After a less-than-stellar performance on Friday, the young Nebraska team came out of the gates Saturday on fire. The Huskers dominated the first set and carried their momentum into a three-set sweep (25-14, 25-19, 25-21).
A service ace from freshman setter Bergen Reilly sparked an 8-2 run to open the first set. Emphatic kills from both junior outside hitter Merritt Beason and star freshman outside hitter Harper Murray sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy before two more aces from Reilly sparked an all-out roar. It was a welcome start after an uninspiring victory in the opening round.
“We knew we didn’t play our best last night,” Reilly said postgame. “So we wanted to go out there and make a statement and prove that we should be the one seed in the tournament.”
The Huskers would encounter some adversity in the match but for the most part, they never looked back. They extended their 42nd straight tournament appearance by toppling Missouri, a No. 8 seed in the region (25-12, 25-19, 25-21). The Nebraska defense was center stage in the victory as they held the Tigers to a .089 hitting percentage in the match.
Missouri made the tournament for the first time since 2020 as an at-large bid after finishing its season 17-12. Nebraska has now won 18 straight matchups against the Tigers dating back to 2003. Saturday was the first time the two teams have met since the second round of the 2019 NCAA tournament.
The Huskers looked unstoppable to start the first set until they didn’t, perhaps burning a little too much energy from the avalanche of a run the Huskers allowed Missouri to climb back in the middle of the set.
After a timeout from head coach John Cook, Nebraska refocused and went on a 14-6 run to end the set in dominant fashion. Beason led the Huskers with three kills in the set but it was the defense that shined as Nebraska held the Tigers to a -.240 hitting percentage in the set. The Huskers doubled Missouri in both blocks (6-3) and digs (8-4) in the set.
The second set was much more competitive than the first with the teams trading points throughout the majority of the set. Nebraska started to get the best of the exchanges, scoring two to three times every time the Tigers scored, allowing the Huskers to pull away in the middle of the set. Missouri tried to make a late push to cut the gap however, it was not enough as a service error from the Tigers would give the Huskers the victory, 25-19. Missouri never led through the two sets thanks to the defense from Nebraska.
The third set saw the Tigers take their first lead of the match after a kill from sophomore outside hitter Janet deMarrais. The Huskers responded quickly reclaiming the lead and then proceeded to trade points with Missouri early in the set. The third set was much more competitive than the rest of the match had been prior, so much so that the Tigers led Nebraska 15-14 going into the media timeout.
The Huskers found themselves in a brawl late in the set as they held on to a one-point 21-20 lead. Lincoln native sophomore middle blocker Bekka Allick then decided to put a stop to the back and forth, combining with Murray for her seventh and eighth blocks of the game. Two consecutive kills from Beason would cap off a 4-1 run to put Missouri to pasture for good. Beason and junior outside hitter Ally Batenhorst lead the team with 12 and seven kills respectively.
The Nebraska block was the star of the show on Saturday with the team tallying 14 total blocks in the match. Allick, who missed the last game, led the team with eight blocks which was three more than her kill total of five. The Huskers seemed to be a step ahead of the Tigers’ hitters all night, stuffing several shots in big moments to hold on to the momentum.
“I think she’s the best blocker in the conference,” Cook said of Allick postgame. “She brings energy, she competes and it spreads.”
Nebraska has struggled with their serve at different points this year, however, Saturday night it seemed to have ironed out the kinks as it was one of the biggest strengths against Missouri. The Huskers found success by targeting the Tigers’ libero early and often making her cover large portions of the court.
“We like to start off strong,” Reilly said postgame. “Getting the lead right away is always huge, and so I was kind of just going into the match with that mindset.”
Looking ahead, the Huskers will host Georgia Tech in the regional semi-finals. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a five-set upset victory over Florida and should be the best team Nebraska has seen in the tournament this far.
If both teams can take care of business next week, Nebraska may be on a collision course for a rematch against No. 8 Kentucky.