LINCOLN, Neb. - The top-ranked Nebraska volleyball team moved on in the NCAA Tournament after a 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 sweep of Long Island on Friday night in front of a crowd of 8,599 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Huskers (29-1) were balanced offensively with five players posting at least six kills. Merritt Beason led the way with a match-high 13 kills on .478 hitting. Harper Murray added nine kills in her NCAA Tournament debut while Ally Batenhorst had seven kills. Middles Andi Jackson and Maggie Mendelson had six kills apiece, with Mendelson tying her career high in kills and blocks (4).
Nebraska had 44 kills to LIU's 28, and the Huskers hit .280 compared to .151 by the Sharks. NU also had a 46-33 advantage in digs and had seven services aces. Camelia Melendez paced LIU with 12 kills while Rumur Rouille had a match-high seven blocks.
Set 1: Mendelson started the match off with a block with Beason and a kill, and two kills each by Batenhorst and Jackson - along with an ace by Beason - put the Huskers up 8-3. The Huskers kept their foot on the gas, going up 14-5 after two kills by Murray and one by Reilly as part of another 4-0 run. Reilly and Murray each served an ace, while Beason and Mendelson teamed up for a block, and the Huskers built the lead to 19-7. Rodriguez served the Huskers' fourth ace for a 21-8 lead, and Batenhorst, Jackson and Reilly posted kills down the stretch as the Huskers won 25-13. Nebraska held LIU to -.040 hitting in the first set.
Set 2: LIU hung around in game two, trailing 9-7 after a kill by Camelia Melendez. Murray and Beason then combined for three kills in a row to help the Huskers go up 12-7, but the Sharks fought back to get within two, 15-13. Jackson and Murray had kills to lift the Big Red back to a five-point lead at 18-13, and Beason and Murray had kills while Reilly served two aces, and the Huskers led 23-15. Mendelson then posted two kills to close out the set, 25-16.
Set 3: The Huskers fell into an 8-3 hole as Long Island clicked offensively. The Sharks led 11-5 before a kill by Murray and ace by Kennedi Orr. After an LIU kill, Mendelson had a kill and back-to-back blocks with Murray, and an LIU attacking error cut the deficit to one, 12-11. The Sharks held firm, however, building the lead back to three at 19-16. Jackson responded out of a timeout with a kill, and Beason terminated from the back row to make it 19-18. The teams traded points before Murray tooled a block to tie it 20-20. The teams then traded kills on the next four rallies, and a hitting error by LIU made it 23-22 Nebraska, the Huskers' first lead of the set. After a Long Island timeout, Beason earned match point with a kill, and the Huskers won 25-22.