Huskers Defeat Alumni, 3-1

The Nebraska volleyball team defeated its Alumni team 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 17-25, 25-22) in front of a crowd of 8,371 in John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday night. 

Harper Murray posted 12 kills and hit .476, while Andi Jackson had 11 kills on .389 hitting with three blocks and three aces to lead the Big Red. Virginia Adriano, Teraya Sigler and Manaia Ogbechie all contributed six kills. 

Bergen Reilly notched 37 assists and eight digs. Olivia Mauch had nine digs. 

The Huskers hit .295 and held the Alumni to .241. NU had 12.5 blocks to 9.0 for the Alumni. 

Ally Batenhorst led the Alumni with 13 kills, and Lindsay Krause and Lauren Stivrins had 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Callie Schwarzenbach had a match-high five kills. Kelly Natter recorded 46 assists. 

Set 1: The Alumni scored the first three points and led most of set one. Nebraska took its first lead via a Murray kill that made it 20-19. The Huskers went up 23-20 after back-to-back Alumni errors and a Jackson kill. Another Jackson kill earned set point, 24-21, and Landfair finished off the Huskers' win, 25-21.  

Set 2: Nebraska led 9-4 after a 7-0 run which included two Jackson kills, a kill and ace by Murray, and a Sigler kill. Adriano and Allick had a block together for a 14-7 lead, and kills by Adriano and Pierce pushed the lead to 17-10. Sigler combined on two blocks and added a kill as the Huskers went up 23-13. A solo block by Allick and kill by Sczech ended the set, 25-14. 

Set 3: The Alumni came out strong after intermission, taking an 8-2 lead against a new Husker lineup. Kills by Sczech and Ogbechie kept the Big Red within 15-10, but the Alumni went on a 6-0 run to take full control and won 25-17.

Set 4: An 8-0 run gave the Alumni an 8-2 lead. Szech, Jackson and Murray combined for four kills in a row to get the Huskers within 8-6. Another Jackson kill and a triple block by Jackson, Sigler and Reilly cut it to 9-8. However, the Alumni went on a 5-0 run to regain a 14-8 advantage. NU's comeback began with a Murray kill, a block by Ogbechie and Reilly, and back-to-back aces by Jackson to cut it to 14-12. Two kills by Ogbechie and one by Sigler tied the score at 15-15, and a solo block by Ogbechie, kill by Murray and block by Jackson and Murray gave NU an 18-17 lead. Jackson served another ace, and Ogbechie had a kill before a solo block by Sczech ended the match, 25-22. 

The Huskers officially begin the regular season next weekend in the AVCA First Serve at Pinnacle Bank Arena. NU will take on No. 3 Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. on Friday and No. 6 Stanford at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.