskers? After going to Wisconsin (12-4, 5-3), they'll take on the Golden Gophers on the road.
Meanwhile, Penn State has three of its next four at home before a rematch with the Big Red on Nov. 2 in Lincoln.
"People think we're down because we're young," Reed said. "They say winning the Big Ten is harder than winning a national championship. Any win in the Big Ten is a big win, especially a team ranked above us. Don't doubt us. Don't sleep on us."
Elsewhere in college volleyball last week:
• Kansas (13-4, 6-0) upset Texas (11-4, 6-1) in four sets, only the sixth victory for the Jayhawks in 48 meetings. Kansas is the only unbeaten team in the Big 12.
• Illinois (16-3, 5-3) defeated Wisconsin for the first time since 2013. The 3-1 victory included a 35-33 third set won by the Illini.
• Utah (11-8, 3-5 Pac 12) halted Oregon's three-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory in Salt Lake City. Taylor Borup, the AVCA player of the week last week for Oregon (12-6, 5-3), left in the second set with an ankle injury and did not return.