Harper Murray went off in her homecoming as No. 1 Nebraska volleyball beat Michigan 3-1 at a sold-out Crisler Center Friday night.
The Huskers (22-0, 11-0 Big Ten) dropped the first set, just their fifth set loss of the season, but rallied to take the last three for a 26-28, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14 victory in Ann Arbor.
“I thought Michigan played great,” Coach Dani Busboom Kelly said on the Huskers Radio Network. “They came out swinging and really, really the aggressors, but I thought we adjusted well, and just because they were killing everything, their offense was on fire, we didn’t let it affect the rest of our game, which I was pretty proud of that. Sometimes when you can’t stop somebody, you get frustrated and it bleeds into other areas. We were really steady on offense, and then gradually adjusted and were much better on defense.”
In what will likely be her final collegiate match inside the Crisler Center and with plenty of family, friends and admirers in the crowd, Murray put up a team-high 16 kills — her second-highest total of the season — on .282 hitting.
“It means the world,” Murray said on Big Ten Plus. “I grew up coming to basketball and volleyball games here all the time, so when I was sitting on the bench and they were playing the fight song, I couldn’t help but sing it. It truly makes me so happy to be here, and I’m kind of sad we have to leave, but it was so fun coming back and I’m really grateful that I had so many people here.”
As Murray finished her answer, someone in the stands yelled out “Love you, Harper,” a fitting way to close out the interview.
Virginia Adriano (3) takes a swing against Michigan. He tallied a career-high 14 kills in the win. Photo by Nicholas Crep.
Bergen Reilly racked up 58 assists, nine digs, two aces and a kill while setting Nebraska to a .412 hitting percentage, the team’s fourth match this season hitting .400 or better. Her other four primary attackers all notched double-digit kills as well. While Murray took 39 swings, the others all landed in the 20-to-26 range.
Virginia Adriano put up a career-high 14 kills on .500 hitting. Andi Jackson added 13 kills on .455 hitting, surpassing 1,000 career kills in the first set to become the fourth Husker to hit that milestone while also owning 400-plus blocks. Teraya Sigler contributed 12 kills on a .400 clip and a season-high 12 digs for her second career double-double. Manaia Ogbechie rounded out the group with 11 kills on .500 hitting and a match-high four blocks.
Adriano has now reached double figures in kills in her past four matches, pushing her season average to 2.28 kills per set on .278 hitting.
“I honestly can’t say it’s one thing,” Busboom Kelly said of Adriano’s hot streak. “I bet if you interview her, it’s going to be a little mindset shift, and I just feel like she was absolutely hammering balls today. Hopefully, she understands that’s her role. It’s not to have the perfect hitting efficiency, we have to have somebody over there that can kill balls and get better touches on the block.”
Olivia Mauch led the defensive effort with 13 digs, but the Wolverines hit .289, a season-high by a big margin for a Nebraska opponent. Outside hitter Ella Demetrician went off for 21 kills on .302 hitting and 12 digs while opposite hitter Cymarah Gordon added 16 kills on .357 hitting. Skutt Catholic alumna Morgan Burke tallied 30 assists and eight digs while splitting time in a two-setter offense.
“They run that fast offense, which we’ve shown in the past we have some trouble stopping,” Busboom Kelly said. “But I thought Demetrician was fantastic. Even her tips were really aggressive. She was in it to win it tonight, and when a player has that type of mindset and everything’s going their way, they get really, really tough to stop.”
First Set
Michigan won three of the first four rallies and led by as much as three at 7-4, but the Huskers scored three straight to tie it up then used a 6-0 run featuring Mauch at the service line to jump in front 14-9.
A service error finally halted the run, however, and Michigan fought back to take the lead. Nebraska knotted it at 19-all before Gordon took over, tallying four kills during a 5-1 Nebraska run to earn set point at 24-20.
Nebraska fired right back with four straight kills to erase the gap, but the Huskers couldn’t get over the hump. They saved two more set points before a poor pass resulted in a Nebraska free ball that Demetrician capitalized on with a kill off the block.
Gordon and Demetrician went off for eight kills apiece as Michigan tallied 22 kills overall, hitting .465 with only two errors. Nebraska recorded 22 kills as well but erred one more time than the Wolverines for a .396 clip. Jackson and Murray had six kills apiece while Reilly racked up 19 assists.
Second Set
Busboom Kelly said the mood was still positive in the huddle despite dropping the first set, and that showed on the court.
Harper Murray prepares to serve back home in Ann Arbor as her No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers faced Michigan. Photo by Nicholas Crep.
“It really was Michigan playing great, and we were doing some really good things as well,” Busboom Kelly said. “We tried to talk about making a couple small adjustments defensively, and then it’ll start to snowball and we’ll start scoring some points. I thought we also just went came out trusting our serve much better after game one.”
Nebraska got off to a better start in set two, winning four of the first five rallies. Michigan weathered the early storm, rallying to tie it up at 6-6, but that was the only tie of the game.
The Huskers scored the next four points, including back-to-back aces from Reilly, to gain the separation they needed. Michigan kept it close until Reilly stepped back to the service line again to orchestrate a 5-0 run for a 21-13 lead.
Michigan chipped away at the deficit down the stretch and saved three set points before an errant served ended it to even the match at 1-1.
Nebraska out-hit Michigan .323 to .261 behind five more kills each from Murray and Adriano.
Third Set
Michigan again got the better of the early play in set three, taking its biggest lead at 10-7 thanks to three straight points. Nebraska responded with a 5-0 run, but Michigan tied it up three times, the last at 14-all.
From there, Nebraska took control with a 6-2 run including three kills and two block assists from Sigler. The Huskers traded sideouts the rest of the way until Demetrician hit wide on set point to seal it.
Murray and Sigler led the way with four kills apiece as Nebraska out-hit Michigan .364 to .171. Both sides managed 14 kills, but the Wolverines tallied five more attack errors.
Fourth Set
The fourth set was all Nebraska. The Huskers raced out to a 4-0 lead then used a 5-0 run ending with a Jackson ace to open a 13-6 advantage. Nebraska’s clean offensive play continued as the Huskers didn’t record their first error until a Michigan block late in the set with Nebraska leading 19-10.
Gabby DiVita stands near the Nebraska bench during the Huskers’ 3-1 win at Michigan. Photo by Nicholas Crep.
With the Huskers up 21-12, Busboom Kelly sent Gabby DiVita and Campbell Flynn into the match, putting all three Michigan natives on the court at the same time, and Reilly went right to DiVita for a kill.
“I’m big on rewarding players who have earned it, and the Michigan girls earn it every day,” Busboom Kelly said on Big Ten Plus. “It was awesome to get them all on the court at the same time and it was just cool we could make that happen.”
The team traded a few sideouts from there until Ogbechie spiked the ball straight down for the match-point kill.
Nebraska hit .625 with 16 kills and just the one attack error. Michigan hit .214. Both middle blockers went 5-for-5 to account for the bulk of Nebraska’s kills.
After that 14-14 tie in set three, Nebraska outscored Michigan 36-20 the rest of the way, but the head coach pointed to the end of the first as the source of Nebraska’s strong finish.
“I was even fired up after that comeback in game one when we weren’t playing great, and we really fought hard and had some pretty amazing plays, so that was good to see,” Busboom Kellys said. “And once we had that little comeback, we did not let up on momentum.”
Up Next
Following the win in Ann Arbor, Nebraska made the hour-long drive to East Lansing where the Huskers will face No. 25 Michigan State on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans dropped a five-setter to No. 19 Indiana on Friday to fall to 17-4 overall and 7-4 in Big Ten play.
The Spartans rank second in the Big Ten in hitting percentage behind only Nebraska at .284 and are also in a four-team bunch fighting for second place — again, behind Nebraska — in opponent hitting at .176. They’re also first in service aces at 2.03 per set and sixth in blocks at 2.53 per game.
Lincoln Southwest alumna Malayah Long (10.13 assists per game) sets the table while another Nebraska native in Millard West product Alanna Bankston leads the attack at 3.56 kills per set on .245 hitting.
The Spartans have two middle blockers in the top six of the conference in hitting percentage in junior Carmen Waye (2.26 kills per set on .428 hitting, third) and senior Zora Hardison (1.96 kills per set on .392, sixth). They also have two of the top servers in Long (0.43 aces per set, sixth) and Waye (0.37 aces per set, ninth).
“Their setter, a Nebraska native, is playing great, and she runs a very fast offense, so if you’re not dialed in with the scout, it gets very dicey very quick,” Busboom Kelly said earlier in the week. “And then a former player of mine from Louisville, Alanna Bankston, is leading them, so super proud of how she’s playing, and she’s playing great. So again, two players that have ties to Nebraska that are both playing really well, and I’m sure they’re going to have quite a bit of a chip on their shoulder.”
Bankston totaled just 39 kills in 32 sets during the three seasons she spent at Louisville (the first two under Busboom Kelly) before transferring to Michigan State, where she’s in the midst of a breakout senior season.
“On film, she’s hitting hard, hitting from a high touch, she’s playing well six rotations,” Busboom Kelly said. “She’s kind of their go-to, so definitely a huge role change for her, and the way she’s handled it, obviously, has been good. Michigan State’s having a great year, and with her being the go-to, it’s pretty impressive after not having a significant role the last two seasons …
“The best part about coaching is seeing young people develop and reach their goals. To see her playing so well, and she looks like she’s enjoying it — I have not spoken to her, but she looks happy. It’s just super rewarding as somebody that puts the time in and is a great person, for that to play out in sports is pretty awesome.”
First serve on Saturday is set for 3:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Plus.
