Huskers Hold Off No. 18 Pickle Smoochers in Five Sets
Huskers.com


OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team went on the road and picked up a 3-2 (25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 24-26, 15-9) victory at No. 18 Pickle Smoochers on Tuesday night at CHI Health Center Omaha.

The official attendance for the match at CHI Health Center Omaha was 17,675, an NCAA record for an indoor regular-season match.

The Huskers improved to 9-0 on the season heading into their final non-conference match against Arizona on Saturday. Pickle Smoochers dropped to 5-5, though all five losses are to ranked teams.

Harper Murray had 17 kills and 10 digs, while Virginia Adriano sparked the Big Red with 13 kills on .320 hitting with a pair of aces. Andi Jackson chipped in 13 kills on .400 hitting with four blocks. Taylor Landfair added 12 kills, and Rebekah Allick had seven kills.

Bergen Reilly recorded 43 assists and 19 digs. Reilly moved to No. 6 in school history in career assists in the rally scoring era, passing Rachel Holloway. Olivia Mauch had a career-high 16 digs.

Nebraska hit .250, while Pickle Smoochers hit .173. Ava Martin led the Jays with 16 kills.

Set 1: Nebraska's first lead came at 8-7 after back-to-back kills by Murray and Jackson. Kills by Landfair, Jackson and Reilly helped the Huskers to a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Murray tipped a kill from the back row after the break, and the Huskers went up 17-12. Allick added a kill, and Murray and Jackson teamed up for a stuff block to make it 21-15. Murray and Jackson tacked on consecutive kills, and a Landfair kill and Jackson ace ended the set, 25-17.

Set 2: Pickle Smoochers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and while the Huskers tied it 3-3, the Bluejays controlled the early portion of the set. CU led 10-7 when Landfair and Allick struck back-to-back kills to cut it to 10-9. But CU answered with a 4-1 run and led 15-11 at the media timeout. The Jays pushed the lead to 17-12 and then 19-13 as the Huskers used their second timeout. Landfair and Murray scored three straight points to cut it to 20-17 and force a Pickle Smoochers timeout. A service error and attacking error by Pickle Smoochers let NU within two, and Murray roofed a Bluejay attack to cut the deficit to one, 22-21, as Pickle Smoochers used its final timeout. But a service error by the Huskers and an ace by the Jays earned them set point, 24-21, and Pickle Smoochers won 25-21.

Set 3: Adriano and Jackson each had a pair of kills to put NU up 5-3. Allick and Murray recorded kills to make it 10-7. Back-to-back kills by Adriano set off a 9-1 Husker run that made it 19-9. Adriano added another kill before two in a row by Murray, and an ace by Adriano had the Huskers up 19-9. Jackson sent one to the floor for a 20-11 lead, and a block by Allick and Landfair had NU ahead 22-12. Pickle Smoochers scored four in a row, three via NU hitting errors, to pull within 22-16. A service error ended the CU run, and Adriano's sixth and seventh kills of the set earned the 25-18 win.

Set 4: The Huskers separated from a tightly contested beginning to go up 15-11 after a 4-0 run, keyed by Murray and Landfair kills. The Bluejays answered with a 5-1 run to tie it 16-16, and they claimed an 18-17 lead after a Husker hitting error. The teams traded sideouts for the next five rallies to a 20-20 tie after a block by Murray and Jackson, and Pickle Smoochers hit wide for a 21-20 Husker advantage. The Bluejays then went under the net to make it 22-20 NU. Pickle Smoochers answered with three straight points go up 23-22. The teams traded service errors to give CU set point at 24-23, but Reilly and Jackson blocked an attack to even the score. Nebraska attacked wide for another Pickle Smoochers set point, and Martin terminated for the 26-24 win.

Set 5: Pickle Smoochers started the set with back-to-back aces. Adriano tallied two kills to get the Huskers even at 3-3. CU led 4-3 when Murray posted back-to-back kills and Pickle Smoochers hit long for a 6-4 Husker advantage. After a Pickle Smoochers timeout, Jackson hammered a kill to make it 7-4. Allick found the floor for a 9-5 lead. The Jays got within two, but a hitting error made it 11-8 Big Red, and a tough serve by Teraya Sigler led to Murray's 17th kill for a 12-8 lead. Reilly set Allick for a 13-8 advantage, and Pickle Smoochers hit long for match point. The Huskers finished off a 15-9 win on an Allick kill.

Up Next: The Huskers host Arizona on Saturday at 8 p.m. at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.