NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL SWEPT BY SMU:
The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team fell 25-23, 25-21, 25-18 at SMU on Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 6,773 at Moody Coliseum.
The Huskers (3-1) committed 11 service errors and had just one ace, while SMU (2-1) aced Nebraska seven times and committed 10 service errors.
SMU outhit the Big Red, .242 to .171, and had the edge in kills (39-36), blocks (10-9) and digs (43-36).
Merritt Beason had nine kills for NU. Andi Jackson had eight kills and hit .667 with six blocks. Harper Murray had six kills, and Rebekah Allick and Lindsay Krause each had five.
Bergen Reilly had 31 assists and 11 digs.
The loss was Nebraska’s first to an unranked team since 2017.
John Cook on the Huskers Radio Network postgame:
KEARNEY HIGH VB SWEEPS GRAND ISLAND NORTHWEST:
Kearney High had much better luck than the Husker last night, sweeping Grand Island Northwest last night in their home opener 25-19, 25-17, 25-22.
Bearcats HC Steph Brand postgame:
The Bearcat home stand continues Thursday against Lincoln Southwest.
DAY 3 OF DIRECTV/ESPN CARRIAGE DISPUTE, HOW TO CLAIM $20 CREDIT:
For DirecTV subscribers frustrated by the loss of ESPN and other Disney-owned channels, the TV provider is offering some compensation as the blackout stretches into its third day.
The company is offering credits of at least $20 to customers who have DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse services — but customers won’t get the credit automatically. They must go to a special website and apply for it using their account’s email, and the credit will show up on a future bill.
The outage, which affects 11 million subscribers, comes as college football and NFL seasons are getting underway and the US Open tennis tournament reaches its final few days.
“We’re pursuing every avenue to get your station back,” DirecTV said on the website. “To thank you for your patience, until the situation is resolved, we’re offering you a bill credit.”
On Sunday, Disney pulled ESPN and other cable channels it owns, like Freeform and FX, as well as Disney-owned ABC affiliates, including in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, from DirecTV’s lineup because the two companies failed to reach a new distribution deal.
RAIOLA NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola made the most of his first career start, as he was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon.
Raiola, the second Husker true freshman to start a season opener since WWII, completed 19-of-27 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in Nebraska’s 40-7 win over UTEP on Saturday. Raiola guided the Huskers to touchdowns on five of his eight series against the Miners, and he played just one drive in the second half. Raiola threw both of his touchdown passes in the second quarter – a 59-yard strike to Isaiah Neyor and a 21-yard pass to Jahmal Banks with just two seconds left in the half. Nebraska’s 23 second-quarter points was its highest total since 2018. In all, he threw for 192 yards in the first half. As a team, the Huskers threw for 284 yards, their highest single-game total since 2022.
Raiola is the first Husker to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Week since Malcolm Hartzog Jr. in 2022 and the first NU offensive player to garner the freshman honor since Wan’dale Robinson in 2019.
NEBRASKA COMPLETES WEEKEND SWEEP, ON ROAD AGAINST SMU TONIGHT:
The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team won its 25th straight match at home with a 25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 25-13 victory over TCU in front of a crowd of 8,695 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday night. The Huskers won both of their matches at the Ameritas Players Challenge as they swept Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday night.
Nebraska (3-0) hit .213 and held TCU (1-1) to .168 hitting for the match. The Huskers had a 55-40 edge in kills, a 61-43 advantage in digs and led 9-0 in aces. NU also finished with 12 blocks to 9 for the Horned Frogs. Five of the 12 came in the fourth set.
Harper Murray paced the Huskers with 20 kills on .302 hitting, and she added six digs and three blocks. Lindsay Krause tallied nine kills, and Merritt Beason added eight.
Rebekah Allick finished with seven kills and six blocks. Andi Jackson had eight kills on .467 hitting with four blocks.
The Huskers will hit the road to face SMU in Dallas on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The match will be televised on the ACC Network and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.
ANOTHER DISPUTE FOR DISNEY AND ESPN, BLACKS OUT DIRECTV:
ESPN has gone off the air on a major carrier for the second straight year during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and in the midst of the first full weekend of college football.
Disney Entertainment channels went dark on DirecTV Sunday night after the sides were unable to reach a new carriage agreement.
DirecTV said Disney offered an extension to keep the channels on the air in exchange for DirecTV having to waive all future legal claims that its behavior is anti-competitive.
“The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” said Rob Thun, DirecTV’s chief content officer, in a statement. “Disney is in the business of creating alternate realities, but this is the real world where we believe you earn your way and must answer for your own actions. They want to continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers — making it harder for them to select the shows and sports they want at a reasonable price.”
DirecTV has 11.3 million subscribers, according to Leichtman Research Group, making it the nation’s third-largest pay TV provider.
BOSTON COLLEGE STUNS FLORIDA STATE, SEMINOLES FALL TO 0-2:
Bill O’Brien cautioned it was just one win. But what a massive first win of 2024 it was for Boston College — and for the O’Brien era. The Eagles picked up their season opening win last night, 28-13 over Florida State.
The Seminoles, viewed as a contender for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, dropped to 0-2 for the first time since 2021.
“Sick to how this season started,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “I failed in preparing the team to be able to go out and respond tonight.”
KEARNEY BEARCAT FOOTBALL GETS SEASON UNDERWAY TONIGHT AGAINST NORTH PLATTE:
Griffin Novacek threw for two touchdown passes, the Bearcat defense didn’t allow North Platte into the red zone, as Kearney defeated North Platte 20-0 in their home opener.
The Bearcats improved to 1-0 on the season. They move to take on the Grand Island Islanders in the annual WOK/WOGI matchup. The Islanders lost to Lincoln Southeast tonight, 35-20.
UNK FOOTBALL KICKS OFF SEASON TONIGHT AGAINST LONGTIME RIVAL CHADRON STATE:
The UNK defense came up with three second half interceptions, grad transfer quarterback Reagan Jones tossed two first half touchdowns and junior back Isaiah Harris ran for 121 yards to help the Lopers beat longtime rival Chadron State, 18-6, Thursday night in the panhandle.
This was the 73rd all-time between the two in a series that dates to 1921. UNK has now won the past five meetings with the Eagles and, tonight, got to take home the “Good Life” trophy. The award is new to the series with the programs slated to meet next year at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium.
The Lopers punted on seven straight second half possessions and racked up 105 yards on 10 penalty flags. However, UNK scored on its first possession of the season, and held CSC to 213 total yards and led from start to finish.
UNK hosts 22nd-ranked Northwest Missouri State next Saturday night. The Bearcats lost at home tonight to 13th-ranked Minnesota State, 36-22.
NHL PLAYER GARDREAU KILLED IN CAR/BIKE ACCIDENT:
NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his younger brother were killed Thursday night when they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey, police said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother, Matthew, 29, are Carneys Point, New Jersey, natives and were scheduled to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding that was scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.
New Jersey State police said the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind. They were pronounced dead on the scene.
Police said the driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility.
WEDNESDAY KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Matt Rhule Show , 6PM – 7PM / Sports Nightly, 7 PM – 8 PM (KGFW)
