It took an extra set Saturday, but No. 2 Nebraska rolled to a victory over Maryland, 25-27, 25-14, 25-8, 25-12. The win clinched for the Huskers a share of the Big Ten championship, the fifth Big Ten title in school history, and solidifies Nebraska’s resume as a top-four national seed and possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the bracket is announced Sunday. The Huskers have won back-to-back Big Ten championships for the second time in school history (also 2016 and 2017) and have captured 34 conference titles all-timel
Merritt Beason dominated the match for the Huskers, leading NU with 19 kills and 10 blocks while hitting a red-hot .471. Harper Murray added 12 kills while Rebekah Allick added 11 blocks and six kills. Bergen Reilly had 43 set assists for NU while freshman Olivia Mauch served four aces. Nebraska’s stifling defense held the Terrapins to -.059 hitting, while the Huskers hit a solid .259, including .438 in the fourth set. NU also dominated at the net, outblocking Maryland, 20-5.
Early on, it started bumpy for Nebraska. The Terrapins outhit NU, .214-.194 as the Terps captured set one. But after setpoint in set one, Maryland held the lead just one more time, 1-0 in set three, and had the lead tied just twice. The Huskers raced out to a 5-1 lead in set two, 6-1 in set three and 4-0 and 9-2 in the fourth. Nebraska rebounded well from Friday’s loss at Penn State which snapped NU’s 25-match winning streak.
The Huskers now await their fate from the NCAA, which will announce its tournament bracket Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Nebraska is expected to be a top-four national seed, which would allow the Huskers to stay home for the first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament.