LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 5 Nebraska volleyball team earned its second win of the week against a top-five opponent with a 25-16, 25-17, 25-20 win over No. 4 Louisville in front of a crowd of 14,126 at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday afternoon. 

The Huskers improved to 10-1 on the season after picking up their first sweep against a top-five team on the road since Feb. 21, 2021 (Minnesota). Louisville fell to 8-2.

Nebraska dominated the serve game with seven aces to none for Louisville. The Huskers were also stout defensively, posting nine blocks and holding Louisville to .133 hitting. 

On the attack, Nebraska hit .305. Harper Murray had 11 kills to lead the Big Red, while Merritt Beason had nine kills and hit .364 with four blocks. Andi Jackson added six kills on .545 hitting with four blocks, and Lindsay Krause added five kills.

Bergen Reilly finished with 25 assists, six digs, four kills and two blocks. Lexi Rodriguez had a team-high eight digs. Rebekah Allick led the team in blocks with five. 

Anna DeBeer had 12 kills for Louisville. Charitie Luper and Sofia Maldonado Diaz each had eight. 

Set 1: Louisville led 5-3 before a 4-0 run served by Murray that included kills by Murray and Krause. With NU ahead 9-8, Krause served a 7-0 run that made it 16-8. Allick had a solo block, Beason and Reilly had a block, Murray posted a kill, and Krause served an ace to force two Louisville timeouts during her service run. A kill by Jackson and ace by Beason increased NU's lead to 20-11, and Murray served an ace to make it 22-12. Louisville scored three in a row before Jackson terminated for a sideout, and Reilly dumped a kill for set point. Krause put the set away, 25-16, with a kill. NU outhit Louisville .320 to .105. 

Set 2: Krause had a kill, and after a block by Allick and Beason, served three straight aces for a 5-2 Husker lead. After a Murray kill made it 7-3, Rodriguez took the service line and ripped off a 6-0 run for a 12-3 advantage. She served one ace, and Murray had a kill, while Beason and Jackson combined for a block. Nebraska led 17-7 when Louisville scored four points in a row to get within 17-11. Reilly dumped a kill for sideout, and Beason terminated back-to-back kills before Krause added another to restore a double-digit lead, 21-11. Beason tallied two more kills for set point, 24-15, and a Murray kill finished it off, 25-17. 

Set 3: Louisville led 10-7 when kills by Beason and Murray cut the deficit to one. A kill by Beason and a block by Jackson and Reilly tied the score at 11-11. Louisville went back ahead 12-11, but Jackson had two kills and a solo block for a 15-12 Husker lead at the media timeout. The Cardinals answered with a 4-1 spurt to tie the score at 16-16, and the Huskers took a timeout. Louisville then committed three straight hitting errors, and Beason terminated for a 20-16 Husker advantage. Krause and Murray tacked on kills to take the lead to 23-19, and Jackson and Reilly stuffed an attack for match point. Murray finished the match, 25-20, with her 11th kill. 

Up Next: The Huskers begin Big Ten action at home next weekend. NU welcomes UCLA to the Devaney Center on Friday at 7 p.m. and USC on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Both matches will be televised on the Big Ten Network. 

Huskers Fall in Second Half

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Despite two finishes off corner kicks in the first half, the Nebraska soccer team was held scoreless in the second half and fell to Michigan 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, Michigan claimed its first conference victory of the season, improving to 2-7-1 overall and 1-2-0 in conference play. The Huskers fell to 3-6-0 on the year and 0-3-0 in Big Ten competition. 

NU was aggressive early to open the match earning a corner kick resulting in the first score for either team. In the seventh minute, Lauryn Anglim sent the corner into the top of the goalbox, which Abbey Schwarz met with a header sent into the back of the net. This finish marked Schwarz' first points of the season and her 11th career goal, and for Anglim, this is her 11th career match with at least one assist. 

Michigan then got rolling, tallying two quick goals in both the eighth and ninth minutes, as Abby Zugay and Jenna Lang helped the Wolverines take the 2-1 lead. The advantage didn’t last long though, as Nebraska evened the score in the 17th minute off another corner kick from Anglim. The corner from the Nebraska native was bounced around in the box before Haley Peterson earned her first goal of the season as she slid the ball past the Michigan defense. 

The score remained 2-2 for the rest of the first half, but NU held the advantage in shots (7-4) and shots on goal (5-4). 

The Michigan defense played an impressive second half, holding Nebraska to just one shot on goal, and shutting out the Huskers. The Wolverines were able to find the back of the net however, as Taylor Brenna scored for their third finish of the game in the 63rd minute and went on to claim the 3-2 victory. 

Sami Hauk earned her second start of the season, recording five saves and playing the complete game. Lauryn Anglim, Reese Borer, Jordan Zade and Sadie Waite joined her in playing the entire 90 minutes. 

Up next, the Huskers return home to host Illinois on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7:05 p.m. (CT) on BTN and #9 Penn State on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 1:05 p.m. (CT) on Big Ten Plus.