Strong Start Propels Huskers Past Islanders

The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team swept Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 25-9, 25-20, 25-15 in its home opener at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday night in front of a crowd of 8,956.

NU (2-0) outhit the Islanders (0-1) .427 to .143 in the match. It was the best hitting percentage by the Huskers since Oct. 1, 2021 (.457 vs. Michigan). 

The Huskers had a 48-30 advantage in kills, 48-33 in digs and 7.5 to 2 in blocks.  

Lindsay Krause led Nebraska with 13 kills on a .478 hitting percentage, while Andi Jackson added seven kills. Rebekah Allick and Merritt Beason each posted six kills, and Taylor Landfair and Harper Murray notched five apiece. 

Bergen Reilly set the tone for the Huskers with 36 assists, 10 digs, four kills, three blocks and five service aces. All five of Reilly's aces came in the first set, and she started the Huskers off on a 10-0 run to begin the match. 

Lexi Rodriguez added nine digs, while Murray had seven. Reilly, Krause and Leyla Blackwell tied for the team lead with three blocks.

Tori Arrington and Kyndal Payne led the Islanders, each with seven kills.

Set 1: The Huskers jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the match behind three aces from Reilly and three kills each from Krause and Allick. After the Islanders got on the board, Allick and Beason answered with three kills to make it 13-1. Murray put down a pair of kills to give the Huskers a 17-7 lead, and after the Islanders cut it to 19-9, NU went on a 6-0 run to end the set and win 25-9. Reilly served two more aces down the stretch, and Krause finished the set with a pair of kills. Reilly served five aces in the set, and the Huskers hit .433 with 15 kills on 30 swings.

Set 2: The second set started more evenly. Nebraska led 12-11 before going on a 4-0 run to take control, keyed by an ace by Rodriguez and two straight kills by Jackson. A kill apiece from Krause and Beason put the Big Red ahead 20-15. The Islanders kept it close and pulled to within three at 23-20 behind a Payne kill, but a Jackson kill and Reilly/Jackson block closed out the 25-20 set victory for the Huskers.

Set 3: A&M Corpus Christi took a 4-1 lead to start the set, but Rodriguez served seven straight and Landfair notched two kills to help put NU ahead 8-4. Krause posted her 10th and 11th kills of the match and Blackwell registered her first as a Husker to give the Huskers the 15-8 lead heading into the media break. Reilly and Blackwell combined for two blocks to keep Nebraska’s momentum and make the score 18-8. The Big Red never relinquished its lead and took the set 25-15, and the match, 3-0. NU hit .517 in the third set.

Up Next: Nebraska will take on TCU in its final match of the Ameritas Players Challenge on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The match will be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.