LINCOLN, Neb. - The Nebraska volleyball team moved to 3-0 after a 25-16, 25-23, 25-16 sweep of SMU in front of a crowd of 8,311 on Sunday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers kept their opponent under a .100 hitting percentage for the third straight match, as the Mustangs (1-2) hit .045. Nebraska hit .144 with 38 kills and 22 errors, but outserved SMU with a 4-1 edge in aces and a six fewer service errors. Nebraska had four more blocks (11-7) and 19 more digs (60-41).
Harper Murray led Nebraska with 14 kills with a .310 hitting percentage. She also had 10 digs and was named the most outstanding player of the tournament. Merritt Beason added eight kills and eight digs, and Bekka Allick chipped in seven kills and four blocks.
Andi Jackson had five kills and seven blocks, while Lindsay Krause had three kills and five blocks.
Bergen Reilly posted 29 assists and nine digs, and Lexi Rodriguez notched 14 digs and two service aces. Rodriguez was also named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Laney Choboy, who had seven digs on Sunday.
The Huskers had 38 kills to SMU's 25 and outdug the Mustangs 60-41.
Set 1: The Huskers went on the first run of the game behind two aces from Rodriguez to take a 6-3 lead. SMU got to within one point before Allick and Murray notched two kills each as NU went on a 10-2 run to make the score 18-9. Nebraska rattled off six straight points to get to set point at 24-10 before the Mustangs went on a 6-0 run of their own. The Huskers closed out the set on Murray’s eighth kill of the set to win 25-16.
Set 2: The teams traded points for the first half of the second set. NU scored two straight heading into the media timeout, part of a 5-0 run that gave the Huskers a 17-13 advantage. Kills by Krause and Jackson helped the Huskers make the score 20-15. SMU fought back and cut NU's lead to 23-22 before a Krause kill took the Huskers to set point. With NU clinging to a 24-23 lead, Jackson and Krause ended the set with a block to give Nebraska a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Set 3: The Huskers started quickly in the third set, notching three blocks in the first four points to grab a 4-1 lead. Behind kills from Allick and Krause, NU brought the advantage to 7-2 and forced a Mustang timeout. Murray had two kills and Beason had one in a 4-0 Husker run later in the set that made it 16-7, and the Big Red never looked back. NU pulled away to a 25-16 win for a perfect three sweeps in three matches to start the season.
Up Next: The Huskers will face the Omaha Mavericks on Volleyball Day in Nebraska on Wednesday at Memorial Stadium. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. and will be televised on BTN and streamed on the Fox Sports app. Fans can also listen on the Huskers Radio Network.
Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament Team
Delaney Smith, Lipscomb
Natalie Perdue, SMU
Kennedi Boyd, Utah State
Shelby Capllonch, Utah State
Laney Choboy, Nebraska
Lexi Rodriguez, Nebraska
Harper Murray, Nebraska (Most Outstanding Player)