Huskers.com
LINCOLN, Neb. – The third-ranked Nebraska volleyball team moved on in the NCAA Tournament after a 25-3, 25-9, 25-17 sweep of Florida A&M in the first round on Friday night in front of a crowd of 8,702 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers (30-2) were dominant from start to finish in setting a school record for fewest points allowed in a set (3) and match (29) in the rally-scoring era.
Harper Murray had a team-high 12 kills and hit .440, as the Huskers hit .391 as a team. The Big Red held Florida A&M (27-7) to a -.043 hitting percentage.
Andi Jackson posted eight kills and three blocks and hit .538. The Huskers were able to shuffle their lineup in the victory and had eight players record at least two kills.
Bergen Reilly had 32 assists and 12 digs, and Lexi Rodriguez had 15 digs to move within 56 of the Nebraska career record. Olivia Mauch served four of Nebraska’s six aces. Merrit Beason notched two and added five kills.
Set 1: The Huskers came out firing to take a 12-1 lead. Allick had two kills and a block, Mauch served an ace, and Murray tallied two kills. Beason had a kill and an ace, and Murray added another kill before combining with Jackson for a block to make it 17-3. Two straight errors by the Rattlers preceded a back-row kill by Murray that made it 20-3. Jackson had two kills, and Murray closed the set with two kills as NU ended the set on a 12-0 run. The final score of 25-3 set a school record for fewest points allowed in a non-fifth set in the rally-scoring era.
Set 2: Landfair had two early kills, and Leyla Blackwell and Murray took the Huskers to a 5-2 lead with kills. Beason served another ace, and Jackson had three kills and two blocks to put the Huskers in front 14-4. Reilly capped a 7-0 run with back-to-back kills that made it 16-4. The Huskers finished the set on an 8-1 run with kills by Landfair, Murray and Blackwell and back-to-back aces by Mauch to finish out the set, 25-9.
Set 3: NU went ahead 9-5 after another ace by Mauch and a Blackwell kill. The Huskers extended the lead to 18-11 after a block by Blackwell and Beason and another Blackwell kill. Two straight kills by Beason made it 20-13, and the Huskers closed out the sweep with a 25-17 win with Lindsay Krause recording back-to-back kills for the final two points.
Up Next: Nebraska will face Miami in the second round on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Miami swept South Dakota State in the first round on Friday evening. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network.