No. 2 Nebraska volleyball opened the 2024 season the same way it hopes to end the year: with a win at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
The Huskers defeated No. 9 Kentucky in four sets at the site of this year’s Final Four behind a monster performance from the middle blockers.
The Huskers topped the Wildcats 25-21, 22-25, 25-15, 25-20 in the first match of the 2024 Division I season as part of the AVCA First Serve Showcase. Nebraska controlled the match with a big block, recording 18 stuffs (its most since 2018) to hold the Wildcats to .139 hitting.
“We were aware that their offense is really fast, and we needed to be really good about having all four hands over and just seeing our attackers really well,” Rebekah Allick told ESPN2 after the match. We worked really hard on making sure that our body’s in the right spot and it will let our hands do the right thing.”
Allick recorded her first career double-double to lead the Huskers, notching 11 kills on .667 hitting and tying her career-high with 12 blocks including two solo roofs to earn showcase MVP honors.
“Rebekah was awesome, killing balls,” assistant coach Jaylen Reyes said on the Huskers Radio Network. “The big push for her was she’s already a really good defender, a really, really good blocker. It’s just can you be an offensive threat? And there were times there where she was carrying us. And, she put the match point away. When she runs great routes and finds good space and gets up quickly and is ready to hit, she’s physical and stuff like that. I thought her mentality as she was taking an approach to go and attack was on point tonight where it was super aggressive but in control.
“She was in control of what she was doing. She understands where she needs to be when she needs to be there. And hopefully this isn’t just a random outlier, this is kind of a trend.”
Merritt Beason matched Allick with 11 kills while chipping in eight digs and six blocks, though her seven attack errors dragged her hitting percentage down to .114. Andi Jackson finished in double figures with 10 kills on .412 hitting and added five blocks.
Bergen Reilly also recorded a double-double with 39 assists and 11 digs, guiding Nebraska to a .258 hitting percentage and earning the event’s Best Setter award. Lexi Rodriguez led the Huskers with 15 digs.
Cook opted to roll with the same starting lineup he used at the start of last season, leaving transfers Taylor Landfair and Leyla Blackwell on the bench. Landfair briefly played in the second set in relief of Lindsay Krause but did not take a swing. Blackwell did not play. Freshman Olivia Mauch was the first sub off the Nebraska bench, playing in the back row for Krause while sophomore Laney Choboy subbed for Harper Murray in the first three sets and for Beason in the fourth. Kennedi Orr served for Jackson.
The Huskers dug themselves an early hole in set one, surrendering a 6-0 run as the Nebraska offense took some time to get in sync. However, the Huskers eventually settled in, tying it up a few times before surging ahead with a 4-0 run featuring two kills and a block assist from Krause. The Huskers maintained the lead the rest of the way, closing on a 3-0 run featuring a game-point kill from Krause through the Kentucky block.
The Huskers got off to a much faster start in set two, using a 9-2 run to take a 10-4 lead, but Nebraska cooled off from there as the Wildcats turned the tables from set two. Kentucky rallied to tie it up then take the lead, and the Huskers couldn’t find a way to get back in front as Kentucky evened the match at 1-1. Nebraska’s offense fell apart in set two as the Huskers hit .054.
“I got in there and Coach was talking about that communication piece,” Reyes said about the team conversation during the intermission. “We’ve been kind of hammering echolocation, so just make sure we’re all calling our sets early, three times at least. So that was a big message. And then, honestly … after the first, second set, we only had three service errors, which is really good, but I didn’t feel like we were serving it very hard. And I thought we came out and we all as a team, we all served it just a little firmer, put a little more miles an hour on it, a little flatter, and I just thought we kind of broke them down passing a little bit.”
After a back and forth start to set three, Orr served a 7-0 run capped by an ace to put the Huskers up 15-6, and the Huskers dominated the rest of the way. Nebraska recorded six blocks and held the Wildcats to .000 hitting with 11 errors to pull ahead in the match.
Nebraska’s dominance at the net continued into set four as the Huskers recorded four more blocks in the first 10 rallies to take an 8-2 lead. The Wildcats trimmed their deficit down to two at one point, but the Huskers never relinquished the lead and closed it out with Allick delivering the match point kill in a fitting finish.
The Huskers notched seven more blocks in set four and held Kentucky to .061 hitting.
After the Nebraska win, the host Louisville Cardinals, ranked No. 6, took down No. 3 Wisconsin in four sets to wrap up the First Serve Showcase. Wahoo native Elle Glock had 21 assists and four digs splitting time in Louisville’s 6-2 system.
Nebraska will return home to open the season at the Devaney Center on Friday with the Ameritas Players Challenge.
