Karlie Moore photo, Nebraska Athletics
The streak continues. No. 5 Nebraska defeated No. 9 Creighton in five sets, 25-19, 25-16, 31-33, 16-25, 15-10, giving the Huskers’ their 23rd consecutive win all-time over the Bluejays. NU remains undefeated against the Bluejays in volleyball, though this one wasn’t easy.
After losing sets three and four, Nebraska (6-1) flipped the momentum at the start of set five after Creighton ( had won the last two sets, winning the first three points. A Merritt Beason kill to cap a long rally gave the Huskers a 5-1 lead, and NU lead 7-3 through the first 10 points. After Harper Murray’s kill gave Nebraska 10-5 lead, a thunderous Lindsay Krause kill from near the left pin made it 11-7 Huskers in the fifth. Needing two points to clinch the match, Andi Jackson hammered a kill off the block to bring Nebraska to within one point of earning match point. Two rallies later, Murray slapped a ball off the Jays dig from the left pin for matchpoint to clinch the victory for the Big Red.
The Huskers dominated the first set, holding the Bluejays to .100 hitting while registering four blocks and an ace and never trailing in the set.
After Creighton raced out to a 7-6 lead in the second set, Nebraska won six of the next seven rallies to build a 12-8 lead and force the Bluejays to take a timeout. Creighton cut the Huskers’ lead to 13-11, but three straight Nebraska points forced another CU timeout. The Huskers won the next two rallies to open an 18-11 lead before the Bluejays stopped the run. Andi Jackson had two kills and a block during the five-point run. A kill and a block by Norah Sis cut the lead to 19-15, but then Nebraska won six of the next seven points to win the set. The Huskers became the first team to beat Creighton in two sets this season.
The third set started close, with eight ties and six lead changes as Creighton built a 16-15 lead. Nebraska took control by winning five straight rallies on two kills and a block by Lindsay Krause plus kills from Harper Murray and Jackson to take a 20-16 lead. Creighton fought back to win eight of 11 rallies to take a 24-23 lead. The Huskers denied the Bluejays two set points, but Creighton responded by denying Nebraska four match points.The Bluejays finally closed the set with kills by Sis and Ava Martin.
Creighton raced out to a 7-3 lead in the fourth set, forcing John Cook to spend an early timeout. But the Bluejays continued to control the fourth set, leading 18-9 on the strength of a 7-1 scoring run. Creighton led 23-13 during the fourth and closed the set with a Martin kill to send it to the fifth. The nine-point margin of victory in the set by the Bluejays was their largest set-win ever, setting the stage for the fifth set.
Murray led a balanced Husker attack with 16 kills and four blocks. Jackson tallied 15 kills and eight blocks, while Krause added 15 kills and five blocks. Beason was also in double digits in kills with 14. Bergen Reilly had 57 set assists, while Lexi Rodriguez had a team-leading 21 digs. Creighton was led by Sis, who had 24 kills while Martin had 17. After hitting -.024 in the fourth set, the Huskers bounced back to hit .444, 13 kills and just one error on 27 swings.
Nebraska is next in action Friday against No. 16 Arizona State.