Huskers.com
LINCOLN, Neb. – The third-ranked Nebraska volleyball team defeated 23rd-ranked Dayton, 3-1, in front of a crowd of 8,725 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday night.
Harper Murray had a career-high 22 kills and hit .318 while also recording a season-high 16 digs and four blocks. Murray also tied her career high with four service aces Rebekah Allick provided 10 kills and hit .368, while Taylor Landfair and Andi Jackson each had eight kills.
The Huskers had 11 blocks with Jackson leading the way with seven. Allick, Murray and Bergen Reilly each had four. Lexi Rodriguez tied her season high with 22 digs for the Big Red. Nebraska’s defense held Dayton to an .087 attack percentage, the first time in more than 100 matches that the Flyers have been held below a .100 attack percentage.
Lexie Almodovar led Dayton with 20 kills on 68 swings. The Flyers ended their season with a 31-3 record.
Set 1: Dayton got off to a hot start taking a 4-1 lead. Murray provided a pair of kills to help the Huskers crawl back, and two kills by Landfair brought the Huskers within 8-7. Allick recorded three kills, and Jackson and Merritt Beason had a block that tied the score at 12-12. Murray’s third kill gave Nebraska its first lead at 14-13, and a kill by Jackson put the Huskers up 15-14 at the media timeout. Jackson and Reilly teamed up for a block after the break, and Murray served an ace before another Jackson kill made it 18-14. But Dayton posted a block and an ace to cut it to 18-16. After a timeout, the Huskers closed the set on a 7-1 run to win 25-17. Landfair, Allick and Murray all had kills down the stretch, and Reilly served a 6-0 run to end the set.
Set 2: The Huskers used a 4-0 run that included an ace by Rodriguez to go ahead 7-3. Dayton fought back to within 13-12, but Allick terminated a long rally and the Flyers committed an error for a 15-12 Husker advantage. Dayton made a service error, and Murray then served three straight aces before a block by Reilly and Jackson made it 21-14. Nebraska used a timeout after Dayton scored three in a row, and Landfair terminated for a sideout kill, and the Huskers went on to win 25-18.
Set 3: Dayton got out to an 8-4 start after four straight kills by Almodovar and an ace by Gaby Arroyo. Murray had two kills and a block with Jackson to help NU pull within 9-7, but Dayton answered to go back up 12-8. Murray continued to keep the Huskers in it with two more kills to cut it to 13-11. After a Dayton kill, Murray had a kill and a block with Jackson, and the Flyers hit out before Jackson smashed a kill for a 15-14 Husker lead. Another Murray kill made it 16-15, but the Flyers went on a 4-1 run to gain a 19-17 lead. Dayton led 20-18 before committing a service error, and Landfair returned an overpass down to the floor to tie the score at 20-20. Landfair tied the score again at 21-21, and Murray put her 16th down for a 22-21 lead. But an Almodovar kill and a Husker net violation made it 23-22 Flyers. Dayton served out to tie the score at 23-23, but the Flyers earned set point with a kill. Murray answered for the Big Red with back-to-back kills to earn match point, 25-24, but Almodovar kept the Flyers alive with her 18th and 19th kills to regain set point for Dayton, and the Flyers won 27-25 with a block.
Set 4: Murray continued her strong play early on, recording four kills as the Huskers went up 7-4. Jackson was then in on two straight blocks, one with Reilly and one with Landfair, as the Huskers built the lead to 10-4. Reilly, Landfair and Allick tallied kills, and Reilly served an ace to increase the lead to 16-7. Allick’s 10th kill and an ace served by Mauch put the Huskers up 20-8 and in control. NU went on to finish off the match, 25-13.
Up Next: The Huskers will face No. 7 Wisconsin in an NCAA Regional Final on Sunday at 2 p.m. ct at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.