Huskers Sweep Wisconsin on Senior Night

LINCOLN, Neb. - On Senior Night, the No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team earned a 25-21, 25-22, 25-17 sweep over No. 6 Wisconsin on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 9,009 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. 

The Huskers won their 25th match in a row overall and 41st straight home match to improve to 28-1 overall and 18-0 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin fell to 21-6 overall and 15-3 in Big Ten play. It marked the first time since 2012 that Nebraska swept Wisconsin twice in the same season. 

Merritt Beason led the Big Red in her final regular-season match at the Devaney Center with 11 kills. Rebekah Allick recorded 10 kills and hit .667, while Harper Murray and Taylor Landfair had nine and eight kills, respectively. Andi Jackson tallied seven kills and five blocks. 

Bergen Reilly finished with 36 assists, and Lexi Rodriguez had a match-high 16 digs in her final regular-season home match. Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch had eight and seven digs, respectively. 

Nebraska hit .259 and held Wisconsin to .169. The Huskers had a decisive advantage in kills (47-34) and digs (54-37), while Wisconsin had the edge in blocks (11-7) and aces (3-1). The Badgers committed 11 service errors, while the Huskers made just four errors. 

Sarah Franklin had 10 kills to lead Wisconsin. 

Set 1: The Huskers came out on fire taking a 7-1 lead with Rodriguez serving a 7-0 run. Allick had a kill and Beason had two kills, and Beason and Jackson each had a solo block and combined for another. Nebraska led 10-3 when Wisconsin scored four in a row to cut it to 10-7. A back-row kill by Murray got the Huskers a sideout, and Allick tipped a kill to the floor to make it 12-7. The Badgers pulled within 12-9, and 11 sideouts in a row had the Huskers up 18-14 before Allick put down an overpass for a 19-14 lead that forced Wisconsin to use its second timeout. NU led 20-15 after a Murray kill, but the Badgers answered with a 3-0 run to cut it to 20-18. Allick notched two kills to keep NU on top, 22-19, and Beason set a ball over the net that found the floor to make it 23-20. Wisconsin served into the net for set point, 24-21, and Landfair finished it off with a kill for a 25-21 win. 

Set 2: Jackson had three kills and Beason served an ace as the Huskers opened up a 7-3 lead with Beason serving a 6-0 run. Landfair and Murray blasted back-to-back kills for a 10-5 lead. Wisconsin fought back to within 14-13 after a 4-0 run that included three blocks. The Huskers responded with kills by Beason and Landfair and a block by Jackson and Landfair to go up 18-14. Wisconsin scored the next two before a crosscourt kill by Jackson made it 19-16. The Badgers answered with a kill and an ace to pull within one, 19-18, but Landfair kept NU in front 20-18 with a kill. Franklin got Wisconsin back within one, 20-19, but seven straight sideouts ensued to take Nebraska to a 24-22 set point. Landfair scored the winning point once again by terminating an overpass from Wisconsin on Murray's serve to make it 25-22. 

Set 3: Wisconsin held a 5-2 lead when Nebraska scored a 7-0 run with Murray serving to take a 9-5 advantage. Landfair had two kills and a block in that stretch, and Jackson had a kill and a block while Murray added one kill. The Badgers clawed their way back to tie the score at 14-14, but the Huskers regrouped after a timeout with a kill by Murray and three Wisconsin errors to take an 18-15 lead. After a Badger timeout, Jackson and Reilly combined for a block for a 19-15 lead, and two more Badger errors put NU up 21-16. Murray added yet another back-row kill to make it 22-16, and Reilly put down a kill for a 23-17 advantage before Allick terminated an overpass for match point. The Huskers finished off the sweep, 25-17, with a kill by Beason. 

Up Next: Nebraska wraps up the regular season on the road next weekend. The Huskers will play at No. 4 Penn State on Friday at 4 p.m. (CT) and at Maryland on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT). Both matches will air on BTN and the Huskers Radio Network.