Huskers Sweep Red-Hot USC

Photo Credit: Nebraska Athletics

LOS ANGELES - The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team finished off its West Coast road trip with a 25-13, 25-16, 25-20 sweep of red-hot USC on Sunday afternoon at the Galen Center. 

The match was played in front of a crowd of 9,072, a USC school record at the Galen Center. The Nebraska volleyball program has now been part of attendance records in 12 of the 18 Big Ten facilities over the last three seasons. 

Nebraska (26-0, 16-0 Big Ten) hit .412, its third time in the last four matches hitting over .400. It was the best hitting percentage by a USC opponent this season, crushing the .302 UCLA hit against the Trojans on Oct. 29.   

The 17th-ranked Trojans, who had won nine matches in a row, hit .156 and fell to 20-6 (11-5 Big Ten). It was the second-lowest hitting percentage of the season for USC.   

The Huskers had three players reach double-figure kills with Virginia Adriano (.389), Harper Murray (.292) and Taylor Landfair (.280) all recording 10 kills. Rebekah Allick posted nine kills on .692 hitting, and Andi Jackson had eight kills and five blocks while hitting .467. 

Bergen Reilly recorded 42 assists and 14 digs with three blocks and two kills. Olivia Mauch had 11 digs as NU's libero. Nebraska sided out at 80.0 percent and held the Trojans without an ace for just the second time this season. 

The Huskers had massive advantages in kills (52-35) and digs (54-29), while out-blocking USC 8-5. 

Set 1: Adriano had two early kills, and Murray had a kill and an ace, and a block by Reilly and Jackson helped the Huskers take an 8-4 lead. Kills by Reilly, Landfair and Allick made it 11-5, and Landfair recorded back-to-back kills for a 13-6 advantage. Allick tallied two more kills, and a solo block by Jackson made it 17-9. Murray recorded a kill before Landfair added two more, and Manaia Ogbechie checked in and immediately had a kill and a block with Reilly for a 23-11 lead. The Huskers closed out a 25-13 win with kills by Murray and Landfair, as the Huskers hit .500. 

Set 2: Mauch served a 3-0 run at the start, and the Huskers never looked back, extending the lead to 8-2 after two kills by Jackson and one each by Murray and Landfair. Reilly and Allick posted kills for a 10-3 lead that forced a USC timeout. After the timeout, Reilly and Allick combined for a block, and another Allick kill and one by Adriano made it 13-5. After USC pulled within 14-9, Adriano, Jackson and Murray had kills and teamed up for a triple block during a 4-0 run served by Mauch that made it 18-9. The teams sided out the rest of the way to a 25-16 NU win. 

Set 3: A 7-1 start including a 7-0 run served by Mauch put the Big Red in control. Adriano had three kills in that stretch, while Allick and Jackson each had one, and Murray posted a solo block. The Trojans cut the lead to two at 11-9, but Landfair and Allick kept the Huskers on the front foot with kills, and Adriano and Jackson teamed up for a block and a 15-10 lead. An Adriano kill put NU up 16-11, but the Trojans scored three in a row to get within 16-14. Jackson answered with a solo block and a kill for a 19-15 lead, and Allick added two more kills to keep NU on top, 21-17. Adriano and Jackson tacked on kills to make it 23-19, and Sigler and Jackson finished the sweep with kills. 

Up Next: Nebraska is back at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Thursday, hosting Iowa at 7 p.m. With four matches remaining, the Huskers hold a three-game lead in the Big Ten standings and can clinch a share of the Big Ten title with a win over the Hawkeyes.