Huskers Sweep Badgers to Advance to NCAA Semifinals

LINCOLN - The No. 3 Nebraska volleyball team advanced to the NCAA Semifinals with a 3-0 sweep of No. 7 Wisconsin Sunday afternoon in front of a raucous crowd of 8,743 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Nebraska won a tight opening set, 26-24, then took a 2-0 lead with a dominating 25-17 victory in set two. In set three, Wisconsin led 15-11 but Nebraska won 14 of the final 20 rallies to complete the sweep with a 25-21 victory.

The Huskers - who swept the Badgers in all three meetings this season - are headed to the NCAA Semifinals for the second straight year and for seventh time in the past 10 seasons. Overall, Nebraska is competing in an NCAA Semifinal for the 18th time in program history and for the 12th time in John Cook's 25 seasons.

Nebraska had three players with double-figure kills, led by a match-high 13 kills from Taylor Landfair. Andi Jackson and Harper Murray had 10 kills apiece, as Nebraska hit .210 in the match.

The Husker defense was stifling once again, limiting the Badgers to a .126 attack percentage. Nebraska out-blocked Wisconsin, 12-9, led by five stuffs from Jackson. Lexi Rodriguez had a match-high 17 digs, while Murray - the Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player - added 12 digs to notch a double-double.

Wisconsin ended its season with a 26-7 record. The Badgers were led by 12 kills from Sarah Franklin.

Set 1: The Huskers went up 4-2 on a kill from Murray. Wisconsin fought to take an 11-7 lead, but NU battled back behind a kill apiece from Landfair and Rebekah Allick and a triple block to regain a 15-14 edge. Three straight Landfair kills stretched the advantage to 21-16 and force a Badger timeout. Wisconsin came back to tie the score at 24-24, but a serving error, along with Landfair’s sixth kill of the match, closed out the 26-24 set victory for the Huskers. NU hit .300 in the set.

Set 2: Nebraska sprinted out to an 8-2 lead, sparked by Merritt Beason at the service line. A 7-0 run with Beason at the line included three Jackson kills, two blocks by Bergen Reilly and Jackson and an ace from Beason. NU continued to extend its advantage and took a 14-4 lead behind a block from Allick and a kill from Landfair. The Badgers brought the score to 15-10 before an Olivia Mauch ace and Allick kill made the Husker lead 18-10. Landfair and Beason notched a kill each to help finish out the 25-17 set win.

Set 3: Wisconsin earned a 7-4 lead early on in the set. The Badgers extended the lead to 15-11, but two Murray kills and a Beason ace were part of a run that tied the score at 15-15. NU then went on another 4-0 run to grab a 19-16 lead, and a Jackson kill put the Big Red at the 20-point mark. Murray and Allick combined for Nebraska's 10th block to make the score 23-20. At 23-21, the Huskers stuffed the Badgers on back-to-back attacks to close out the match.

Up Next: Nebraska will face the winner of the Penn State-Creighton match in an NCAA Semifinal next Thursday in Louisville, Ky.