No. 1 Nebraska volleyball overcame a set one loss to roll to a four-set victory over No. 22 Utah Friday at John Cook Arena, 21-25, 25-8, 25-18, 25-13. The Huskers’ defense stifled the Utes attack, holding Utah (5-2) to .063 hitting for the match and negative hitting in two of the four sets. Nebraska outblocked Utah as well, 12-5. Rebekah Allick led the Huskers (7-0) with a career-high 13 kills and seven blocks while hitting .667. Andi Jackson and Harper Murray added nine kills each.
Despite the dominant finish, the night didn’t start well for Nebraska. Utah never trailed in the first set. After the Cornhuskers tied the set at one, seven and eight, the Utes won five of the next six rallies to establish control of the set. Nebraska did itself no favors with five attack errors and three service errors. Utah outhit NU, .278-.133.
But after that, it was all Huskers. Nebraska won the first three points of set two and never looked back. The Huskers led 9-3 through 12 rallies and opened a 17-5 lead to all but finish off the set. Nebraska outhit the Utes, .750-(-.080). In the second set, Utah won the first point, but the Huskers responded, winning the next four points and never losing the lead in the set from there. The Utes drew to within one point four times, but could never pull even with the Huskers in the set. Nebraska opened a 19-10 lead before Utah showed late life with six straight points. But the Huskers snuffed out the late rally by winning four straight points and six of the last eight to finish off the third set.
Utah won the first point of the fourth set, but Nebraska took control with points on four of the last five rallies. After the Utes tallied back-to-back points, the Huskers responded with three in a row to take control of the set. Four straight points in the middle of the set opened a 15-8 NU lead. Five in a row pushed the lead to 22-11. An ace by Laney Choboy finished off the victory for Nebraska.
The win was Nebraska’s 48th straight at home. Nebraska returns to action Saturday against Grand Canyon at John Cook Arena. First serve is slated for 6 p.m., with pregame coverage at 5 p.m. on B-107.3.