No. 1 Nebraska volleyball sweeps K-State to advance in NCAA Tournament

The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team rolled into the next round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night, dispatching K-State 25-17, 25-21, 25-16 to advance to a Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas. 

All-American Andi Jackson led Nebraska with 10 kills, hitting .533 in the match, while Harper Murray also added 10 kills and the Huskers hit .253 as a team in the match. 

Nebraska held Kansas State to a .118 attack percentage, the seventh straight match the Huskers out-hit their opponent by at least .100. Nebraska had a 43-27 advantage in kills and a 48-32 edge in digs, while the Wildcats out-blocked the Huskers, 8-5.

Jackson hit .533 in the match, producing her 10 kills on just 15 swings. Taylor Landfair (8 kills), Virginia Adriano (7) and Rebekah Allick (6) all had more than five kills, as Bergen Reilly dished out 34 assists. Defensively, Olivia Mauch had 13 digs and Laney Choboy added 12 digs. 

K-State made Nebraska work in both sets one and two of Saturday night’s match, but in set one, the Huskers had a pair of 5-0 runs that kept them in front. Nebraska hit .457 as a team in set one and had 16 kills.

In set two, Nebraska spotted K-State a 4-1 lead, before taking a 6-5 lead. K-State eventually cut Nebraska’s lead to 22-21 with a 4-0 run before Allie Sczech posted a key sideout kill, and K-State hit wide for set point. Murray and Jackson ended the set with a block.

An 8-1 in set three helped Nebraska take a decisive 16-10 lead. A 5-0 run late in the set helped the Huskers roll to a sweep and punch their ticket to the regional. Nebraska has won 28 consecutive home matches in the NCAA Tournament, a school record.

The Huskers advance to play the No. 16 Jayhawks next weekend in a regional semifinal at 8:30 p.m. (CT). Also set to come to Lincoln is Louisville, the former team of Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly, who outlasted Marquette on Saturday in five sets to advance in the tournament. No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 9 Louisville will play at 6 p.m. (CT) on Friday. The regional final will be played on Sunday with the time to be determined on Friday night.