Courtesy Nebraska Athletics
No. 1 Nebraska volleyball blistered Missouri 25-10, 25-17, 25-14, in the Cornhuskers’ non-conference finale Wednesday at John Cook Arena. The match was rescheduled from a Labor Day weekend event at Wrigley Field in Chicago, in which the match was stopped after 18 points due to slippery court conditions. The score was reset back to 0-0 to start the match, but that was only a brief setback for Nebraska, which needed only 90 minutes to polish off the Tigers.
Harper Murray led the Huskers (11-0) with 10 kills, while Virginia Adriano and Andi Jackson added nine kills. Jackson was particularly effective, hitting .600 on 15 attacks. Jackson was also Nebraska’s leading blocker with six. Manaia Ogbechie was razor sharp, notching seven kills on nine swings while also tallying three blocks. Bergen Reilly had 29 set assists. Laney Choboy had 11 digs while Olivia Mauch had 10.
The Huskers and Mizzou (7-5) fought to a 3-3 tie through six rallies to start the match before Nebraska scored the next seven with Murray serving. The run extended to nine NU points in 10 rallies as the Huskers built a 13-4 advantage. The Tigers drew to within seven at 14-7, before five straight Husker points as part of an 8-1 Nebraska run built a 22-8 lead and erased any remaining drama in the set.
In the second, the Huskers edged out to an 8-4 lead. Missouri pulled to within two on a couple of occasions before Nebraska pulled away with a five-point run to open a 21-13 lead. The Tigers cut the Huskers’ lead to six at 23-17 before back-to-back NU points finished the second set.
Missouri briefly led in set three, holding an 8-7 advantage. Three straight Nebraska points, including two Adriano kills and a Murray/Jackson combo block gave NU a 10-8 lead and control of the third set. After a Mizzou point, seven straight Husker points with Choboy serving all but finished off the match. Jackson starred in the run with three blocks and two kills. The Tigers pulled to within five at 19-14 before Nebraska finished the match on a six-point run.
The only negative from the match was an injury to Teraya Sigler. In the third set, Sigler slipped in the transition from serve-receive to attacking and was holding her calf. She was seen leaving the floor in a walking boot, and her prognosis for this weekend’s two Big Ten matches and the season was not known as of Wednesday night.
Nebraska opens Big Ten play Friday at John Cook Arena against Rutgers. First serve is slated for 7 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 6 p.m. on KLIN and B-107.3.