Nebraska Sweeps Lipscomb In Front Of Record Crowd

NASHVILLE—It was a moment more than a year in the making for Skyler Pierce, so excuse any nerves. 

After redshirting last season, the 6-foot-2 outside hitter made her debut for the Huskers on Friday night. Pierce’s first attack midway through the second set was blocked, but she was stellar the rest of the way as she finished with six kills and a .333 hitting percentage. 

Behind a full-team effort — 10 Huskers recorded a kill — Nebraska improved to 3-0 on the season with a 25-13, 25-21, 25-15 sweep over Lipscomb Friday night.

While she has appeared in four exhibitions this spring and fall, Pierce called the moment of finally getting on the court in an official match surreal, and she was relieved to have her first match done. 

“It’s been a long time coming,” Pierce said. “I’ve been putting in the work, so it felt really good just to have that moment, especially with this team of girls that support me so much.”

After she recorded the first kill, a power shot that bounced in the middle of the Lipscomb defense, Pierce said she settled in and swung more freely. During the past year, Pierce said she relied on her faith to help her through struggles where she would perform well in practices, but had to wait for her opportunity to play in matches. 

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said Pierce performed “awesome” in her debut. 

“She’s super terminal, so just getting her game reps at the right time to continue to build her confidence was really important for us,” she said. “Tonight, we definitely accomplished that, and I expect her to be in a great position to help us out in the future.”

Pierce wasn’t the only Husker to make her debut against the Bisons as freshman Manaia Ogbechie got on the court for the first time. She finished with five kills on nine errorless swings and added a block. 

While Pierce fought through nerves, Ogbechie said she felt at home on the court. 

“It was really fun,” the Santa Rosa Valley, Calif., native said. “Honestly, it’s nothing more than what we would do in practice every day. So I was prepared very well.”

Getting Pierce and Ogbechie on the court was part of Busboom Kelly’s plan for the match. They started the match against Lipscomb (0-1) with the same lineup they used against No. 3 Pitt, but began to rotate players as the match progressed. 

Freshman setter Campbell Flynn ran the offense for the final two sets. Ogbechie replaced senior Rebehak Allick after the first set. Pierce subbed in for Taylor Landfair, and after playing the back row in the first two sets, freshman Teraya Sigler played all six rotations in the third set. Senior opposite Allie Sczech also came in for freshman Virginia Adriano in the third set. 

“We wanted to get players on the court,” Busboom Kelly said. “We prepare them (to play). I told Campbell she was going to play the second and third sets. I didn’t really tell everybody else when they were going in. It was more like, ‘Hey, we’re going to let some of the travel kinks wear off, and then we’re going to get a lot of people some experience so you feel like you’re ready on Sunday.'”

Even in limited action, several Huskers finished with impressive stat lines. Taylor Landfair and Harper Murray started the match and tallied seven kills in two sets of action. Landfair finished with a .778 hitting percentage while Murray also terminated at a .333 clip. Allick also terminated on four of her swings, while Sczech was a perfect 3-for-3 in attacking. 

As a team, the Huskers hit .318. Reilly finished with 11 assists and Flynn added 22. Olivia Mauch led the defense with 14 digs while libero Laney Choboy tallied 11.

Sigler (two kills, .000 hitting percentage) and Adriano (one kill, three errors) were the only NU players who battled through challenges. 

After Adriano missed on one back-to-back attacks, Busboom Kelly grabbed her when she subbed out to tell her to keep fighting and tried to get the freshman opposite to laugh it off. 

“She got some really tough sets, and she internalizes that errors are gonna hold her back,” Busboom Kelly said. “But that’s not the case. I’m just reassuring her that she’s doing a great job. We’re never evaluating anybody off one play or one point, neither her or her teammates, so we’re going to need everybody to be their best moving forward.”

The Huskers put on a show for Lipscomb’s record attendance of 4,235 at Allen Arena. That smashed the old mark of 3,167, which was set in 2022 when the Bisons hosted Stanford. 

On Friday, more than 60 percent of the crowd was cheering for Nebraska, but it wasn’t a completely partisan crowd for the road team. A rowdy student section boosted the Bisons and also honored former players. Lipscomb coach Brandon Rosenthal said that 70 percent of their alumni, dating back to 2003, attended the match. 

“It’s a huge number, and it’s special,” Rosenthal said. “For me, it’s always been about the people. I appreciate Dani and (assistant coach) Jaylen (Reyes) and (former coach) John (Cook) asking us to do it. It was a no-brainer.”

The Bisons challenged the Huskers at times, especially with their serves as they recorded five aces, including two by Courtney Jones. She tied three other teammates with five kills. 

Lipscomb also featured two native Nebraskans: junior middle blocker Brooklyn Fuchs (Lincoln East) and freshman starting libero Kenzie Kucks (Millard North. 

With the new mark at Lipscomb, the Huskers now hold an attendance record at 20 different venues. 

“Nebraska fans are insane,” Pierce said. “They go everywhere and support us. So, a big shout-out to them, because they are our biggest supporters. They’ll go anywhere we need them at. So big shout out to that.”

Next up for both teams is Kentucky. Lipscomb will face the Wildcats Saturday afternoon at their home gym. The Huskers take on UK Sunday at 11 a.m. at Bridgestone Arena as part of the Broadway Block Party. 

“This was really nice to have this match against a great serving team and a team that just went for it,” Busboom Kelly said. “We practice tomorrow, and we can focus on Kentucky, and that’ll be a good way to head into Sunday.”

Nebraska Volleyball 2025 Schedule

Home matches are bolded. All times central.

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