Huskers Fall at SMU

DALLAS - The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team fell 25-23, 25-21, 25-18 at SMU on Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 6,773 at Moody Coliseum. 

The Huskers (3-1) committed 11 service errors and had just one ace, while SMU (2-1) aced Nebraska seven times and committed 10 service errors. 

SMU outhit the Big Red, .242 to .171, and had the edge in kills (39-36), blocks (10-9) and digs (43-36). 

Merritt Beason had nine kills for NU. Andi Jackson had eight kills and hit .667 with six blocks. Harper Murray had six kills, and Rebekah Allick and Lindsay Krause each had five. 

Bergen Reilly had 31 assists and 11 digs. 

Naya Shime and Maya Tabron led the Mustangs with nine kills each. 

The loss was Nebraska's first to an unranked team since 2017. 

Set 1: The Huskers had seven kills in their first 13 attacks, but three service errors allowed the score to be tied at 9-9. The Mustangs went up 11-10, but kills by Beason and Murray put NU on top, 12-11. A block by Jackson and Murray and an SMU hitting error made it 15-12, and Beason terminated from the back row for a 16-12 Husker lead after a 4-0 run. Jackson added another kill and a block with Landfair for an 18-13 lead. Jackson then put down her fifth kill before serving her first career ace to make it 20-15. Nebraska led 21-16, but SMU went on a 6-0 run to go up 22-21. Lindsay Krause subbed in and immediatley terminated to tie the score at 22-22, but NU's fourth service error put SMU back on top. Allick and Beason then combined for a block to tie it again, 23-23, but back-to-back SMU kills gave the Mustangs a 25-23 win. 

Set 2: SMU jumped in front to a 7-4 lead, but a Krause kill sparked a 3-0 Husker run. But SMU responded with a 4-0 run - including two aces - to go up 13-8. NU cut it to one at 19-18, but two more service errors helped the Mustangs go up 22-19, and SMU won 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead. 

Set 3: NU separated from an 8-8 tie with kills by Allick and Murray and a block by Murray and Jackson for an 11-8 lead, but SMU came right back to tie it 11-11. Nebraska led 14-13 when SMU ripped off five points in a row to go ahead 18-14. SMU increased the lead to 23-15 after a 5-0 run and won the set and match, 25-18.

Up Next: The Husker Invitational will be held at the Bob Devaney Sports Center this Thursday-Saturday. The schedule is as follows:

Thursday

3:30 p.m. - Montana State vs. Denver

6 p.m. - Nebraska vs. The Citadel (B1G+)

Friday

10 a.m. - The Citadel vs. Montana State

4 p.m. - Denver vs. The Citadel

Saturday

2 p.m. - Nebraska vs. Montana State (NPM/B1G+)