Huskers Sweep Hurricanes, Advance to NCAA Regional

Photo Credit: Nebraska Athletics

Lincoln - The third-ranked Nebraska volleyball team punched its ticket to the program's 40th NCAA Regional appearance with a 3-0 sweep of Miami Saturday night in front of 8,684 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers (31-2) held the Hurricanes below 20 in each of the three sets of the 25-19, 25-14, 25-18 win. Nebraska limited Miami to its lowest hitting percentage of the season (.058) while winning its 24th consecutive home NCAA Tournament match and 43rd straight home match overall.
Harper Murray had an outstanding all-around game, leading Nebraska in kills (9), digs (12) and service aces (2). Murray hit .412 on the match. Rebekah Allick had a match-high seven blocks and had six kills on only nine swings. Bergen Reilly dished out 33 assists and led a balanced offensive attack, as five Huskers had at least six kills.

Miami saw its season end with a 22-11 record. The Hurricanes were led by Flormarie Heredia Colon, who had a match-high 14 kills and tied for the match high with 12 digs.

Set 1: A Murray kill and block by Merritt Beason and Allick, along with a trio of Miami hitting errors, helped the Huskers take a 13-8 lead. Kills from Jackson and Landfair extended the advantage to 19-12. The Hurricanes pulled within four at 21-17, but a Husker block ended a 3-0 Miami scoring run. NU closed out the set, 25-19, on a Hurricane hitting error. The Big Red held Miami to .091 hitting in the set. 

Set 2: Kennedi Orr at the service line sparked a 3-0 run to hand the Huskers an early 7-3 lead. A Murray ace and two Hurricane hitting errors stretched the lead to 16-9. Orr enjoyed another service run, which included an ace, along with a Landfair kill and Allick/Landfair block that put Nebraska ahead 20-10. Andi Jackson and Beason combined for NU’s sixth block of the match to end the set, 25-14.  Nebraska hit .300 in the set while limiting Miami to an .081 attack percentage.

Set 3: Two kills apiece from Reilly and Jackson, along with an ace by Murray and block were part of a 7-0 run to give the Huskers a 9-3 advantage. Miami came back to pull within three at 12-9. The Huskers responded by winning five of the next six rallies to take a 17-10 advantage. Nebraska led by at least six the rest of the way, earning the victory on Reilly's fourth kill of the match. Nebraska hit .357 in the third set while Miami hit .000.

Up Next: The Huskers will face Dayton next weekend in the regional semifinal. 

NCAA Volleyball Regional times have been set. The Lincoln Regional will be played on Friday and Sunday.

Friday, Dec. 13
Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M – 6 p.m. CT - ESPN2
Nebraska vs. Dayton – 30 minutes following first match - ESPN2

Sunday, Dec. 15
Regional Final – 2 p.m. CT – ABC