When No. 1 Nebraska needed a replacement for Big Ten Player of the Week, middle blocker Manaia Ogbechie, on Wednesday night, Kenna Cogill did not have much time to prepare.
The sophomore middle blocker learned she would start against No. 20 Creighton shortly before first serve. She responded with one of the most efficient performances of her young Husker career.
Cogill had eight kills on 11 swings without an error, hitting .727, as Nebraska swept Creighton 25-13, 25-15, 25-19 before a program-record indoor home crowd of 15,405 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. She added two blocks and nine points.
“Right before the match, she told us in the locker room, and I was like, ‘Okay,’” Cogill said.
The start came with Ogbechie sidelined by illness, but it was another example of the depth Nebraska has developed in the middle. Cogill also started at South Dakota State earlier this season when Andi Jackson was unavailable.
Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly said Cogill’s work behind the scenes mad...