Huskers Down Michigan, 3-1

The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team defeated Michigan, 3-1 (26-28, 25-17, 25-11, 25-21), in front of a crowd of 8,517 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday night. 

Nebraska (20-1, 10-0 B1G) won its 17th match in a row and its 38th straight home match, which ties its longest home win streak since winning 88 in a row from 2004-09. The Wolverines fell to 16-5 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten. 

Nebraska hit .206 and had 10 blocks in limiting Michigan (16-5, 6-4 B1G) to .150 hitting. The Huskers had six aces and four errors, while the Wolverines had no aces and 14 errors. Nebraska outdug Michigan 54-43. 

Harper Murray notched 17 kills for the Big Red on a .333 hitting percentage and added three aces. Merritt Beason contributed 16 kills and a .370 hitting percentage, along with three aces of her own and three blocks. Andi Jackson had 10 kills and five blocks, while Rebekah Allick posted five kills and five blocks. Taylor Landfair registered five kills. 

Bergen Reilly dished out 42 assists and had 10 digs. Lexi Rodriguez notched 14 digs, and Olivia Mauch had 10. 

Allison Jacobs led Michigan with 18 kills. 

Set 1: Michigan led early in the first set and had the advantage at 11-9, until the Huskers rattled off a 4-0 run behind a kill apiece and combined block from Beason and Allick to take the 13-11 lead. The Wolverines grabbed the lead back at 18-17 after a 4-0 run and extended it to 23-20. But the Huskers went on a 4-0 run to earn set point, keyed by a kill by Murray. The Wolverines tied the score at 24-24, but a Jackson kill gave NU another set point chance. Michigan tied it again at 25-25 and got its first set point at 26-25. Jackson’s fifth kill of the night tied it at 26-26, but Michigan scored the final two points via kills to win the set, 28-26. 

Set 2: The Huskers fought back in the second set, grabbing a 6-2 lead behind kills from Beason and Murray, an ace from Beason and a Jackson/Murray block. Murray was responsible for four of Nebraska’s next five points, notching two kills and two aces to make the score 11-4. Sparked by Beason at the service line, the Big Red stretched the lead to 18-10, capped by a Beason ace. NU closed out the set, 25-17, with Murray and Beason each adding kills down the stretch. 

Set 3: Nebraska went up 5-1 behind kills by Murray and Beason and a Jackson/Murray block. The Big Red extended the lead to 11-3, as Murray posted a kill and an ace and Landfair added her fourth kill of the match. After a kill by Reilly and a block by Landfair and Allick, kills by Beason and Allick forced a Wolverine timeout at 17-8. Nebraska stretched its lead to 22-10 after a 4-0 run, powered by kills from Beason, Murray and Jackson and a Jackson/Beason block. Two kills by Murray and one from Jackson finished out the 25-11 set victory for the Huskers. NU hit .520 in the set and held Michigan to .032, thanks in part to five blocks. 

Set 4: A Beason ace and kills from Murray and Jackson helped NU go on a 4-0 run to take an 8-3 lead. But the Wolverines battled back and tied the score five different times, before grabbing a 15-14 lead. Michigan built the lead to 18-15, but a service error and attack error were followed by a Lindsay Krause kill and a block by Allick and Reilly that made it 19-18 Huskers. After Michigan tied it 20-20, Allick had a kill and Beason took over with three in a row to earn match point, and she put the finishing touches on the match with her 16th kill for a 25-21 win. 

Up Next: NU will play its next four matches on the road, beginning at No. 8 Wisconsin on Friday at 8 p.m. The match will be televised on the Big Ten Network and audio coverage will be provided by the Huskers Radio Network.