No. 1 Nebraska volleyball defeats Creighton in front of record crowd
OMAHA, Neb. — No. 1 Nebraska volleyball (9-0) battled in-state rival No. 18 Creighton (5-5) in front of an NCAA indoor regular season attendance record of 17,675 fans at CHI Health Center. The Huskers improved their record to 24-0 against the Bluejays in a five-set victory (25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 24-26, 15-9).
Nebraska hit .250 in the match, while Creighton finished with a .173 clip. Harper Murray led the Huskers with 17 kills, while Virginia Adriano added a career-high 13 kills. Libero Olivia Mauch had a career-high 16 digs and a career-high seven assists.
Third-Team All-American outside hitter Ava Martin led the Bluejays with 16 kills on a .240 hitting percentage.
Set 1: Huskers handle early Creighton pressure
Nebraska took care of business in the first set, 25-17. After a competitive start, the Huskers pulled away with a .306 hitting percentage. Nebraska held Creighton to a .114 clip while Martin had just one kill on nine swings.
The two teams traded points at the start of the set with no team leading by more than two. Andi Jackson gave Nebraska its first lead at 8-7 off a kill on an overpass. The Huskers took a 10-8 advantage after a long rally ended in a Bluejay attack error.
Creighton quickly tied the set at 10-all, but Nebraska responded with a 2-0 run of its own. The Huskers built on the lead with kills from Jackson and Bergen Reilly. A three-point cushion was all Nebraska needed as its lead grew to 21-15 before the Bluejays called a timeout.
The Huskers capped off the set on a 4-1 run to take it 25-17. Jackson earned the set point with an ace, adding to her five-kill opening set. She finished with 13 kills and hit .400.
Set 2: Creighton storms back
The Bluejays outdueled Nebraska in the second set, 25-21. The Huskers were held to a .118 hitting percentage as nine attacking errors and three service errors hurt them. Creighton hit .233 as a team in set two.
The Bluejays kicked off the set strong, up 3-0 before an Adriano kill put the Huskers on the board. Creighton held Nebraska to a -.182 hitting percentage while extending its lead to 8-5.
Taylor Landfair and Rebekah Allick gave the Huskers some life as they combined for a block before back-to-back kills cut the lead to one. However, the Bluejays kept the pressure on and extended the score to 15-11 at the media timeout.
Nebraska picked up some momentum late off consecutive Murray kills and a solo block. The Huskers looked primed to pull off the comeback when they cut Creighton’s lead to 22-21, but the Bluejays shut them down and ended the set on a 3-0 run.
Set 3: Adriano leads Nebraska onslaught
The Huskers dominated in the third set 25-18. Nebraska recorded 17 kills, with seven coming from Adriano on seven swings. The Huskers recorded a .353 hitting percentage and held Creighton to a .214 mark.
Nebraska hit .556 to start the set, but service errors helped the Bluejays tie it at 6-6. The Huskers still had the upper hand with a Reilly pancake leading to a Murray kill and a 10-7 lead.
After hitting -.111 through two sets, Adriano exploded with five kills early in the third to give Nebraska a 15-9 edge. Murray killed an overpass with authority to force Creighton to use its final timeout of the set down 17-9. Adriano anchored a 5-0 Husker run at the service line as the Bluejays struggled to receive her serves.
While a 6-1 scoring run off of four Nebraska errors brought Creighton back in it, Adriano slammed the door shut with consecutive kills to give the Huskers the set. Her perfect set boosted her hitting percentage to .375 on the match.
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Set 4: Bluejays battle for fifth set
Creighton showed immense fight in the fourth set, winning it 26-24 and forcing a fifth. The Huskers missed on several key swings down the stretch and hit .150 with seven attacking errors. The Bluejays only hit .200, but came through when it mattered most.
Creighton jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but Nebraska responded fast. The two went back and forth throughout the first half of the set.
A kill and service ace from Adriano gave the Huskers their first lead of the set and started a 6-1 run. Down 15-11, the Bluejays rattled off a 4-1 run of their own to tie the set at 16.
The two sides traded points until Nebraska went up 22-20 off of Creighton’s attack errors. The Bluejays tied the score up and took the lead after a pair of Jackson and Murray swings barely went wide.
A service error tied the set up at 23-all, but Murray came back with an error of her own on the next serve. A Reilly and Jackson block tied it at 24, but another wide swing gave the Bluejays set point, which Martin delivered on with a kill. For the second year in a row, Nebraska and Creighton went to five sets.
Set 5: Nebraska avoids upset
The Huskers pieced together one final push, taking the fifth set and the match. Nebraska hit .438 in the final set and held the Bluejays to a .059 clip.
Creighton played inspired volleyball, starting the set with back-to-back aces. The Huskers stayed with them with two more Adriano kills.
Consecutive Murray kills put Nebraska up 5-4, and a Bluejay attacking error extended the lead to two. Creighton was forced to use its final timeout of the match with the Huskers up 9-5 and on a 6-1 run.
With the Bluejays cutting the lead to 10-8, Mauch made an unreal diving set off a serve, which resulted in a Husker point not long after. Nebraska closed things out from there on a 5-1 run completed by an Allick kill.
The Huskers will be back in action against Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. CT in the final match of non-conference play. The match will take place at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and will be on the Big Ten Network.
