LINCOLN, Neb. – The top-seeded Nebraska volleyball team advanced in the NCAA Tournament after a 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 victory over Long Island on Friday night in front of 8,599 spectators at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers (29-1) were balanced offensively, with five players recording at least six kills. Merritt Beason led the way with 13 kills on a .478 batting average. Harper Murray added nine kills in her NCAA Tournament debut, while Ally Batenhorst had seven kills. Middles Andi Jackson and Maggie Mendelson each had six kills, with Mendelson setting a career high in kills and blocks (4).
Nebraska had 44 kills to LIU’s 28, and the Huskers hit .280 compared to .151 for the Sharks. NU also had a 46-33 advantage in digs and had seven service aces. Camelia Melendez led LIU with 12 kills, while Rumur Rouille had a match-high seven blocks.
Set 1: Mendelson started the match with a block from Beason and a kill, and two kills each from Batenhorst and Jackson – along with an ace from Beason – gave the Huskers an 8-3 lead. The Huskers kept their foot on the gas and took a 14-5 lead after two kills from Murray and one from Reilly as part of another 4-0 run. Reilly and Murray each served an ace, while Beason and Mendelson teamed up for a block, and the Huskers extended the lead to 19-7. Rodriguez served the Huskers’ fourth ace to give them a 21-8 lead, and Batenhorst, Jackson and Reilly added kills as the Huskers won 25-13. Nebraska held LIU to -.040 hitting in the first set.
Sentence 2: LIU held on in the second game, trailing 9-7 after a kill from Camelia Melendez. Murray and Beason then combined for three straight kills to give the Huskers a 12-7 lead, but the Sharks fought back to get within two goals at 15-13. Jackson and Murray hit kills to bring the Big Red back to a five-point lead at 18-13, and Beason and Murray hit kills while Reilly served up two aces and the Huskers led 23-15. Mendelson then scored two kills to finish the set 25-16.
Sentence 3: The Huskers fell into an 8-3 hole as Long Island clicked offensively. The Sharks led 11-5 on a kill from Murray and an ace from Kennedi Orr. After an LIU kill, Mendelson had a kill and consecutive blocks with Murray, and an LIU attack error cut the deficit to one, 12-11. However, the Sharks held firm and extended their lead back to three at 19:16. Jackson responded with a kill after a timeout and Beason finished the game from the back row to make it 19:18. The teams traded points before Murray used a block to make it 20-20. The teams then traded kills on the next four rallies, and a scoring error by LIU gave Nebraska a 23-22 lead, the Huskers’ first lead of the set. After a timeout on Long Island, Beason secured match point with a kill and the Huskers won 25-22.
Next: Nebraska will face Missouri in the second round of the NCAA on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Missouri defeated Delaware 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 in the first game on Friday.
Notes after the Nebraska game
- Nebraska officially advanced to the 42nd NCAA Tournament tonight. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in NCAA Tournament appearances and consecutive appearances (42).
- With the win, Nebraska improved to 126-36 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.778).
- Nebraska improved to 36-1 all-time in first-round NCAA Tournament games. The Huskers have won their last 35 first-round games since 1984.
- Nebraska’s win over Long Island was the Huskers’ 30th win in 37 all-time first-round games in the NCAA Tournament.
- NU improved to 80-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament home games and joins Stanford as the only two programs in NCAA history with 80 postseason home wins.
- Nebraska won its 19th consecutive home game in the NCAA Tournament (dating back to 2013). NU improved to 25-2 in postseason games at the Bob Devaney Center.
- The Huskers improved to 58-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament against unranked opponents. Overall (regular season and postseason), Nebraska has won 125 consecutive games against unranked opponents since 2017.
- Nebraska faced Long Island for the first time on Friday. This makes the Sharks the 77th different opponent the Huskers have defeated in the NCAA Tournament. LIU became the 64th different team to defeat John Cook in the NCAA Tournament at Nebraska during his career.
- John Cook improved to 85-19 in the NCAA Tournament as Nebraska’s head coach. He improved to 93-24 in his NCAA tournament career. Cook ranks second all-time in career NCAA Tournament wins and NCAA Tournament wins at a school.
- The Huskers won the first two sets against LIU and are 95-1 with a 2-0 lead in the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska has won 94 straight postseason games by winning the first two sets.
- Nebraska had seven service aces and only six service errors. Tonight was only the second time this season that the Huskers had more aces than errors.
- After an attack error on their first shot of the game, the Huskers scored 10 kills on their next 11 swings.
- LIU didn’t win its first service point until the 31st rally of the first set.
- Maggie Mendelson recorded six kills and six blocks in the match, matching career highs in both categories.
- Merritt Beason posted a game-best 13 kills and posted a .478 attack percentage. After one kill in three swings and hitting .000 in the first set, Beason had 12 kills in 20 swings and hit .550 in the final two sets.