LINCOLN, Nebraska – The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team defeated No. 10 Purdue in a thrilling five-set match, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 17-15 on Friday night before a crowd of 8,715 people at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers improved to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten play. It was their 12th win in a row and 35th win in a row at home. Purdue fell to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in conference action.

The Boilermakers outscored the Huskers .311 to .242, and Purdue had a better hitting percentage in each of the five sets. Purdue also had 15 blocks to Nebraska’s 5.5, but the Huskers still fought their way to the win. NU had six more kills, 74-68, and served three aces to just one for Purdue. The Boilermakers committed 19 service errors, while Nebraska had just seven.

Merritt Beason led the Big Red with 22 kills on the season, along with three blocks and eight digs. Harper Murray recorded 17 kills, while Andi Jackson had 14 kills and four blocks, while Rebekah Allick had 10 kills.

Bergen Reilly posted a career-high 60 assists, along with 17 digs for her ninth double-double of the year. Lexi Rodriguez added 12 digs and Laney Choboy added nine.

Eva Hudson led Purdue with 26 kills, while Chloe Chicoine recorded 22.

Set 1: The Huskers had a 9-5 lead after kills by Jackson and Lindsay Krause. Purdue answered with a 7-2 run to take a 12-11 lead. Kills by Murray and Beason put NU back in front, and another Murray kill put the Big Red up 15-14 at the media timeout. Murray came out of the timeout with an ace, but Purdue tied the score at 17-17. With the score still tied at 20-20, Murray nailed her fourth kill of the set before Jackson followed with back-to-back kills for a 23-20 Husker lead. After a Hudson sideout kill for Purdue, Jackson reconnected for her fifth kill on her fifth swing for set point, 24-21. Beason closed the set with a back row kill for a 25-22 win.

Set 2: Purdue jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but Beason posted a kill and served an ace to cut the score to 5-4. A 4-0 run for the Boilermakers put them ahead 12-8, and Purdue was in control, building the lead to 19-13. A kill by Taylor Landfair and a Purdue hitting error preceded a block by Allick and Landfair, and the deficit was cut in half, 19-16. After a Purdue timeout, the Boilers hit long to bring NU within two, 19-17. But Chicoine earned side-out with a kill, and the Huskers failed on two straight swings to put Purdue up 22-17. The Boilermakers took set point at 24-19, but the Huskers fought back with kills by Beason, Murray and Jackson to get within 24-22 and force a Purdue timeout. But Hudson finished a kill after the timeout for a 25-22 Purdue win to tie the match at 1-1.

Set 3: Purdue used a 4-0 run to go up 9-5. A kill by Murray, block by Beason and kill by Jackson made it 11-11. The Boilermakers got back in front at 17-15, but Beason and Allick answered with kills to even the score again, 17-17. NU took an 18-17 lead after a Purdue error, and kills from Allick and Murray made it 20-18 Big Red. Chicoine posted a sideout kill for Purdue, but Jackson answered with her 11th of the night. The Huskers led 22-20, but Purdue scored three in a row – two on Husker hitting errors – to go up 23-22. After a timeout, Krause killed a flyover to tie the score at 23-23. But another hitting error by Husker gave Purdue a set point, and the Boilermakers won the set 25-23 on a kill by Hudson.

Set 4: Reilly opened the set with an ace, and Allick had a kill before a block from Beason and Jackson made it 5-2. Another kill by Beason and a Purdue hitting error put the Huskers up 8-4. Beason put the Huskers up 11-6, and later in the set a block from Reilly and Jackson made it 17-12 Big Red. After a timeout, Purdue scored three in a row to get within 17-15. Murray recorded a sideout kill, and kills by Allick and Landfair kept NU on top, 20-16. Landfair added another kill before two from Beason made it 23-18 NU. The Huskers earned the set point at 24-19 before giving up three straight points. Ultimately, Beason connected from the back row for a 25-22 win, forcing a fifth set.

Set 5: Purdue led 3-1 before kills from Allick and Murray tied the score. The teams picked the next 11 rallies to a 9-8 Purdue lead, then Purdue held serve with a kill from Hudson, making it 10-8. After a timeout, Beason fired her 19th kill to cut the score to 10-9, and Jackson tied it at 10-10 with her 12th kill. Hudson answered for Purdue, but Beason came right back for NU to make it 11-11. Hudson put Purdue ahead again, 12-11, but Murray produced a big kill to make it 12-12. Jackson put NU ahead for the first time since going 1-0 with her 13th kill. After a timeout, Hudson tied the score at 13-13 with her 26th kill. But Jackson earned match point, 14-13, with another kill. Chicoine answered for the Boilermakers, and a block by Purdue gave the Boilermakers match point at 15-14. Beason hit a back row kill to make it 15-15, and Landfair earned a kill after Purdue went into the net at 16-15 for another match point. Beason ended the match with her 22nd kill.

Up next: The Huskers host Rutgers at the Devaney Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network.