LINCOLN, Nebraska. – The No. 5 Nebraska volleyball team defeated the Wichita State Shockers 25-13, 25-12, 25-12 on Saturday afternoon in front of 8,541 spectators at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
As a team, the Huskers (8-1) posted a .477 hit percentage, their best hitting percentage since Sept. 15, 2018. NU also held the Shockers (3-6) to .096. The Big Red had a 50-27 kill advantage and a 3-1 advantage in service aces. NU was eliminated at a 78.9 percent rate.
Harper Murray had 14 kills and a career-high .542 hitting percentage, along with 11 digs, for her second double-double of the season. Andi Jackson had 10 kills (.600) and three blocks, while Merritt Beason added 10 kills (.471). Taylor Landfair had a season-high nine kills (.412) and added three blocks. Leyla Blackwell totaled four kills (.375) and three blocks.
Bergen Reilly recorded 35 assists and 10 digs, her seventh double-double of the season. Lexi Rodriguez had eight digs and Olivia Mauch added six.
Emerson Wilford led Wichita State with 12 kills and four blocks.
Sentence 1: The Huskers took a 6-1 lead, and Landfair was responsible for three of those points, getting two kills and an assisted block with Blackwell. Landfair and Murray each had a kill to give NU a 12-6 lead. The Big Red used a 5-0 run sparked by Kennedi Orr at the service line to extend the lead to 17-8. Jackson’s second kill and a solo block by Murray made the score 22-12, and a setter dump by Reilly gave Nebraska set point. An ace by Murray finished NU’s set win at 25-13.
Sentence 2: Beason and Blackwell each had two kills to help the Huskers take a 6-1 lead. Beason then had a kill and an ace and Reilly added a kill to extend the lead to 11-4. The Big Red took a 4-0 lead, fueled by two kills from Landfair and a block from Landfair/Blackwell, to 19-7. NU closed the set with a 4-0 run to win 25-12 with a kill from Murray and an ace from Beason. The Huskers posted a .533 batting average in the set.
Sentence 3: The third set started with a back-and-forth before Murray and Reilly each got a kill to put NU ahead 9-5. Kills from Beason and Murray tied the score at 13-9. Beason and Jackson combined for two consecutive blocks and Jackson got two kills as part of an 8-0 run that put the Huskers ahead 21-10. Jackson’s ninth kill gave Nebraska set point and her tenth tied the set 25-12 and the match 3-0.
Next: The Huskers will face No. 2 Stanford at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network.
