No. 1 Nebraska volleyball went deep into its bench while securing its first road win with a sweep at Lipscomb Friday Night.
Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, saw a record crowd of 4,235 on Friday, smashing the previous record of 3,167 for Lipscomb’s match against Stanford in 2022. The Huskers (3-0) made it a quick night, sweeping the Bisons 25-13, 25-21, 25-15.
Fourteen different Huskers saw the court as Nebraska hit .315 and held Lipscomb to .043. The Huskers finished plus-20 in kills and plus-18 in digs.
“I thought we played well, and we mixed up a lot of a lot of things,” Coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “The goal was to keep the level the same and get people some much needed reps and some confidence going into Sunday. Overall, really solid, and some players who haven’t played yet played great, and that’s what you love to see.”
Harper Murray and Taylor Landfair led the Huskers with seven kills apiece. Landfair did so in one and a half sets of work, needing just nine errorless swings to get her kills while adding two blocks. Murray only played the first two sets, hitting .333 and chipping in six digs.
Redshirt freshman Skyler Pierce made her Nebraska debut midway through the second set and finished with six kills on .333 hitting.
“My goal tonight was to kind of see what Skyler Pierce can do in an extended role, because I think she’s right on the heels of those outside hitters, and she looked awesome tonight,” Busboom Kelly said. “She could definitely see some time moving forward.”
Olivia Mauch posted a match-high 14 digs, a new career high, while libero Laney Choboy added 12.
“I continue to be more and more and more impressed with [Mauch],” Busboom Kelly said. “I was always impressed with her, but watching her play, and if you’re not a keen volleyball fan who watches all the time, you might not see what we’re seeing, but goodness, she makes plays look so easy. You think this team has this great swing or something great just happened, and she’s in the right spot and makes it look easy … It’s just she’s so smooth with her platform. The way she moves is smooth, but the ball comes off her platform in in a way that you can’t teach; it’s natural.”
Bergen Reilly only played one set, totaling 11 assists, three digs and an ace. Freshman Campbell Flynn took over for the last two games and finished with 22 assists, two kills and two digs.
“After those first few jitters, I thought, the first five, 10 points, she played really well,” Busboom Kelly said of the freshman setter. “What I love about Campbell is just she has got a special mentality for a setter. She does not get rattled; even though those first few points were a little shaky, I don’t think anybody on our bench, coaches or players, was worried, and we knew that she was going to be great. She played great towards the end.”
After a couple ties early in set one, Murray served a 6-0 run to create separation at 9-3. She served an ace during the run and also induced an overpass for an easy smash from Andi Jackson.
Nebraska steadily extended the lead the rest of the set, and Rebekah Allick closed it out with the set-point kill. The Huskers hit .444 and held the Bisons to .042 as Landfair notched five kills on seven errorless swings. Allick added four kills on .500 hitting in her only set of action.
Busboom Kelly changed up her lineup in set two with Flynn replacing Reilly and freshman Manaia Ogbechie making her debut in place of Allick. Pierce also saw her first action, checking in for Landfair to play in the front row.
The Huskers fell behind early, but Jackson served a 5-0 run to put the Huskers in front for good. Pierce recorded her first two kills during a 3-0 run to extend the lead to seven at 21-14, and the Huskers earned set point soon after at 24-18. The Bisons stayed alive with a serving run from preseason ASUN player of the Year Courtney Jones, but she followed an ace with an error to end the set.
Nebraska out-hit Lipscomb .250 to .103. Pierce and Murray led the Huskers with three kills apiece.
Nebraska switched up lineups again heading into set three with Allie Sczech replacing Virginia Adriano at opposite. Busboom Kelly also rolled with Pierce and Sigler at outside hitter for all six rotations.
The teams traded points early and late in set three, but Nebraska dominated in the middle of the game. The Huskers used a 5-0 run including two kills and a block assist from Sczech to take control, then Mauch served a 4-0 run to extend the lead to 19-11.
Lipscomb traded points for a bit before the debut Huskers closed out the match with a 3-0 run (one kill from Pierce and two from Ogbechie).
Nebraska flexed its defensive muscles in the third, holding the Bisons to .000 while hitting .263 on offense. Ogbechie led the Huskers with four kills in the set and finished with five on nine errorless attacks, hitting .556 with a block.
“She did awesome,” Busboom Kelly said of her freshman middle. “She is maybe one of our best blockers right now, and I can’t imagine what she’s going to be like as she gets more playing time, because she’s a force at the net, and she’s got a fast arm and just so many amazing things with her.”
The Huskers will get Saturday off to enjoy the city before heading to Bridgestone Arena to face No. 7 Kentucky in the Broadway Block Party. Nebraska prepared for the Wildcats earlier in the week before switching their attention to Lipscomb, but Kentucky hasn’t played a match yet. The Wildcats open their season at Lipscomb on Friday.
“We don’t exactly know what lineup they’re going to go with, but obviously they have some very, very good, experienced players returning, and they will be a handful,” Busboom Kelly said. “This is a massive, massive game for us, just because Kentucky is going to have a lot of wins this year. You have two of the best outside hitters in the country on the same team, you’ve got a great middle, you have one of the best liberos in the country, so it’s going to be a challenge and hopefully something our players feel pretty prepared for.”
First serve is set for 11 a.m. CT on ABC with Courtney Lyle, Holly McPeak, Katie George and Madison Fitzpatrick on the call.
