Minnesota Tops Nebraska in Regular-Season Finale

LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 5 Nebraska volleyball team dropped its regular-season finale to No. 9 Minnesota, 22-25, 23-25, 22-25, on Saturday night in front of 8,225 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers finished the regular season 24-5 overall and 16-4 in the Big Ten. Minnesota finished off a 20-8 (15-5 Big Ten) regular season .

The Golden Gophers hit .243 in the match, while the Huskers hit .153. Minnesota doubled up Nebraska in blocks, 10-5. Kills were even at 41-41, but Nebraska committed nine more attacking errors (22-13). 

Whitney Lauenstein had 11 kills on .364 hitting with three blocks. Lindsay Krause also tallied 11 kills. Bekka Allick had five kills and three blocks, while Madi Kubik and Ally Batenhorst had matching stat lines of five kills and 11 digs. 

Kennedi Orr had 18 assists and six digs, while Anni Evans chipped in 15 assists and 10 digs. 

Set 1: The Huskers got off to a 5-2 start with two kills by Krause, an ace by Lexi Rodriguez and kills by Batenhorst and Allick. Two more kills by Lauenstein and one each by Allick and Hord helped the Huskers go up 11-6. Nebraska led by as many as eight points, 19-11, but the Gophers would go on to outscore the Huskers 14-3 the rest of the way to win 25-22. 

Set 2: Nebraska led 9-7 when Minnesota went on a 5-0 run to go up 12-9. Two kills by Lauenstein kept the Big Red within two, 16-14. But Minnesota reclaimed a four-point advantage at 18-14, and still led by four while earning set point, 24-20. The Gophers served an error, and an ace by Allick and kill by Lauenstein cut the deficit to 24-23. But a Husker service error ended the set in Minnesota’s favor, 25-23. 

Set 3: Minnesota built a 6-2 lead, but Krause posted two kills and Batenhorst sandwiched two kills around a solo block and kill by Lauenstein for a 10-7 Husker lead. After a Husker service error, the Big Red continued their offensive onslaught with two more kills by Lauenstein to go up 14-8 after the 12-2 spurt. The Huskers led 16-11, but six Minnesota kills propelled the Gophers to a 20-17 lead after a 9-1 spurt. The Gophers closed out the sweep, 25-22.

Up Next: The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air on ESPNU on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. (CT).