Nebraska Pulls Away From Michigan for Another Big Ten Sweep

Dani Busboom Kelly expected Michigan to come out firing and push No. 1 Nebraska. 

For the first part of each set, the NU coach was correct as the Wolverines kept it tight early, but the Huskers used a smothering defense and balanced offense to pull away and earn their eighth straight Big Ten sweep. 

The Huskers improved to 18-0 overall with a 25-18, 25-13, 25-18 victory Sunday afternoon at Crisler Center. The Huskers hit .390 for the match as junior setter Bergen Reilly tallied 28 assists and NU added 13 blocks and 36 digs. 

“I thought Michigan would come out on fire, having just lost to a tough five-gamer (against Northwestern on Thursday.) They’ve got some outside hitters that have heavy arms, and so I was a little worried,” Busboom Kelly said on her post-match radio interview. “I thought our defense really stepped up, and offensively, I thought Bergen had a great match.”

In the first set, Michigan led 11-10 before NU strung together four straight points that included Harper Murray’s first kills of the match and an ace from Olivia Mauch. After a pair of Michigan points, the Huskers went on a 7-0 run to pull away. 

Nebraska was up 8-7 in the second set before running off seven straight points again. Rebekah Allick recorded two kills and a block during the scoring spurt. Then, in the third set, the Huskers won nine out of 12 rallies to extend a one-point advantage into a 21-14 lead. 

Michigan (12-7, 2-6) finished with a season-low .079 hitting percentage. The Wolverines are averaging hitting .272 for the season, but their two worst performances have come against NU after terminating at a .108 clip in the first meeting three weeks ago. Their third-lowest hitting percentage was .143 in a straight-set loss to Michigan State. 

Andi Jackson led the NU defense with six blocks while Rebekah Allick recorded five in just two sets of play. Jackson also tallied eight kills on 10 errorless swings. 

“When you’re playing a fast offense, and the block can get there, it’s very hard for the attackers to get around the block,” Busboom Kelly said. “We took advantage of that. I thought Andi had a spectacular game for her blocking, and she was making big moves.”

Ella Demetrician led Michigan with nine kills. Allison Jacobs finished with seven kills and eight errors, while Cymarah Gordan also recorded seven kills. Omaha Skutt graduate Morgan Burke finished with 15 assists and an ace for the Wolverines. 

Nebraska also played in front of a second-straight record crowd after setting a new Michigan State record in the Breslin Center with 11,578 fans on Friday. Michigan established a new Crisler Center mark with 12,707 fans for its first-ever volleyball sellout. The old record was set in 2017 with 8,137 fans against Ohio State, while NU’s previous best was 7,831—the old No. 2 mark.

In front of a Nebraska-friendly crowd, two native Michiganders played well in front of family and friends. Even though her errorless hitting streak ended at seven sets, Murray led Nebraska with nine kills and added an ace and two blocks. Freshman setter Campbell Flynn played the last dozen rallies and tallied five assists. 

“Harper, obviously, was great, and Campbell came in against Michigan State, did a nice job, and then today, finished it off for us,” Busboom Kelly said. “I thought she had three or four beautiful sets in a row. So that was good to see.”

Virginia Adriano and Taylor Landfair each added seven kills as they hit .333 and .429, respectively. Manaia Ogbechie played in the third set and recorded three kills on four swings. Allick put up four kills in the first two sets. 

After three matches in a row on the road, and five of their last six, the Huskers will return home next weekend to host Northwestern and Michigan State.

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