Huskers Stifle USC, Notch Sixth Ranked Win – University of Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team defeated No. 20 USC 25-18, 25-22, 25-16 on Sunday night in front of 8,689 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Nebraska (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) outscored USC (9-3, 1-1 Big Ten) .245 to .137. The Huskers – who won their 33rd straight home game – had advantages in kills (41-31), aces (4-1), digs (47-35) and blocks (5-2.5). The Trojans ranked third nationally in blocks entering the game, but had a season-low 2.5 against the Huskers.

Harper Murray led NU with 12 kills, a pair of aces and six digs. Nine of Murray's 12 kills came in the second set as Nebraska rallied from a 17-14 deficit to win 25-22.

Merritt Beason recorded 11 kills and nine digs with an ace and two blocks, and Andi Jackson totaled seven kills. Lindsay Krause had four kills and two blocks and Rebekah Allick had three kills and three blocks.

Bergen Reilly finished the game with 33 assists and eight digs, while Lexi Rodriguez had a game-high 13 digs. Olivia Mauch added six digs.

Former Husker ally Batenhorst had 13 kills and led USC in her return to the Devaney Center. )

Set 1: Nebraska had six kills on its first eight swings and took a 13-8 lead. After USC cut the score to 16-12, Jackson recorded three kills and a block, Reilly added one and Murray served an ace during an 8-0 Husker run that made the score 24-12. NU struggled to close out the set, allowing USC to go on a 6-0 run before making it 25-18.

Set 2: USC took the lead 10-8 after a 4-1 run. Two kills from Murray kept NU close, trailing 14-13. USC extended the lead to 17-14, but a kill by Krause and a USC scoring error brought the Huskers back to within one point. A kill from Beason and back-to-back kills from Murray gave the Huskers a 19-18 lead. After a USC timeout, Beason finished with a kill and the Huskers won a challenge to take a 21-18 lead with Mauch driving the 5-0 run. Beason and Murray performed multiple kills to secure set point at 24-21. A service error gave NU the 25-22 win.

Set 3: NU rallied from a 7-6 deficit to 9-7 after a block from Krause and another block from Allick and Beason. Kills from Beason, Allick and Jackson helped the Huskers take a 14-9 lead, and Murray gave the Big Red a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. After halftime, Beason scored from the back row and Reilly won a battle at the net to put the Huskers up 17-10 and force a USC timeout. Reilly and Murray added more kills after the timeout and an ace from Murray helped the Huskers take a 21-11 lead. The Huskers finished with a score of 25-16.

Next up: The Huskers travel to Illinois for a game on FS1 and the Huskers Radio Network on Thursday at 6 p.m.