The junior opposite, who set a new record in her collegiate career with 27 kills against the Nittany Lions, delivered another huge performance on Sunday, when she contributed 26 points (21 kills, five blocks) in a sweep (25-15, 25-20, 25-18) of Rutgers, also on the road.
“Here’s the deal with Merritt,” Nebraska’s head coach John Cook said after the match. “It’s like every time she gets set the ball, you expect her to kill the ball. When she doesn’t, it’s like, ‘Come on, Merritt’. She’s been really impressive.”
With 14 wins, Nebraska lead the Big Ten standings and their 23-match winning streak since the start of the season is already the second-best in program history – the Cornhuskers won their first 28 matches in 2005.
Defending champions Wisconsin also won their two matches in the weekend, beating Purdue at home in four sets (25-14, 16-25, 25-18, 25-14) on Wednesday and sweeping (25-13, 25-13, 25-12) Illinois on Saturday.
On Sunday, Purdue defeated Penn State in five sets (25-17, 25-15, 21-25, 20-25, 15-12) in a direct battle for third place and were able to catch their opponents with nine wins and five losses, but continue behind them in fourth place.