LINCOLN — It was not the kind of day conducive to Nebraska playing a stellar match.

But the ending of the No. 8 Huskers' 25-16, 25-23, 25-11 sweep over Texas Tech Wednesday night seemed perfect: Freshman Megan Pendergast came off the bench and overwhelmed the Red Raiders with a serving run that was positively Jordanesque.

In their Big 12 opener, the Huskers wore black bands on their arms and pink ribbons in their hair in honor of Kae Clough, the mother of former Husker All-American Jordan Larson. Clough, who had been battling breast cancer for more than five years, died earlier Wednesday.

Two weeks ago, Larson returned from training in California with the U.S. national team to be with her family, and the three-time All-American out of Hooper, Neb., has spent time practicing with her former team recently at the Coliseum.

“It's hard for any of us — and I talked to Jordan — but it's like we're all in disbelief,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “I still remember (last year's) senior night, how good Kae looked and how proud she was.

“That's the mom of a small-town kid in Nebraska who got to see her daughter live her dream. Everybody's just in shock.”

Cook said the Huskers still seemed to be fighting through the emotional hangover of their five-set loss to UCLA Sunday at the Devaney Center. Add into the mix Wednesday's sad news, the coach said, and it's no mystery why his team looked so flat.

Still, Pendergast provided a big jolt of energy to an otherwise ugly match in the third set. The freshman defensive specialist — whose cannon-fire jump serve might most resemble Larson's on this year's team — went to the line and unleashed six consecutive blasts that turned the final set into a blowout.

Pendergast's serving run began with an ace, and Tech struggled just to get her next five attempts back over the net. By the time she was through, Nebraska had scored seven straight points to take a 22-7 lead, and the sellout crowd of 4,041 was in a frenzy.

Pendergast has appeared only briefly in the Huskers' past few matches. But if she keeps serving like that, Cook said, he'll have no choice but to keep putting her on the line.

“Coach has been talking to everyone about how we all need to be ready,” said Pendergast, who joined the Huskers this spring out of League City, Texas. “Coach asked me if I was ready, and I always say yes.”

Rookie Hannah Werth enjoyed one of her best matches of the season Wednesday, connecting for 11 kills on .375 hitting to go with 10 digs.

Setter Sydney Anderson also kept middle blocker Brooke Delano busy, with Delano putting away 10 kills on 19 swings — a .474 clip.

• Box Score

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com