Huskers Top Minnesota to Extend Win Streak

Photo Credit: Nebraska Athletics

LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team defeated the No. 16 Minnesota Golden Gophers, 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19), on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 8,703 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers (25-1, 15-0 B1G) notched their 22nd straight win this season and 39th straight win at home, which is NU's longest home win streak since 2004-09 (88 matches). 
Bergen Reilly posted 40 assists and career highs of 20 digs and six kills to lead the Huskers. She became the first Husker setter to record at least 40 kills, 20 digs and five kills in a match in the rally scoring era (since 2001). 

Harper Murray notched 13 kills and a career-high 19 digs. Taylor Landfair earned 12 kills against her former team, while Andi Jackson had nine kills on a .471 hitting percentage, along with six blocks. Rebekah Allick and Merritt Beason had seven kills and four blocks apiece. Lexi Rodriguez contributed 16 digs, and Olivia Mauch and Laney Choboy had seven and six, respectively. 

Nebraska had a 12-7 advantage in blocks and had two aces to one for Minnesota. The Golden Gophers committed 12 service errors, while the Huskers had just five. Nebraska hit .199 for the match and Minnesota hit .130. 

Julia Hanson led Minnesota (16-9, 9-6 B1G) with 20 kills. Lydia Grote added 14. 

Set 1: Nebraska scored the first three points of the set and never looked back. Two kills by Murray made it 6-1, and Landfair posted three kills with Allick adding one to take the Huskers to a 13-6 lead. Jackson smashed a kill and recorded a block with Murray to put NU up 18-9, and a 6-0 run earned NU set point. Landfair finished off the dominant first set with a kill for a 25-12 win. Nebraska hit .367 and held Minnesota to .029. The Huskers sided out at 84.6 percent. 

Set 2: Beason and Murray each had two early kills to help Nebraska go up 8-6. But Minnesota answered with a 4-0 run to take a 10-8 lead. Murray earned a sideout for Nebraska with a back-row kill, and Mauch served an ace to tie the set at 10-10. But the Golden Gophers answered with a 3-0 spurt to regain a 13-10 advantage. After a timeout, Beason and Allick had a block, and Murray terminated her sixth kill to cut it to 13-12, and another kill by Murray evened the score at 14-14. Minnesota again had an answer with back-to-back blocks to take a 16-14 lead, and the Gophers went up 22-17 after a 5-1 run. Minnesota won 25-22, holding the Huskers to a .098 hitting percentage. 

Set 3: Nebraska led 6-4 after a block by Jackson and Murray, and kills by Landfair and Jackson. Two more Landfair kills and one by Allick had NU ahead 11-8, but Minnesota climbed back to tie the score 12-12. A kill by Landfair, followed by an Allick/Reilly kill and an Allick kill made it 18-14. Minnesota pulled within two at 18-16, but Reilly dumped a kill and a Minnesota attacking error made it 20-18. Allick answered with a kill, and Murray terminated a lengthy rally for a 22-20 advantage. Jackson made it 23-20 with a kill, and the Huskers benefitted from two Minnesota service errors down the stretch to win 25-22. 

Set 4: A 6-0 run powered by three kills from Landfair and three Gopher errors put the Big Red ahead 13-4. Nebraska continued to dominate, taking a 20-11 lead behind two more Minnesota errors. The Gophers brought the score within four at 21-17 after a 4-0 run, but an ace by Reilly and kill by Beason put NU at match point and an Allick kill closed out the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.

Up Next: Nebraska hosts Indiana on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The match will air on Big Ten Network and the Huskers Radio Network.