Huskers Sweep LIU to Open NCAA Tournament

LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team began its NCAA Tournament with a 25-11, 25-15, 25-17 sweep of Long Island University on Friday night in front of a crowd of 8,656 at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. 

Nebraska improved to 31-0 on the season and hit .476, a postseason school record in the rally-scoring era. LIU (20-9) was held to .094 hitting, the 14th time this season Nebraska has held an opponent under .100. 

Andi Jackson had 10 kills and five blocks and hit. 833. Jackson's .833 hitting percentage was a postseason school record. Rebekah Allick added 10 kills on .750 hitting, which would rank No. 3 in postseason school history. Before Saturday, no Husker had ever hit .750 or better in a three-set NCAA Tournament match. 

Harper Murray and Taylor Landfair each had seven kills, and Virginia Adriano recorded six. Bergen Reilly posted 39 assists and 11 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. 

The Huskers had a 47-24 advantage in kills, 10-2 in blocks, 5-1 in aces and 39-25 in digs. Olivia Mauch tied Reilly for the team high in digs with 11. 

Set 1: The Huskers got hot with a 4-0 run that made it 13-7. Allick had a kill, and Jackson had a block with Adriano and a kill during Mauch's service run. Murray and Jackson added kills to put the Big Red up 15-9 and start a 7-0 run. Landfair, Jackson and Murray all had kills, and Murray served two aces during the run. NU closed out the set, 25-11, with kills by Jackson, Allick and Landfair and a block by Landfair and Allick. NU hit .615 and held LIU to .034.

Set 2: Sigler started the set with an ace, and Murray and Allick had kills around an Allick block for a 4-0 lead. Adriano added two kills and a block with Allick, who also had a kill, as the Huskers went up 15-7 at the media break. NU remained on top, and back-to-back aces by Reilly gave NU a 23-12 advantage. Allick added two kills as the Huskers won 25-15.

Set 3: The Huskers got off to a 7-1 start with two kills and two blocks by Jackson. The Huskers continued their onslaught with kills from Allick and Sigler for a 15-5 lead. Skyler Pierce hammered a kill to make it 18-6. Manaia Ogbechie tallied two kills, and Reilly and Allick each notched one for a 23-12 Husker lead. NU finished off the sweep, 25-17.

Up Next: The Huskers will play Kansas State in the second round on Saturday at 7 p.m. at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Wildcats defeated San Diego, 3-2, in the first round on Friday. 

Notes
• Nebraska’s .476 hitting percentage is a new Nebraska NCAA Tournament record in the rally-scoring era. The previous mark of .467 was set by the 2008 squad against UAB. 
• Andi Jackson hit .833 on the night. That mark surpassed NU’s previous NCAA Tournament all-time record, which had been held by Cecilia Hall, who hit .824 at Washington in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
• Jackson and fellow middle blocker Rebekah Allick combined for 20 kills on just 24 swings. Jackson hit .833 and Allick hit .750. Before tonight, no Husker had ever hit .750 or better in a three-set NCAA Tournament match.
• With her four blocks on the night, Rebekah Allick now has 80 career postseason blocks. That puts her at fifth in Nebraska history, passing Jenny Kropp (1998-2001) who had 78 postseason blocks.
• Nebraska officially made its 44th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Huskers rank second all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (44).
• With the win, Nebraska improved to 135-38 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.780).
• The win was Nebraska’s 31st consecutive victory, which ties for the third-longest winning streak in the NCAA era.
• Nebraska improved to 38-1 all-time in first-round NCAA Tournament matches. The Huskers have won their last 37 first-round matches dating back to 1984.
• The Huskers improved to 88-7 all-time in home NCAA Tournament matches, including a 33-2 record at the Devaney Center.
• Nebraska has won 27 consecutive home matches in the NCAA Tournament, a school record.
• Overall, Nebraska has won 61 consecutive home matches dating back to Dec. 1, 2022. That ranks as the sixth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history and the third-longest streak in Husker history.
• The Huskers improved to 63-1 all-time against unranked opponents in the NCAA.
• Dani Busboom Kelly won her first NCAA Tournament match as Nebraska’s head coach. She is 1-0 in the postseason as Nebraska’s head coach and 23-8 overall as a head coach. Busboom Kelly posted an 11-3 record as a player from 2003-06 and a 19-4 record as a Husker assistant from 2012-16.
• Nebraska is 105-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when taking a 2-0 lead.
• Nebraska is 89-0 this season in sets when reaching 20 points first.
• Nebraska has hit above .300 in 21 of its last 22 matches.
• Nebraska hit above .400 for the eighth time this season. That ties the 2005 team for the most matches hitting above .400 in the rally-scoring era (2001-present).