No. 1 Nebraska volleyball’s 48-set winning streak was snapped, but the Cornhuskers remained undefeated with a 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-15, Friday night in Los Angeles. The set three loss was the first set loss for NU (25-0, 15-0 Big Ten) since Sept. 16.
Andi Jackson led Nebraska on 15 kills with no errors and a .625 hitting percentage. Harper Murray tallied 14 kills, while Rebekah Allick added 13 kills and a team-leading seven blocks while hitting .440. Taylor Landfair notched five kills and six blocks, while Bergen Reilly had 34 set assists. Maggie Li led the Bruins (14-11, 8-7 Big Ten) with 20 kills and 10 digs, while Cheridyn Leverette tallied 17 kills. Marianna Singletary contributed 12 kills and seven blocks. Nebraska outhit UCLA, .299-.221 and outblocked the Bruins, 10-7,
The tone was set early, with the first set tied at six. Nebraska took eight of the last nine points to build a 14-7 lead. After back-to-back Bruins points, the Huskers won five straight rallies to build a 19-9 lead. UCLA scored five in a row to cut the Nebraska edge to 19-14, but the Huskers closed the set by winning six of the last nine points to polish off the set.
The Bruins got off to a strong start in set two, leading 6-2, 7-3 and 10-5. Nebraska stormed back into the match by winning nine of the next 12 points to build a 14-13 lead. UCLA took back the initiative and led 18-16, but the Huskers won seven of the next eight points to lead, 23-19. The Bruins won four of the next six points, but a Murray kill finished set two for Nebraska.
The Huskers started set three strong, leading 6-1, 7-2 and 8-4. UCLA swung control of the set, winning 11 of the next 15 points to lead, 15-12. Nebraska came within two, 18-16, but the Bruins ran five straight points to push their advantage to 23-16. NU won four of the next five rallies to cut the deficit to 24-19, but Li terminated to clinch the set, snapping the Huskers’ nearly two-month long set-winning streak.
Nebraska shook off the disappointment of the set three loss by racing out to a 6-2 lead that ballooned to 10-4. The Bruins cut NU’s lead to 14-11, but the Huskers won eight of the next nine rallies to push the lead to 22-12. UCLA and Nebraska traded the next six points, with Allick killing to finish the match.
The Huskers are back in action Sunday at No. 17 USC. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 1 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.