Nebraska volleyball defeats Northwestern in four-sets

The No. 1 ranked Huskers began their first of three of their final home matches of the season on Wednesday night.

The No. 1 ranked Huskers began their first of three of their final home matches of the season on Wednesday night. Nebraska began the stretch by hosting Northwestern and defeating them in a four-set bout (28-26, 24-26, 25-11, 25-20).

The Huskers and Wildcats split the first two sets of the match in an aggressive fashion, taking them both past 25 points. Nebraska took control of the match in the third set, decimating Northwestern 25-11, before taking set four 25-20.

The Wildcats finished ahead of the Huskers in total attacks, attempting 140 over Nebraska’s 126. But Northwestern only delivered 50 kills while the Huskers racked up 56. Merritt Beason and freshman Harper Murray acted as the main driving force for Nebraska. The duo combined for 26 kills off 73 attacks, 17 digs and seven blocks.

Bekka Allick and Ally Batenhorst also finished with double-digit kills in the win. Allick went 11-of-16 and led the team in blocks with seven. Batenhorst delivered ten kills for Nebraska off 21 attacks. Freshman Andi Jackson also had a notable performance, tallying up eight kills from 10 attacks and completing six blocks. Freshman Bergen Reilly led the Huskers in assists and digs, racking up 45 and 12, respectively.

Nebraska is now 24-0, its best start to a season since 2005. The team continues their home stand on Sunday, where they’ll welcome in Illinois. The match is set for 2:00 p.m. and can be viewed on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

Nebraska volleyball sweeps Rutgers

The Huskers continued their weekend road trip by traveling to Rutgers.

The Huskers continued their weekend road trip by traveling to Rutgers for a Sunday afternoon Big Ten clash. Nebraska swept the Scarlet Knights (25-15, 25-20, 25-18) to move their record to 23-0. That’s the best start to a season for the Huskers since 2006.

Nebraska dominated Rutgers in the match, finishing with 52 kills off 132 attacks, 61 digs, and eight blocks. The Scarlet Knights only put up 28 kills off 110 attacks, 51 digs, and two blocks.

Merritt Beason led Nebraska in the win, delivering 21 kills off 40 attacks for a hitting percentage of .475. This is Beason’s highest-hitting percentage of the season. It is also her second straight 20-plus kill match and her fourth of the season. Beason also finished the match with nine digs and five blocks.

Ally Batenhorst also racked up double-digit kills for Nebraska, finishing with 11 kills off 35 attacks. She also snatched seven digs. Bekka Allick joined Beason in the block party, putting up five blocks, along with serving seven kills off 15 attacks. Freshman Andi Jackson mirrored Allick in kills and attacks as she also got seven kills off 15 attacks for a hitting percentage of .467.

Freshman Bergen Reilly assisted Nebraska in the win by handing it 43 set assists and 12 digs. Lexi Rodriguez ushered in the most digs for the Huskers with 16.

Nebraska will return home to host Northwestern on Wednesday night. The match is for 7:00 p.m. and can be viewed on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

Husker volleyball completes comeback over Penn State to remain undefeated

The Nebraska volleyball team hit the road for a showdown against Penn State.

The Nebraska volleyball team hit the road for a showdown against Penn State. The No. 1 Huskers took part in a fierce battle with the Nittany Lions, going to a full five sets in order to come out on top (15-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 15-13).

Nebraska fell behind in the match, dropping the first two sets. But it completed the reverse sweep in order to remain undefeated. Penn State finished with a higher attack percentage than the Huskers with .298 and also finished with a whopping 17 blocks.

Nebraska overcame these challenges by delivering 71 kills off 160 attacks, while the Nittany Lions only produced 59 kills off 141 attacks. Merritt Beason led the match in kills, earning a career-high 27. Harper Murray finished behind Beason with 15 kills off 29 attacks and led the team in dig with 14.

Bekka Allick also finished with double-digit kills, producing 11 off 21 attacks. Bergen Reilly delivered 52 set assists and 13 digs. Lexi Rodriguez also produced 13digs along with 11 set assists.

The Huskers stand at 22-0 on the season and will remain on the road to face Rutgers on Sunday. The match is set for noon and can be viewed on B1G+.

Nebraska volleyball completes commanding sweep over Rutgers

The Huskers wrapped up their weekend of play with another home match against an east-coast conference foe.

The Huskers wrapped up their weekend of play with another home match against an east-coast conference foe. Nebraska squared off with Rutgers and, like its victory over Maryland, swept the Scarlet Knights with authority.

Rutgers was held to a hitting percentage of .118 after delivering 27 kills off 85 attacks. The Huskers, meanwhile, went 44 of 86 in attacks, finishing with a percentage of .384. Ally Batenhorst and Merritt Beason finished as the top two attackers for Nebraska, combining for 25 kills off 44 attacks. Batenhorst went 13-of-22 in the win, while Beason went 12-of-22.

Bergen Reilly accompanied the offensive stat sheet, tallying up 34 set assists in the win. On defense, Lexi Rodriguez led the way by snatching 13 digs on the night. The Huskers also finished the match with nine total blocks. Andi Jackson delivered the most blocks with six.

Nebraska is now 21-0 on the season, its best start since 2006, when it went 23-0 before suffering a loss. The team will travel to Penn State for a showdown against the Nittany Lions on Friday night. The match is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be viewed on the Big Ten Network.

Nebraska volleyball win 20th straight match in dominating fashion

On Friday night, the Huskers played their first match ranked No. 1 in the nation since August 2022.

On Friday night, the Huskers played their first match ranked No. 1 in the nation since August 2022. Nebraska hosted Maryland for a Friday night matchup and represented being No. 1 immensely. The Huskers swept the Terrapins, earning their 20th straight win of the season.

Nebraska held Maryland to a hitting percentage of .023, getting just 21 kills off 88 attacks. The Huskers, meanwhile, finished the match with 44 kills off 86 attacks and earned five service aces.

Freshman Harper Murray led Nebraska in the win, putting up 16 kills off 30 attacks. Merritt Beason also finished the night with double-digit kills, going 10 off 21. Defensively, four players for Nebraska snatched nine or more digs in the win. Bergen Reilly finished with 10 digs for the Huskers, while Beason, freshman Laney Choboy and Lexi Rodriguez each had nine. Reilly also finished with 34 set assists.

As mentioned before, Nebraska earned its 20th straight win to remain undefeated. This makes it Nebraska’s best start to a season since 2008, where it also went 20-0 before suffering its first loss. The Huskers will remain home to take on Rutgers on Saturday night. The match is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be viewed on B1G+.

Nebraska volleyball ranked No. 1 in AVCA poll

The Nebraska volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in the latest edition of the AVCA Coaches Poll.

The Nebraska volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in the latest edition of the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Huskers jumped to the top spot after defeating previous No. 1 Wisconsin on Saturday night.

The Cornhuskers received 63 of a possible 64 first-place votes. Wisconsin still earned a first-place vote and came in at No. 2.

Stanford, Louisville, and Texas rounded out the top five. This is the first time Nebraska has been ranked No. 1 since Oct. 24, 2022.

The Huskers are currently 19-0 on the season, the best start for the program since Nebraska started 20-0 in 2008. That season, the Huskers finished 31-3 and made a trip to the NCAA final four.

Nebraska has been ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll a record-setting 103 times. Find a photo gallery of Nebraska’s victory over Wisconsin below.