LOUISVILLE, Kentucky. – The No. 2 ranked Nebraska volleyball team opened the season with a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-15, 25-20) victory over No. 9 Kentucky in the AVCA First Serve Showcase at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Huskers posted 18 blocks, their most since 2018, and held Kentucky to a .139 hitting percentage. Rebekah Allick led the charge with 11 kills and 12 blocks, and she hit .667. Merritt Beason finished with 11 kills, eight digs and six blocks.

Andi Jackson had 10 kills and hit .412 with five blocks. Harper Murray had eight kills, three blocks, and Lindsay Krause added seven kills, four blocks and three of NU’s four aces.

Nebraska was hitting .258 for the game. Bergen Reilly dished out 39 assists and had 11 digs. Lexi Rodriguez had 15 digs.

Allick was named Best Middle Blocker and MVP of the AVCA First Serve Showcase. Reilly was named Best Setter.

Brooklyn DeLeye led Kentucky with 19 kills.

Series 1: Kentucky jumped out to a 7-3 lead after a 6-0 run. Kills by Beason and Murray brought NU within 8-7, but the Wildcats rebuilt the lead to five, 13-8. Kentucky led 15-11 at the media timeout, but Allick, Krause and Beason finished off kills after the break to bring the Big Red within 15-14. A swing by Beason hit fingers to tie the score at 16-16. Kentucky pulled within 19-17, but a service error followed by a Krause kill tied the score at 19-19. Krause hit again for a 20-19 lead, NU’s first since 3-2. After a Kentucky timeout, the Huskers placed a block for a 21-19 lead. Jackson and Allick each recorded a kill to keep NU ahead by two, 23-21. Kentucky hit the ball wide for set point (24-21) and Krause finished it off (25-21) with her fourth kill.

Set 2: Beason and Murray had early kills and Krause served an ace for a 5-2 Husker lead. Allick and Murray added kills to increase NU’s lead to 8-3 and Murray and Jackson combined for a block to make it 9-3. But Kentucky fought back to within 12-11 after a 5-1 run that included back-to-back aces. After a kill by Allick regained a 14-11 Husker lead, the Wildcats ripped off three straight kills to tie the set at 14-14. Kentucky claimed the lead 17-16 before eight straight sideout rallies. A kill by Kentucky made it 22-20 and the Wildcats won the set 25-22.

Series 3: Krause started the Huskers off with a kill and an ace, and Allick and Beason added kills to give Nebraska a 4-1 lead. A kill by Jackson made it 9-6 and started a 7-0 Husker run with Kennedi Orr on the service line. Allick had three blocks in the stretch — two by Reilly and one by Krause — and Krause had a kill before an ace by Orr made it 15-6 Huskers. Allick and Beason combined for a block that made it 18-8 NU, and Allick put down a pair of kills to give the Huskers a 20-10 lead. Beason added a kill, and Jackson and Murray teamed up for a block as the Big Red extended its lead to 23-12. The Huskers won 25-15, hitting .333 in the set and holding Kentucky to .000.

Series 4: Allick’s dominance at the net continued early in the set, as she had three blocks, including two solo ones, to spark the Huskers to a 5-1 start. Murray and Jackson had back-to-back kills, and a block by that duo made it 8-2 Huskers. Jackson had two kills to keep the Huskers ahead, 10-6. Jackson had another kill before a solo block by Krause kept NU ahead by four, 12-8. Krause, Allick and Murray tacked on kills for a 15-10 Husker advantage, and an ace serve by Krause — her third of the match — made it 16-10. Kills by Murray and Jackson helped NU stay on top, 19-14, and another block by Allick and Beason made it 21-16. Kentucky tied the score at 21-18, but Nebraska closed out the game 25-20, with kills from Beason and Allick and a block from those two.

Next: Nebraska hosts the Ameritas Players Challenge this weekend at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Huskers will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. Friday and TCU at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.