LINCOLN, Neb. – The top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team beat Missouri 3-0 on Saturday night in the NCAA Second Round to advance to its 12th consecutive NCAA Regional.
In front of a crowd of 8,640 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, the Huskers (30-1) never trailed in sets one and two and held off the Tigers (18-13) in the third in a 25-14, 25-19, 25-21 sweep.
Nebraska will host an NCAA Regional next Thursday and Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The match times for both days will be announced on Sunday. Nebraska will host No. 12 Georgia Tech in one regional semifinal. No. 8 Kentucky will play No. 9 Arkansas in the other regional semifinal in Lincoln, and the winners will meet in Saturday’s final.
The Huskers hit .264 in the match and limited Missouri to an .089 mark. Nebraska had 14 blocks, its highest total in a three-set match this season. The Huskers also had a strong serving night, producing five aces and only four errors.
Merritt Beason led the Nebraska offense for the second straight night with 12 kills on 23 swings while hitting above .430 for the second match in a row. Ally Batenhorst had seven kills on 22 swings and Harper Murray totaled six kills on 19 attacks. Bergen Reilly dished out 26 assists and added 10 digs and a career-high four aces.
Defensively, Bekka Allick had eight blocks to go along with five kills. Andi Jackson recorded six stuffs, while Beason added five blocks. Lexi Rodiguez (11) and Laney Choboy (10) each had double-digit digs for the Big Red.
Janet DeMarrais (13 kills) and Dilara Gedikoglu (12) led Missouri, which ended its season with an 18-13 record.
Set 1: Reilly started off the match serving a 7-0 run that included three aces, kills by Murray and Beason, and two blocks by Allick. The Tigers stormed back with an 8-3 run to get within 10-8. Nebraska ran off four straight points to go up 16-10, sparked by a Reilly kill and a block by Beason and Allick. Allick added two more blocks, one with Beason and one with Allick, to make it 20-11. Later, Beason and Jackson teamed up for a block as the Huskers went up 11, 23-12. Beason tipped a kill for set point, 24-13, and the Huskers won 25-14 on a Batenhorst kill. Nebraska held Mizzou to -.240 hitting in the opening frame.
Set 2: A 6-1 run put the Huskers in front, 9-4. Jackson had two kills, while Beason and Batenhorst each had one. Back-to-back kills by Beason and Murray made it 13-8, and another Murray kill and a Missouri hitting error gave the Big Red a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. The Huskers had four kills in a row before a Murray ace made it 20-12. Missouri got within 22-17, but Batenhorst terminated and Reilly and Jackson stuffed a Tiger attack, and NU won 25-19 on a Missouri service error.
Set 3: Missouri led 9-8 before a kill by Allick and Reilly’s fourth ace flipped the lead to the Huskers, and Nebraska went up 12-9 after two straight Missouri hitting errors. Nebraska led 14-10 before the Tigers went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-14 lead after three kills, an ace and a block. Allick and Beason had kills, and Batenhorst and Jackson recorded a block to put NU back on top, 17-16. Missouri reclaimed a 20-19 lead after back-to-back kills, but two straight Missouri attacking errors gave the Huskers a 21-20 advantage. After a Missouri timeout, Allick and Murray combined for two blocks to put the Huskers ahead 23-21, and the Tigers used their final timeout. Beason ended the match, 25-21, with two straight kills.
