Absolute domination.
No. 2 Nebraska (30-2, 19-1 B1G) swept Florida A&M (27-7, 16-0 SWAC) Friday night in Lincoln, 25-3, 25-9, 25-17. This was just the second match ever between the two schools, with the Rattlers pulling a stunning upset in 2004.
Nebraska’s dominance was record-setting, as NU managed the fewest points allowed in a set (3) and match (29) in the rally-scoring era.
The Huskers more than doubled the Rattlers in kills, 43 to 16. To repay the favor, Florida A&M committed 20 errors to Nebraska’s nine. The Huskers out-assisted (43-14), aced (6-1), dug (45-30) and blocked (6-5) the Rattlers in a match to remember.
Setter Bergen Reilly guided the Nebraska offense to a blistering .391 hitting percentage with her 32 assists, and she collected another double-double with 12 digs. The Nebraska defense figured out the tricky 6-2 offense of the Rattlers and held them to a negative .043 hitting percentage.
Harper Murray led the way with a match-high 12 kills on just 25 swings, good for a .440 hitting percentage. She was followed by Andi Jackson, who added eight kills on .538 hitting and three blocks.
Leyla Blackwell finished with five kills and two blocks after she entered in the second set for Rebekah Allick. Allick went 3-for-3 before exiting.
Lexi Rodriguez continued on her path to become the Huskers’ all-time leader in digs with 15 in the match. If Nebraska makes it all the way to the NCAA championship, the senior captain would need to average 12.2 digs per match in order to pass Justine Wong-Orantes for the record.
Nebraska will next face Miami (FL) in the second round. The Hurricanes swept South Dakota State in Friday’s opening match at the Devaney Center, 25-17, 25-23, 25-15. First serve Saturday is set for 7 p.m. CST on ESPN+.
Set 1: The Huskers came out firing to take a 12-1 lead. Allick had two kills and a block, Mauch served an ace, and Murray tallied two kills. Beason had a kill and an ace, and Murray added another kill before combining with Jackson for a block to make it 17-3. Two straight errors by the Rattlers preceded a back-row kill by Murray that made it 20-3. Jackson had two kills, and Murray closed the set with two kills as NU ended the set on a 12-0 run. The final score of 25-3 set a school record for fewest points allowed in a non-fifth set in the rally-scoring era.
Set 2: Landfair had two early kills, and Leyla Blackwell and Murray took the Huskers to a 5-2 lead with kills. Beason served another ace, and Jackson had three kills and two blocks to put the Huskers in front 14-4. Reilly capped a 7-0 run with back-to-back kills that made it 16-4. The Huskers finished the set on an 8-1 run with kills by Landfair, Murray and Blackwell and back-to-back aces by Mauch to finish out the set, 25-9.
Set 3: NU went ahead 9-5 after another ace by Mauch and a Blackwell kill. The Huskers extended the lead to 18-11 after a block by Blackwell and Beason and another Blackwell kill. Two straight kills by Beason made it 20-13, and the Huskers closed out the sweep with a 25-17 win with Lindsay Krause recording back-to-back kills for the final two points.
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