LINCOLN — The Nebraska volleyball team returned from its weekend off, and found itself back on friendly, harassment-free turf.

That was bound to be a tough combination for Kansas to overcome.

The ninth-rated Huskers on Wednesday treated the Coliseum crowd of 4,034 to something nobody had seen since Sept. 16: a convincing Nebraska home sweep. Behind big nights from both Hannah Werth and Brooke Delano, the Huskers powered their way to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-21 victory over the Jayhawks.

NU had played three of its past four matches on the road, a stretch that included a loss at Texas A&M and a home defeat against No. 2 Texas. The Huskers hadn’t taken the court since last Wednesday, when they pulled out a five-set win at Oklahoma. And during the ensuing week, the drama that unfolded on the court at OU took a back seat to the controversial behavior of the Sooners’ student section.

“I think the four days off really helped,” Werth said. “And it was great coming back to the Coliseum, and having our fans, especially after the Oklahoma match. It was a warm welcome.”

Kansas hung tough against the Huskers for much of the night. But Nebraska coach John Cook was happy about the way the Huskers pulled together late and put KU away in all three sets. The best example of that came in the final game, when the Huskers trailed 18-15 before erupting for a 10-3 run that ended the match.

“I thought we did a good job tonight,” Cook said. “We had a little let-up in game three, but I loved how we competed at the end of the games tonight. We played really good volleyball from 20 (points) on, and that’s something we haven’t been doing all year.”

Delano had five blocks and buried 10 kills on 15 swings. Her .600 attack percentage not only was a career high, it was the best for any Husker so far in 2009.

Werth continued her recent strong play, putting down 15 kills on .448 attacking, her best clip yet in Big 12 play. The freshman had one of NU’s three aces and finished with nine digs.

Setter Sydney Anderson also had nine digs and helped Nebraska outhit Kansas .275-.136.

Cook wasn’t thrilled about the Huskers’ nine service errors Wednesday — they’ve now piled up 49 of them in their past four matches. But he couldn’t find much else to complain about as NU improved to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12.

“I think we played well, and it felt good,” Delano said. “We all wanted to play again, and it’s been quite a long time since we’ve played in the Coliseum. Everybody’s energy was great.”

The Huskers play another conference rival at home on Saturday, when struggling Kansas State visits the Coliseum.

Kansas (9-6, 2-4)...........20 20 21

Nebraska (11-4, 4-2).............25 25 25

Kansas (kills-aces-blocks): Martincich 0-1-0, Tolefree 1-0-1, Garlington 8-0-2, Mazour 5-0-2, Tate 2-0-0, Mayfield 13-1-0, Manda 0-0-0, Grieb 0-0-0, Williams 3-0-0, Kaiser 0-0-0, Hagan 1-0-1.

Nebraska (kills-aces-blocks): Anderson 2-0-1, Licht 6-0-4, Delano 10-0-5, Cooper 7-0-3, Mueller 8-1-0, Werth 15-1-1, Banwarth 0-0-0, Mancuso 0-1-0.

Set assists: Kansas 32 (Tate 28); Nebraska 43 (Anderson 36, Mueller 3, Banwarth 3). A: 4,034.

Contact the writer:

444-1207, chad.purcell@owh.com