No. 2 Nebraska Volleyball beats Buckeyes 3-0

A tough defensive performance on short breaks and an extremely efficient offensive performance led the No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team to its 15th straight win, a win over Ohio State on Saturday afternoon.

The Huskers defeated the Buckeyes 25-18, 25-18, 25-16 in the first collegiate volleyball game televised on NBC.

“This is a challenging turnaround,” coach John Cook told NBC. “We got to play at Michigan State last night, play this afternoon, so I’m really proud of our team. They showed some mental courage and toughness. We’ve never won here at the Covelli Center, so this is a big moment for us too. It’s a big victory.”

The Huskers (18-1, 8-0 Big Ten) hit .369 as Bergen Reilly dished out 39 assists.

Harper Murray had another strong effort with 14 kills on .394 hitting, and Merritt Beason wasn’t far behind with 13 kills on .345 hitting, six blocks, six digs and an ace. Andi Jackson added eight kills on .500 batting averages and three blocks.

“It’s a great team to come to the gym with every day,” Reilly told NBC. “We have a lot of fun together and I think that shows on the pitch. It just shows in the trust I have in everyone. We are really balanced; Anyone can come in and get a kill, and as a setter it’s really liberating to just be able to set anyone you want.”

Ohio State University’s star opponent Emily Londot hit .245 for a game-high 16 kills to improve her Big Ten-leading kills average, but the rest of the Buckeyes combined for .069.

Nebraska outscored Ohio State (8-10, 1-7) 58-37 as Lexi Rodriguez flew all game and tied a season-high 22 digs.

“She didn’t play very well yesterday,” Cook told the Huskers Radio Network. “She heard about it and said she would play great today. I think she was keen to compete against Londot and Emmi [Sellman]. I think Emmi was on some US teams with these guys this summer, so I think she was just hooked on liking these guys. They’re all good wrist hitters over there, so they hit a lot of balls on them. I didn’t know – I knew she had a lot of digs, but it was a lot. She did something great [digs] She made some great ups out of Londot’s junk shots.”

Reilly added 11 digs to her line for the double-double, while freshman Olivia Mauch finished with 10 digs and two aces.

After some back and forth early in the game, Nebraska went on a 6-0 run midway through the set to take a 12-7 lead. Beason, Jackson and Murray each scored two points during the run.

The Buckeyes made a push and cut the deficit to two at 17-15, but the Huskers responded with three straight goals, including two kills from Rebekah Allick, to stretch the deficit again. From there they finished strong and took a 1-0 lead.

Reilly led Nebraska to a .414 hitting percentage with 13 assists. Murray was their favorite target with five kills on seven clean swings. Londot alone managed eight kills on 19 swings, but the rest of the Buckeyes managed just four kills and seven errors.

Nebraska took the lead early in the second set, then used a 6-0 serving run from Mauch – including an ace – to tie the game at 14-6. The lead peaked at 17-8 before Ohio State made a small run late to make the final score a little more respectable. The Huskers ended the set with a block against Londot, their fifth opponent of the set.

Nebraska hit .342 and held Ohio State to .205. Beason led the offense with five kills on 11 flawless swings.

Nebraska wasted no time in the third set as Mauch went on another extended service run – this time 8-0, including another ace – to give the Huskers a 10-1 lead. Nebraska pushed the lead to 11 a few times before cruising to victory.

The Huskers hit .361 in the set and recorded 23 digs, holding Ohio State to .140. Murray and Beason each had five kills while Reilly dished out 14 assists. After her first set with eight kills, Londot recorded eight kills for a total of 34 shots in the final two sets.

“I think that’s something we’ve been working on: consistency across the board, both offensively and defensively,” Beason told NBC. “Tonight we knew they were going to make their plays, but it’s just a matter of how we respond. You have to give them a lot of credit and Emily Londot…She played great and it was just a matter of how to react and make sure they didn’t get all the momentum in those moments.”

Cook gave Taylor Landfair the start after her 12-kill performance on Saturday and she followed with seven kills while hitting .235 and two blocks. Cook said he is looking for someone who can secure and keep the OH1 spot, but Landfair and Lindsay Krause will continue to compete for playing time in practice.

“We’re going to keep competing,” Cook said on the radio. “There will be some competitions this week. I think these guys thrive on competition and I think it brings out the best. So we will continue to compete.”

Nebraska volleyball will get another full week of practice to compete without having to worry about travel as Illinois and Michigan will visit the Devaney Center for another weekend at the Husker home.