Huskers Dominate Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team capped off a perfect weekend with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-16 victory at Ohio State in front of a crowd of 4,156 at the Covelli Center on Saturday afternoon. 

The Huskers (18-1, 8-0 B1G) hit .369 and held the Buckeyes to .144. NU's hitting percentage was the best by an Ohio State opponent this season. 

Harper Murray had 14 kills and hit .394, while Merritt Beason had 13 kills and hit .345 with six blocks and six digs. Andi Jackson provided eight kills and three blocks and hit .500, and Taylor Landfair chipped in seven kills. Rebekah Allick had four kills and five blocks. 

Bergen Reilly had a double-double with 39 assists and 11 digs. Lexi Rodriguez had a season-high 22 digs. Olivia Mauch had a career-high 10 digs and two service aces. 

NU finished with three aces and just one service error, while Ohio State had three aces and five errors. 

The Huskers outblocked the Buckeyes 9-3 and had a 58-37 digs advantage. Nebraska had 48 kills to 37 for Ohio State.

Emily Londot led OSU (8-10, 1-7 B1G) with 16 kills.

Set 1: The Huskers posted three early blocks and Beason served a 6-0 run that put Nebraska ahead 12-7. Murray and Jackson each had two kills in that stretch, while Beason had one and served an ace. Ohio State cut the lead to 17-15 before Allick tallied a sideout kill, and Allick hammered an overpass to make it 20-15 Huskers. A kill by Beason and one by Jackson put the Big Red up 23-17, and Murray tipped one for set point before the Huskers won 25-18, hitting .414 in the opening set and holding OSU to .093. 

Set 2: Murray, Beason and Jackson combined for four kills for a 4-2 start. Jackson added another before a block with Landfair, and a kill by Landfair made it 7-4 Big Red. Reilly and Beason tallied kills, and a block by Beason and Allick forced an Ohio State timeout at 10-6. After the timeout, Murray added a kill and Allick and Beason posted NU's sixth block before a Mauch ace made it 13-6. Another good serve by Mauch resulted in a Murray kill that capped a 6-0 run and put the Huskers on top, 14-6. NU led 21-13 after a kill by Beason, but the Buckeyes went on a 3-0 spurt to cut it to 21-16. After a timeout, Beason and Allick teamed up for a block and a sideout, and the Huskers won 25-18 on a block by Jackson and Landfair. 

Set 3: Beason started the Huskers off with a solo block and three kills. Mauch served her second ace, and Murray pounded a kill for a 7-1 advantage before an Ohio State timeout. Murray added two more kills after the break and Allick recorded one for a 10-1 lead. Beason, Murray and Jackson scored three kills in a row to put the Huskers firmly in control, 15-3. The Buckeyes showed fight to pull within 19-11, but the Huskers closed out the sweep, 25-16. 

Up Next: The Huskers are back home next weekend to face Illinois on Friday at 7 p.m. and Michigan on Saturday at 7 p.m.