Tag: Nebraska 2023 Season

Nebraska volleyball sweeps Utah State to open the 2023 season

The No. 5 ranked Nebraska volleyball team commenced its 2023 regular season on Friday night, hosting Utah State in the first match of the Ameritas Players Challenge.

The No. 5 ranked Nebraska volleyball team commenced its 2023 regular season on Friday night, hosting Utah State in the first match of the Ameritas Players Challenge. The Huskers dominated the match, sweeping the Aggies (25-20, 25-17, 25-17) to win its first match of the season.

Nebraska won nearly every aspect of the match, finishing with 35 kills off 84 attacks, an attack percentage of .274, 31 digs, 11 blocks, and five service aces. Outside hitter Merritt Beason led the way for the Huskers in kills, tallying up nine total off 20 attacks. Freshman Harper Murray was right behind Beason, putting up eight kills off 20 attacks.

Another freshman played a part in Nebraska’s win. Setter Bergen Reilly finished the night with 26 total assists and earned four kills off six attacks. Finally, libero Lexi Rodriguez concluded the match as the leader in digs, snatching a total of nine.

The Huskers will continue the Ameritas Players Challenge on Saturday when they’ll face Lipscomb. The match will begin at 5 p.m. and can be viewed on B1G+.

Nebraska soccer dominates in 6-0 win over Eastern Washington

Nebraska soccer hit the road once again this week, traveling up to the state of Washington for two straight matches away from Lincoln.

Nebraska soccer hit the road once again this week, traveling up to the state of Washington for two straight matches away from Lincoln. The team’s first stop was to Eastern Washington, where the Huskers put up six goals on the day in a shutout win. 

This is Nebraska’s most significant margin of victory since defeating Missouri 5-0 in August 2021. This is also the first time Nebraska scored six goals or more in a regular-season game since September 2011. The Husker shutout Arkansas 6-0 only to blowout Northern Arizona 8-1 days later. 

Six different players scored in the Eastern Washington win for Nebraska off of a grand total of 34 shots, 21 on goal, towering over the Eagles seven total shots. 

Though Nebraska stayed aggressive from the start, it wasn’t until the 22-minute mark that it finally scored. Eleanor Dale put the Huskers on the board first, earning her second goal of the season. Dale achieved the goal in style, nailing a bicycle kick to put Nebraska up 1-0. Abbey Schwarz followed soon after, extending the Huskers’ lead to 2-0.

Coming out of halftime, defender Nikola Hauk pushed the score to 3-0 at the 53-minute mark, taking a pass in front of the net and launching it in. Not long after, Sadie Waite worked past a couple of defenders to get a shot on goal, extending the lead to 4-0.

Then, in the final 10 minutes of play, two more Huskers scored. Freshman Ella Rudney sent a shot flying from afar and put it in the back of the net, making it 5-0. The final goal came from Emma Prososki just before the 88-minute mark. Prososki, much like Rudney, also took a shot from a distance but saw it hit the back of the net, capping off a big win for the Huskers. 

Nebraska moves to 2-0-1 on the season. Its next match will be against Gonzaga on Sunday. The game is set for 3 p.m. central time and can be viewed on ESPN+.

Nebraska soccer earns first victory of the season with 2-1 win over Baylor

After opening up the season with a 2-2 against Creighton, the Nebraska soccer team returned to Lincoln for its home opener on Sunday.

After opening up the season with a 2-2 against Creighton, the Nebraska soccer team returned to Lincoln for its home opener on Sunday. The Huskers squared off against Baylor, who opened up its season with a 2-0 win against Oregon. 

Nebraska dominated the match offensively, outshooting the Bears 24-12, leading to the team’s 2-1 win to earn its first victory of the season. The goals for the Huskers came from the feet of Florence Belzile and Abbey Schwarz in the first half.

Belzile put Nebraska up early in the match, scoring her goal off a pass from freshman Kayma Carpenter and Eleanor Dale at the 10-minute mark. Schwarz’s goal came nearly 17 minutes later. After receiving a pass from Dale, Schwarz won her one-on-one against the keeper and put the ball in the back, giving the Huskers a 2-0 lead. 

