Huskers Sweep Hurricanes, Advance to NCAA Regional

Lincoln - The third-ranked Nebraska volleyball team punched its ticket to the program's 40th NCAA Regional appearance with a 3-0 sweep of Miami Saturday night in front of 8,684 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers (31-2) held the Hurricanes below 20 in each of the three sets of the 25-19, 25-14, 25-18 win. Nebraska limited Miami to its lowest hitting percentage of the season (.058) while winning its 24th consecutive home NCAA Tournament match and 43rd straight home match overall.

Harper Murray had an outstanding all-around game, leading Nebraska in kills (9), digs (12) and service aces (2). Murray hit .412 on the match. Rebekah Allick had a match-high seven blocks and had six kills on only nine swings. Bergen Reilly dished out 33 assists and led a balanced offensive attack, as five Huskers had at least six kills.

Miami saw its season end with a 22-11 record. The Hurricanes were led by Flormarie Heredia Colon, who had a match-high 14 kills and tied for the match high with 12 digs.

Set 1: A Murray kill and block by Merritt Beason and Allick, along with a trio of Miami hitting errors, helped the Huskers take a 13-8 lead. Kills from Jackson and Landfair extended the advantage to 19-12. The Hurricanes pulled within four at 21-17, but a Husker block ended a 3-0 Miami scoring run. NU closed out the set, 25-19, on a Hurricane hitting error. The Big Red held Miami to .091 hitting in the set. 

Set 2: Kennedi Orr at the service line sparked a 3-0 run to hand the Huskers an early 7-3 lead. A Murray ace and two Hurricane hitting errors stretched the lead to 16-9. Orr enjoyed another service run, which included an ace, along with a Landfair kill and Allick/Landfair block that put Nebraska ahead 20-10. Andi Jackson and Beason combined for NU’s sixth block of the match to end the set, 25-14.  Nebraska hit .300 in the set while limiting Miami to an .081 attack percentage.

Set 3: Two kills apiece from Reilly and Jackson, along with an ace by Murray and block were part of a 7-0 run to give the Huskers a 9-3 advantage. Miami came back to pull within three at 12-9. The Huskers responded by winning five of the next six rallies to take a 17-10 advantage. Nebraska led by at least six the rest of the way, earning the victory on Reilly's fourth kill of the match. Nebraska hit .357 in the third set while Miami hit .000.

Up Next: The Huskers will face Dayton next weekend in the regional semifinal. For timing and television details, stay updated with Huskers.com. 

Nebraska Post-Match Notes

• With the win, Nebraska advanced to an NCAA Regional for the 13th consecutive season and for the 40th time in program history. The Huskers’ 40 regional appearances are the most in NCAA history, while Nebraska’s 13 consecutive regional berths rank second nationally.
• With the win, Nebraska improved to 132-37 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.781).
• Nebraska improved to 30-2 all-time in second-round NCAA Tournament matches.
• The win was Nebraska’s 24th consecutive home victory in the NCAA Tournament, a school record. NU improved to 85-7 all-time in home NCAA Tournament matches, including 30-2 at the Devaney Center.
• Overall, Nebraska has won 43 consecutive home matches dating back to Dec. 1, 2022. The Huskers’ own the nation’s longest home winning streak, and the streak is the longest since Nebraska moved into the Devaney Center in 2013.
• The Huskers improved to 62-1 all-time against unranked opponents in the NCAA Tournament.
• Nebraska improved to 103-1 in the NCAA Tournament when taking a 2-0 lead. The Huskers have won 102 consecutive postseason matches when winning the first two sets.
• John Cook improved to 91-20 in the NCAA Tournament as Nebraska’s head coach. He improved to 99-25 in his NCAA Tournament career. Cook ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament victories and NCAA Tournament wins at one school.
• Cook coached his 111th NCAA Tournament match as Nebraska’s head coach tonight. The 111 postseason matches tie former Hawaii coach Dave Shoji for the third-most NCAA Tournament matches coached at one school.
• Nebraska limited Miami to a .058 attack percentage. That was a season-low for the Hurricanes and marked only the second time this season they hit below .100.
• Rebekah Allick recorded seven blocks in the match. That increased her career total to 395, as she moved up to sixth place on Nebraska’s career blocks chart in the rally-scoring era.
• Lexi Rodriguez had nine digs in the match to move into the top into the top five in career NCAA Tournament digs at Nebraska. Rodriguez ranks fourth with 226 digs in her NCAA Tournament career.
• Harper Murray led Nebraska in kills (9), digs (12) and service aces. NU also scored more points of Murray’s server than any other Huskers.