Friday night, the Huskers won their first match of the long-anticipated NCAA tournament. They took care of Long Island in three sets (25-17, 25-22, and 25-23) and improved their overall record to 29-1.
Head coach John Cook also made a change to the starting lineup and decided to give Sophomore middle blocker Maggie Mendelson the nod for the night.
“I’m super grateful to be on this team and have the opportunity that coach gave me,” Mendelson said postgame.
Mendelson was no slouch out there either as she finished with six kills and four blocks. She also provided back-to-back points that closed out the second set.
“I had been thinking about [starting her] for a couple days,” Cook said postgame. “[Mendelson’s] been training well and I wanted to give her an opportunity to play tonight.”
Mendelson also helped get things started with a double block with junior outside hitter Merritt Beason that gave Nebraska its first points of the night.
The Huskers started out the first set tied at 2-2, but it did not take long for them to heat up. Junior outside hitter Ally Batenhorst made sure her presence was felt early as she hammered her first kill of the night into a wide gap between Long Island’s defenders. The kill sparked an 8-2 run that was capped off by a kill from Beason to give Nebraska a 10-4 lead.
The Sharks were only able to get one point before the Huskers strung together a 9-2 run thanks to a kill by freshman outside hitter Harper Murray. An attack error by Batenhorst gave Long Island a quick break from Nebraska’s point frenzy to keep the score at 19-8.
Long Island briefly went on a run of its own when Nebraska committed a serve error and two attack errors. However, they quickly corrected their mistakes when Batenhorst responded with another kill that would be the catalyst for a set-clinching run.
The Huskers won their first set of the tournament off a quick roll shot by freshman setter Bergen Reilly to earn a 25-13 win.
In the next set, Nebraska found itself up at 6-5, when Reilly pulled off another roll shot to earn herself a rare kill. This also marked the beginning of a 3-2 run for the Huskers as they struggled to earn separation in the early part of the set. Murray took things to another level for Nebraska when she spiked a ball so hard over the right sideline that it was barely visible to the naked eye.
This anomaly of a point also led to a 4-1 run to put the Huskers up 13-8. Long Island shaved some points off the lead when a Nebraska service error opened the gate for a 6-2 run that cut the deficit down to 15-13.
Freshman middle blocker Andi Jackson helped start another rally when she delivered a kill over the middle that propelled the Huskers into another 4-1 run. Nebraska now had some cushion to go up 19-14 and never looked back.
Mendelson provided some clutch-time production as her two back-to-back kills capped off a 6-1 set-clinching run. The Huskers won the set 25-16 to take a 2-0 lead in their first tournament match of the season.
Heading into the third set, many of Nebraska’s players had provided some contributions. Beason, Mendelson, Jackson, and Batenhorst each had five kills, while Murray led the team with six.
Despite the all-around contributions, the Huskers still struggled on their attacks through the first two sets as they had posted 12 errors that led to opportunities for the Sharks. Some of these issues would carry over into the final set as Nebraska ran into some conflict
The third set had a slow start for the Huskers. The Sharks came out aggressive and Long Island’s Camelia Melendes had four early kills to help them earn a 9-4 lead. The Sharks middle blockers also did a good job of keeping things tough as the Huskers struggled to protect the frontline.
“We could have been more disciplined at our blocking specifically and our defense as a whole,” Beason said postgame.
Both teams exchanged some points before Nebraska returned to form. Murray got her first kill of the set to begin a rally that eventually ended the Huskers only down one at 12-11
Long Island and Nebraska kept battling, but the Sharks took control late and went up 20-18.
Things started to turn around when a Long Island player served a ball that was swallowed up by the net. Murray responded with a thundering kill that caused the crowd to erupt. The set was now tied at 21.
With the crowd as a factor, it likely played a part in the attack error by the Sharks that gave Nebraska a 23-22. The Huskers had to fight for the match after a long and rigorous rally, but Beason had back-to-back kills to win the set 25-22.
Overall on the night, the Huskers had a solid outing as they held their opponents to a .141 hit percentage. Nebraska finished with 44 kills, while Beason supplied thirteen of them on a .478 clip.
The Huskers have a quick turnaround as they face off against Missouri Saturday night. If they beat the Tigers, Nebraska will only be four wins away from a national championship.