But the Bears didn’t go down without a fight. Just before the half, Baylor’s Hannah Augustyn attempted a header in front of Nebraska’s net. But after it ricocheted off the crossbar and grass Callie Conrad delivered a header of her own that fell into the goal, cutting the Huskers’ lead to 2-1. 

However, the remainder of the match saw no more goals scored, despite both teams’ efforts. Keeper Sami Hauk managed to keep Nebraska on top, finishing the match with six saves, two of which came in the final six minutes. 

The Huskers move to 1-0-1 on the season and will travel to Eastern Washington on Aug. 24.

Nebraska volleyball holds annual Red/White scrimmage

With the 2023 Nebraska volleyball season less than a week away, it was time for the team’s annual Red/White scrimmage.

With the 2023 Nebraska volleyball season less than a week away, it was time for the team’s annual Red/White scrimmage. In front of a packed house in the Bob Devaney Sports Center, the Red team triumphed over the White team 3-1.

Outside hitter and Florida transfer Merritt Beason led the Red team at the net, alongside freshman outside hitter Harper Murray. The duo combined for 26 kills, 13 apiece, to keep the Red team ahead for much of the match. Alongside Beason’s and Murray’s offensive aggression, freshman setter Bergen Reilly led the team in assists with 36 on the night. Libero Lexi Rodriguez played her part defensively, finishing the night with 18 digs. 

For the White team, outside hitter Lindsay Krause led the charge offensively, finishing with a match-high 16 kills off 59 attacks. Outside hitter Hayden Kubik was right behind Krause for the White team, finishing with 13 kills off 39 total attacks. Setter Kennedi Orr led the White team in assists, racking up 29 total. On the defensive side, freshman libero Laney Choboy finished the night with 19 total digs for the White team.

The first two sets were nearly identical to each other. Back-and-forth action between the teams caused the scoring margin never to go higher than four. The Red team won both sets, heading into intermission up 2-0. 

The third set started out much the same, but the White team erupted in the latter half of the set, pulling away to win 25-19. The team continued their fight heading into the fourth set. After trailing 19-6, the team mounted a comeback and forced a 24-24 tie. But the Red team managed to put the match away taking the set 27-25.

The Huskers will begin regular season action Friday, Aug. 25 as they host the Ameritas Players Challenge. This year Nebraska is welcoming Utah State, Lipscomb and SMU. The Huskers will play one match a day from Aug. 25-27. Each match will be streamed on B1G+, and their match against Utah State on Aug. 25 will be televised on Nebraska Public Media.

Where Nebraska’s 2023 opponents rank in the preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

One of the traditions of college football is the weekly release of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

One of the traditions of college football is the weekly release of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Earlier in the week, the preseason edition of the 2023 poll was released.

While head coach Matt Rhule is one of the voters for the season, Nebraska failed to earn a single vote. What about the Husker’s schedule heading into the season opener on August 31?

In fact, only half of Nebraska’s 12 opponents received votes, while only two teams were actually named to the Top 25. One interesting bit of trivia is that Iowa received the most points without cracking the list.

Scroll below to see where each of Nebraska’s 12 opponents in 2023 currently stand in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Big Ten Network visits Nebraska’s training camp

The Big Ten Network bus tour made its annual stop in Lincoln over the weekend.

The Big Ten Network bus tour made its annual stop in Lincoln over the weekend. Every year BTN has their analyst make one-day stops at all 14 conference campuses in anticipation of the upcoming year.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers kicked off the 2023 edition of the bus tour. Analysts Howard Griffith and Gerry DiNardo sat down with head coach Matt Rhule and a host of others to discuss the Husker’s hopes for the upcoming season.

The tour will continue Monday with a stop in Evanston to visit the Northwestern Wildcats. Visits to Penn State, Turgers, Maryland and Ohio State will follow throughout the week.

Find coverage from the BTN’s visit to Nebraska below.