The Nebraska volleyball team kicked off the 2024 season with its annual Red-White Scrimmage at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 8,395. White earned the victory over Red, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22).
Andi Jackson shined for the Huskers, posting 15 kills on a .583 hitting percentage, along with seven blocks. Lindsay Krause totaled 15 kills in the scrimmage, while Taylor Landfair notched 12 and Leyla Blackwell and Harper Murray each recorded nine.
Bergen Reilly had 40 assists and 10 digs setting the White team, and Kennedi Orr posted 37 assists and 13 digs for the Red team. Reilly also finished with a pair of aces.
White hit .203 for the match, while Red hit .153. White had 14 blocks, led by Jackson’s seven and five from Merritt Beason, who also had seven kills and eight digs. Red had nine blocks, including five by former Husker Lauren Stivrins.
Olivia Mauch had a match-high 22 digs and Lexi Rodriguez notched 15.
Set 1: The first set started off back and forth, before White separated from a 7-7 tie behind two blocks – one from Allick and Murray and one from Allick and Beason. White took a 14-10 lead and forced Red to take its first timeout. White continued its net dominance out of the break, totaling five blocks in the first set, including one from Reilly and Jackson to make the score 19-15. Red fought back, and a Landfair kill brought the score to 21-18, while a Beason error and Conner Schreier kill brought Red within two and forced a White timeout. Out of the timeout, a Blackwell missed serve and Landfair hitting error put White at set point, and a Jackson kill gave White the 25-21 set victory.
Set 2: Red fought back in the second set, as Landfair posted an ace and a kill to help her team to a 6-2 quick lead. White capitalized on hitting errors from Red to take back the 7-6 lead. The set remained a battle from that point. A Red hitting error put White up 21-20 and Allick and Murray teamed up for a block to give White a 22-20 advantage late in the set. Landfair rattled off two straight kills to put Red at set point and a Stivrins/Landfair block clinched the 25-23 Red victory and tied the match at one set apiece.
Between sets two and three, Laney Choboy, Leyla Blackwell and Taylor Landfair switched to the White team, while Olivia Mauch, Rebekah Allick and Lindsay Krause went to the Red team.
Set 3: The teams battled back and forth early on in set three. White was able to take advantage of two Jackson kills and a Landfair/Jackson block to lead 15-12 heading into the media timeout. White utilized a balanced offense to maintain its lead, as Blackwell, Beason, Murray and Landfair each notched a kill to take the lead to 19-15 and force a Red timeout. Jackson continued to dominate, registering her 9th and 10th kills to give White a 21-16 edge. Krause pulled Red within four with a kill before Landfair and Murray each earned a kill of their own to make the score 23-17, but Red fought back and rattled off three straight points to pull within three. Another Jackson kill put White at set point and a Blackwell kill handed White the 2-1 set lead with a 25-21 win.
Set 4: Skyler Pierce hit her stride at the beginning of set four, recording an ace, kill and block to earn three of Red’s first five points. After an Orr/Stivrins block and a Krause kill, Red held a 15-13 edge. An Allick kill extended the advantage to 16-13, and Jackson registered two straight kills to bring White within one before Allick and Krause handed Red an 18-15 lead. Reilly brought the score to 18-17 with two kills of her own and White tied the set, 18-18, and Red took a timeout. Red gained momentum out of the break, grabbing a 20-18 lead and forcing a White timeout. But a Murray kill and a Blackwell/Beason block tied the score, 20-20. An ace from Reilly gave White the 21-20 lead and another Blackwell/Beason block made the score 22-20. Beason’s seventh kill of the night made the score 24-22, and White earned the 25-22 set victory and the match, 3-1.
Up Next: The No. 2 Huskers will play their first regular-season match against No. 9 Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. (CDT).
