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Strong start propels Huskers past Islanders – University of Nebraska
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Strong start propels Huskers past Islanders – University of Nebraska

The No. 2-ranked Nebraska volleyball team defeated Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 25-9, 25-20, 25-15 in the season opener at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Friday night before a crowd of 8,956.

NU (2-0) outhit the Islanders (0-1) .427 to .143 in the game. It was the Huskers’ best hitting percentage since Oct. 1, 2021 (.457 vs. Michigan).

The Huskers led 48-30 in kills, 48-33 in digs and 7.5 to 2 in blocks.

Lindsay Krause led Nebraska with 13 kills on a .478 hitting percentage, while Andi Jackson added seven kills. Rebekah Allick and Merritt Beason each recorded six kills, and Taylor Landfair and Harper Murray each had five.

Bergen Reilly set the tone for the Huskers with 36 assists, 10 digs, four kills, three blocks and five service aces. All five of Reilly’s aces came in the first set and she started the Huskers on a 10-0 run to open the match.

Lexi Rodriguez added nine digs, while Murray had seven. Reilly, Krause and Leyla Blackwell shared the team leads with three blocks.

Tori Arrington and Kyndal Payne were the Islanders’ top performers, each with seven kills.

Series 1: The Huskers jumped out to a 10-0 lead to open the match with three aces from Reilly and three kills from Krause and Allick. After the Islanders got on the board, Allick and Beason responded with three kills to make it 13-1. Murray put down a pair of kills to give the Huskers a 17-7 lead, and after the Islanders cut it to 19-9, NU went on a 6-0 run to close out the set and win 25-9. Reilly served two more aces in the final stretch, and Krause closed out the set with a pair of kills. Reilly served five aces in the set, and the Huskers hit .433 with 15 kills on 30 swings.

Set 2: The second set started out more evenly. Nebraska led 12-11 before going on a 4-0 run to take control, fueled by an ace from Rodriguez and two straight kills from Jackson. A kill from Krause and Beason put the Big Red ahead 20-15. The Islanders kept things tight and pulled within 23-20 behind a kill from Kyndal Payne, but a kill from Jackson and a block from Reilly/Jackson sealed the Huskers’ 25-20 set win.

Series 3: A&M Corpus Christi jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the set, but Rodriguez served seven straight and Landfair recorded two kills to help NU open up an 8-4 lead. Krause posted her 10th and 11th kills of the match and Blackwell registered her first as a Husker to give the Huskers a 15-8 lead going into the media break. Reilly and Blackwell combined for two blocks to keep Nebraska’s momentum going and make it 18-8. The Big Red never relinquished its lead, winning the set 25-15 and the match 3-0. NU was hitting .517 in the third set.

Next: Nebraska takes on TCU in the final game of the Ameritas Players Challenge on Saturday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The game will be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network.