Huskers Capture Spikes Under the Lights Title

No. 1 Nebraska was crowned the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights champions after sweeping a pair of exhibitions against No. 17 Florida and No. 11 SMU on Thursday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

CHAMPIONSHIP | NO. 1 NEBRASKA 2, NO. 11 SMU 0 (21-12, 21-11)
Nebraska hit .339 as a team and stifled the Mustangs to an .068 hitting percentage to clinch the championship in dominant fashion.

Teraya Sigler recorded seven kills and five digs, followed by Harper Murray with six kills and five digs. Manaia Ogbechie, Andi Jackson and Skyler Pierce tallied three kills each. 

Bergen Reilly posted 21 assists and a team-best two blocks, and Olivia Mauch collected a team-high seven digs.

Set 1: The Huskers sprinted out to a commanding lead after a pair of Murray kills and an attack error had the Big Red ahead 12-2. A pair of miscues brought SMU back within six at 16-10. Nebraska scored five of the next seven points, including the final two points on Mustang errors, to claim a 21-12 win in the opening set.

Set 2: An SMU kill locked the second set in a tie at six. The Big Red reeled off four consecutive points from kills by Ogbechie, Adriano and Sigler and an ace from Murray to take a 14-8 lead. Another 4-0 rally from the Huskers capped off by kills from Sigler and Cogill enlarged the NU lead to 18-9. Nebraska scored its final three points off kills by Ryan Hunter and Murray and block assists from Reilly and Cogill to clinch the sweep with a 21-11 victory.

SEMIFINAL | NO. 1 NEBRASKA 2, NO. 17 FLORIDA 0 (21-19, 21-18)
Nebraska hit .220 while holding Florida to a .169 hitting percentage and recording seven blocks on the defensive side.

Sigler led the Huskers with six kills, followed by Virginia Adriano and Jackson with five kills each. Ogbechie chipped in three kills and tied Jackson with a team-best three blocks. 

Reilly had 19 assists, four digs and two blocks, and Mauch recorded a team-best nine digs.

Set 1: Nebraska held a 10-7 lead after a pair of kills from Adriano and block assists by Ogbechie and Adriano. A 4-1 rally from the Gators tied the set at 17 before the two teams swapped points to a deadlock at 19. Ogbechie capped off the opening set with back-to-back kills to give the Huskers a 21-19 victory in the opening set.

Set 2: The Huskers and Gators traded points to a 6-6 tie to begin the second set before Florida grabbed its largest lead of the night at 13-10. NU responded with a 5-0 scoring spurt to take a 15-13 lead and never looked back. A kill kept the Gators in reach of the Huskers at 19-18 before a kill from Adriano and Sigler’s service ace clinched the sweep for the Big Red at 21-18.