Huskers Sweep Shockers in Central City

CENTRAL CITY, Neb. – The Nebraska volleyball team earned a 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 sweep over Wichita State in Nebraska’s Spring Match presented by FNBO in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,096 at the Bison Activity Dome on Saturday.

The Huskers put on a show in front of the lively central Nebraska crowd. All 14 players appeared in the match, and the Huskers hit .318 while holding the Shockers to .178.

Harper Murray led NU with 12 kills on .391 hitting, and Bekka Allick had eight kills on 10 swings (.800) with six blocks. Andi Jackson had seven kills on eight swings in the third set alone.

Lexi Rodriguez had a team-high 12 digs, and Laney Choboy had seven. Kennedi Orr started the match at setter and had 15 assists and two digs in the first set. Bergen Reilly played the final two sets and had 28 assists and six digs.

Nebraska had the edge in kills (50-35), digs (45-38) and blocks (8-6). Both teams had four service aces. Lindsay Krause had three of them for the Big Red to go with four kills and five digs. Merritt Beason and Ally Batenhorst each had five kills, while Caroline Jurevicius and Maggie Mendelson chipped in three apiece.

Set 1: The Huskers took the first set, 25-20. NU recorded 16 kills and hit .256 and took control with a 7-3 run down the stretch after the Shockers got within 18-17. Murray posted five kills in the first set, while Allick had three kills on four swings with two blocks. Choboy provided the biggest highlight play of the set, chasing down a ball to the Husker bench that eventually led to a block by Beason and Mendelson that made it 16-12. Orr started the match at setter and had 15 assists on the Huskers’ 16 kills.

Set 2: NU battled back after falling behind 3-0 to begin the set, winning 25-21. Reilly set the second frame for the Huskers and put up 12 assists as NU hit .282. Murray posted seven kills in set two, while Allick again had three kills on four swings. Trailing 7-4, the Huskers took over with a 5-0 run led by two Murray kills and a Beason ace. The Huskers built their lead to 17-11 after two kills by Beason around a kill by Allick and an ace by Krause.

Set 3: The Huskers rotated in a new lineup for the third set. Jackson had seven kills on eight swings, Batenhorst had five kills and Jurevicius had three as Nebraska hit .406, its best performance of the match. After trailing 4-2, the Huskers went on an 8-1 run to go ahead 10-5. Wichita State pulled to within one, 19-18, but Jackson had three kills and a block with Jurevicius to close out the match.