Huskers.com
MATCH PREVIEW
• The third-ranked Nebraska volleyball team will face No. 2 Penn State in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
• The match will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the other semifinal match between No. 1 Pittsburgh and No. 4 Louisville, which begins at 5:30 p.m. (CT).
• Thursday’s match will be televised on ESPN. Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George and Madison Fitzpatrick will be on the call. The match can also be streamed on WatchESPN.
• Huskers Radio Network with John Baylor and Lauren (Cook) West will broadcast the Nebraska matches on their volleyball affiliate stations, on Huskers.com and on the Huskers App.
ABOUT THE HUSKERS
• Nebraska (33-2) advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second year in a row and seventh time in the last 10 years with a 3-0 sweep of No. 7 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
• The Huskers will be playing at the KFC Yum! Center for the third time this season. Nebraska beat No. 9 Kentucky, 3-1, in the AVCA Showcase on Aug. 27 and No. 4 Louisville, 3-0, on Sept. 22.
• Nebraska won its 36th all-time conference title and fifth Big Ten title with a 19-1 record in Big Ten play this season. The Huskers went back-to-back as Big Ten champions for the second time, also accomplishing that feat in 2016 and 2017.
• The Huskers’ 29 regular-season wins tied the 1983 school record for most wins in a regular season in the NCAA era.
• The Huskers’ 33 wins this season are tied for the most victories by a Husker team since the 2000 national championship team went 34-0.
• Nebraska won 25 matches in a row after a Sept. 3 loss at SMU. Of those 25 wins, 20 were sweeps. NU’s win streak ended on Nov. 29 in a 3-1 loss at No. 4 Penn State.
• Nebraska is 13-1 against ranked foes this season and 8-1 against top-10 teams. The Huskers’ eight wins against top-10 teams ties the school record, as the 1995 national championship team also had eight victories against top-10 opponents.
• After the Sept. 3 loss at SMU, Nebraska won 27 straight sets on the road until the Nov. 29 loss at No. 4 Penn State.
• The Huskers rank 12th nationally with a team hitting percentage of .285.
• The Huskers rank fourth nationally and first in the Big Ten in opponent hitting percentage at .139. NU led the nation in opponent hitting percentage in 2022 and 2023.
• Nebraska ranks 11th nationally in kills per set (14.15).
• Nebraska enters Thursday’s match with 1,499 all-time victories and is looking to become the first Division I volleyball program to reach 1,500 all-time wins.
NEBRASKA’S NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
• Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Semifinal for the 18th time in program history and for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons. The Huskers’ 18 NCAA Semifinals rank second in NCAA history, and Nebraska’s seven semifinal appearances in the last 10 seasons lead the nation.
• Nebraska has made 13 NCAA Semifinals since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1998. The Huskers’ 13 trips to the semifinals in the 64-team NCAA Tournament era lead the nation.
• John Cook has led Nebraska to an NCAA Semifinal for the 12th time in his 25 seasons. He is one of only two coaches to make 12 NCAA Semifinals with one school.
• Cook is 101-25 in his NCAA Tournament career, including a 93-20 record at Nebraska. He ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament victories and NCAA Tournament wins at one school.
• Nebraska is 134-37 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.784).
• NU has held its four NCAA Tournament opponents to a combined .066 hitting percentage, which leads the field.
ROTATION RUNDOWN
• Outside hitter Harper Murray is the team leader in kills at 3.37 per set, and also in aces with 36. One of the top six-rotation players in the country, Murray adds 2.41 digs per set.
• Opposite hitter Merritt Beason is second on the team in kills at 2.83 per set, and the two-year captain also contributes 1.25 digs per set and 29 aces.
• Middle blocker Andi Jackson is averaging 2.57 kills per set with a .428 hitting percentage, which ranks ninth in the nation.
• Middle blocker Rebekah Allick adds 1.83 kills per set on .357 hitting with 1.40 blocks per set. Allick has moved into the top 10 in school history in career blocks at No. 6 with 405.
• Setter Bergen Reilly is averaging 11.09 assists per set, which ranks 10th in the nation. She also adds 2.85 digs per set and has 21 aces. Reilly has 16 double-doubles and was named Big Ten Setter of the Year for the second straight year.
• The 2024 Big Ten Libero of the Year, Lexi Rodriguez leads the Husker back row with 3.91 digs per set. Rodriguez ranks No. 2 in school history in career digs with 1,882, needing nine more to break the school record of 1,890 set by Justine Wong-Orantes (2013-16).
SCOUTING REPORT: PENN STATE
• No. 2 Penn State is 33-2 overall and shared the Big Ten title with Nebraska with a 19-1 conference record.
• The Nittany Lions won their regional final against Creighton, 3-2, on Sunday night to advance to the NCAA Semifinals for the first time since 2017.
• Under third-year head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley, the Nittany Lions have won their most matches in a season since going 33-2 in 2017. Schumacher-Cawley was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.
• Penn State has won 10 matches in a row since being swept at Wisconsin on Nov. 9.
• Jess Mruzik leads Penn State with 4.21 kills per set with 2.37 digs per set.
• Camryn Hannah adds 3.59 kills per set.
• Freshman setter Izzy Starck is averaging 10.89 assists per set in guiding Penn State to a .285 hitting percentage. Starck was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
SERIES HISTORY
• Nebraska is 28-12 all-time against Penn State and has won 14 of the last 16 meetings.
• Penn State snapped a seven-match losing streak to Nebraska with a 3-1 win on Nov. 29, 2024. In that match, the Huskers hit a season-low .154 and were out-killed 57-46.
• The teams have met 11 times in the NCAA Tournament with NU holding an 8-3 record against PSU in the postseason.
• The last NCAA Tournament meeting was Dec. 14, 2017 when the Huskers won 3-2 against the top-ranked Nittany Lions in an NCAA Semifinal. Nebraska went on to win the national title that season.