Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray #27 VB vs Michigan
LINCOLN – The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team swept Michigan 25-15, 25-12, 25-20 on Friday night in front of 8,815 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers improved to 26-0 and 17-0 in Big Ten play. With three matches to play, the Huskers need one more win to claim the outright Big Ten Championship. Nebraska’s first opportunity to do so will be at Iowa on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Huskers wrapped up the home portion of their regular season schedule with a perfect 17-0 record. The last time the Huskers went undefeated at home during the regular season was 2017.
Nebraska hit .368 in the match and held Michigan to .047. The Huskers had a 41-27 advantage in kills, 8-5 edge in blocks and 45-34 advantage in digs.
Andi Jackson had nine kills and hit .727 with three blocks, while Harper Murray had nine kills and five digs. Bekka Allick contributed seven kills on .700 hitting with five blocks, while Merritt Beason added seven kills and nine digs. Ally Batenhorst tallied five kills and four blocks.
Lexi Rodriguez finished the sweep with 15 digs and four set assists. Bergen Reilly had 28 assists, six digs and four kills.
Nebraska middle blocker Bekka Allick #5
VB vs Michigan
Set 1: The Huskers scored the first three points and led 6-2 with Allick posting three kills early on. Another three-point run by the Huskers made it 12-7 with Murray posting back-to-back kills around an ace by Reilly. A kill by Beason and a block by Jackson and Batenhorst put the Big Red up 15-9. Five different Huskers contributed kills, and a block by Beason and Allick made it 23-13 Huskers. Nebraska went on to win 25-15, hitting .333 and holding Michigan to .026.
Set 2: The Huskers used a 6-0 run to turn a 5-3 lead into an 11-3 lead. Reilly had a kill before Jackson put down three in a row. Allick had two kills and a block with Reilly, and Murray recorded a kill as the Huskers increased the margin to nine at 19-10. Jackson added another kill as the Big Red went up 22-12, and Murray added a kill before a block with Jackson to finish off the set at 25-12. Nebraska hit .474 in set two, while Michigan hit -.067.
Set 3: Nebraska trailed 7-5 before going on a 6-1 run to take an 11-8 lead. Beason recorded two kills, and Batenhorst and Allick had back-to-back blocks. Batenhorst, Murray and Jackson notched kills to push the lead to four, 16-12. Michigan cut the lead in half before Murray terminated for the ninth time. The Wolverines crept within one, 19-18, but Allick had an answer, and Michigan committed a blocking error for a 21-19 Husker lead. Beason put down a kill before a block by Batenhorst and Jackson. Batenhorst then added a kill for a 24-19 match point, and the Huskers sealed the deal on a Michigan service error.
Up Next: Nebraska will travel to Iowa City to play Iowa on Sunday at 2 p.m.
