Huskers Finish Regular Season Unbeaten

LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team capped an unbeaten regular season with a 25-16, 25-13, 25-20 sweep in front of 8,461 at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday night. 

Nebraska (30-0, 20-0 Big Ten) finished the regular season unbeaten for the third time in school history (1994 and 2000), dropping only seven sets overall and one in Big Ten play.  

The Huskers became the first Big Ten team to go 20-0 in conference play since Penn State in 2009. Wisconsin went 15-0 in Big Ten play in the Covid-shortened season played in spring 2021. It was the Huskers' first unbeaten conference season since 2004 in the Big 12. 

Head Coach Dani Busboom Kelly completed her second undefeated regular season in her nine-year head coaching career. Busboom Kelly had a 28-0 (18-0 ACC) regular season at Louisville in 2021. 

Nebraska's 30 straight wins is the fourth longest win streak in school history. The Huskers also extended their nation-leading home court win streak to 60 matches, the third-longest home win streak in program history. 

The Huskers hit .435, going over .400 for the seventh time this season, the second-most times in school history in the rally scoring era behind only the 2005 team (eight times). NU held the Buckeyes (6-22, 3-17 Big Ten) to a .174 hitting percentage. 

Harper Murray had nine kills, while Andi Jackson had eight kills on .800 hitting. Jackson finished with a .561 hitting percentage in Big Ten Conference matches, breaking the previous Big Ten record of .541 set by Penn State's Arielle Wilson in 2008. 

Rebekah Allick had seven kills and four blocks, while Allie Sczech finished with six kills and three blocks. Virginia Adriano and Manaia Ogbechie each posted five kills, and Taylor Landfair added four. 

Bergen Reilly notched 27 assists and eight digs. Campbell Flynn added nine assists, and Maisie Boesiger had a team-high 13 digs and five assists getting the start at libero. 

The Huskers had a 48-33 advantage in kills, 4-3 in aces, 8-2 in blocks and 34-28 in digs. 

The Huskers celebrated their four seniors after the match: Allick, Boesiger, Landfair and Sczech. 

Set 1: A 6-0 run served by Boesiger put the Huskers up 7-2, as Sczech had a kill, Murray had two and Jackson one. The Huskers led 15-8 after kills by Murray and Sczech. NU went ahead 22-12 after kills by Murray, Jackson and Allick. The Big Red won 25-16 after a kill and ace by Adriano and a kill by Landfair.

Set 2: Jackson had two kills and a block with Sczech, and Murray added a kill during another 6-0 run served by Boesiger that made it 6-1. Murray tallied two kills and an ace before a Landfair kill made it 13-3 Huskers. Allick had back-to-back blocks - one with Reilly and one with Landfair - to keep NU on top, 16-7. The Buckeyes pulled within 18-12, but Allick posted a sideout kill and Murray followed with a kill and a block with Jackson for a 21-12 lead. Szcech joined in with a kill and a block with Jackson, and the Huskers went on to win 25-13 on an ace by Flynn. 

Set 3: NU separated from a 9-9 tie with kills by Teraya Sigler and Adriano. A kill by Ogbechie and another by Adriano kept the Big Red ahead 13-11. Allick added two kills and a solo block, and the Huskers went up 18-13 on a kill by Sczech. After OSU cut it to 19-17, Ogbechie terminated a kill, but the Buckeyes pulled within 20-19. After a timeout, the Huskers turned to Ogbechie for two kills, and Ohio State hit out before an ace by Skyler Pierce earned match point. The Huskers won 25-20 on a kill by Reilly.   

Up Next: The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air on ESPN on Sunday at 5 p.m. (CT). A limited number of tickets to the first and second round matches in Lincoln will go on sale at Huskers.com/Tickets on Sunday night at 7 p.m.