No. 1 Huskers Topple No. 3 Pitt at PBA, 3-1

LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team began the Dani Busboom Kelly era with a thrilling 3-1 (25-22, 25-11, 20-25, 25-23) win over No. 3 Pittsburgh on Friday in front of a sold-out Pinnacle Bank Arena to kick off the AVCA First Serve. 

Harper Murray had a team-high 15 kills, while Andi Jackson had 10 kills and eight blocks and hit .348. Jackson was named MVP of the match. 

The Huskers hit .224 and held the Panthers to a .111 hitting percentage. NU totaled 15 blocks with Jackson and Taylor Landfair each posting eight, and Rebekah Allick seven. Allick finished with nine kills, and Landfair chipped in eight. Virginia Adriano recorded six kills and three blocks. 

Bergen Reilly had a double-double of 40 assists and 10 digs, and Laney Choboy led all players with 16 digs. Olivia Mauch added eight. 

For the Panthers, reigning AVCA National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock had 21 kills, but the Huskers held her to a .121 hitting percentage. 

Set 1: NU went ahead 8-5 with Allick and Landfair providing kills as part of a 3-0 run. Pitt answered with three straight, and the teams went back and forth until the Huskers claimed a 16-14 lead. But Pitt answered with a 4-0 run to take an 18-14 lead. Pitt went up 21-18 after an ace by Babcock, but Sigler terminated from the back row, and Pitt hit long to get the Big Red back within one, 21-20. Landfair and Jackson made it 21-21 with a block, and Landfair found the back corner to put NU back in front, 22-21. Pitt hit long again to make it 23-21 Huskers. NU's 5-0 run ended with a Pitt kill, but Landfair again came up big on the block for set point, 24-22. Murray finished the set, 25-22, from the back row. 

Set 2: Nebraska carried the momentum from the first set comeback into set two, taking a 5-1 lead with Allick and Murray recording kills. NU's lead went to 8-2 after a kill by Jackson and a block by Jackson and Murray. The Huskers continued to extend their lead with a 5-0 run that made it 16-5. Murray, Adriano, Allick and Landfair connected for four kills in a row, and Allick and Landfair teamed up for a block. Another string of four straight kills pushed the advantage to 20-7, and the Huskers went on to win 25-11. 

Set 3: Pitt came out strong with an 8-3 lead. Jackson notched a kill before Jackson and Landfair tallied a block to cut it to 8-5. The Huskers kept chipping away to pull within 13-12, but back-to-back Pitt kills made it 15-12 and Pitt led 17-13 as the Big Red took a timeout. Pitt pulled ahead to a 23-16 lead until Jackson slotted a kill to decrease the gap. After an ace from Murray and serving error, the Huskers narrowed the deficit to 24-20. Unable to pull ahead, NU fell in the third set. 

Set 4: The teams fought back and forth early in set four. Pitt led 8-6 when a Reilly kill and ace tied the score. Landfair posted a kill, and Adriano had a block for an 11-9 Husker advantage. Another Adriano block with Allick and kills by Landfair and Murray made it 20-16 Huskers. Pitt answered to get within 21-20, but a service error followed by a Mauch ace made it 23-20 Big Red. But the Panthers got back-to-back aces from Babcock to tie the score at 23-23. Murray stepped up for the Huskers with a clutch kill, and a triple block by Jackson, Reilly and Landfair ended the set and match, 25-23. 

Up Next: Nebraska faces No. 6 Stanford on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.