Nebraska Volleyball Sweeps No. 7 Wisconsin: Murray's 20 Kills Keep the Huskers 17-0

Nebraska volleyball put its unbeaten season on the line against a top 10 team at home, and No. 1 Nebraska came out 17-0. The Huskers swept No. 7 Wisconsin 25-23, 25-14, 25-20 Saturday night in front of 10,497 fans at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The question after Nebraska’s sweep at Indiana was whether the Huskers could hold up against Wisconsin at home. They did. Nebraska is 6-0 in the Big Ten, has won 58 consecutive home regular-season matches inside the Devaney Center, and has now beaten Wisconsin five straight times. The Badgers fall to 11-5 and 5-1 in the Big Ten.

Murray’s season high

Harper Murray finished with a season-high 20 kills on .471 hitting. The outside hitter also had four digs and three blocks.

Andi Jackson added 11 kills, her sixth double-digit kill match of the season. Teraya Sigler hit .533 with nine kills. Bergen Reilly had 39 assists as Nebraska hit .396 for the match.

In the back row, Laney Choboy led the Huskers with 13 digs and Olivia Mauch had 12.

How it got there

The first set was the closest. Nebraska used a 3-0 run to take a 14-12 lead and led 15-13 at the first media timeout after a Sigler kill. Wisconsin went ahead 18-17 on a block assist from Lynney Tarnow and Decelise Champion, but the Huskers answered with four straight points for a 21-18 edge. The Badgers got it back to 24-23 and forced a Nebraska timeout. Out of it, Murray picked up a back-row kill to take the set.

The second set got away from Wisconsin. Nebraska scored five in a row as part of a 10-1 run and hit .424 with 18 kills, while holding the Badgers to .053. Jackson closed it with her 10th kill of the match.

Murray’s 17th kill of the night put Nebraska up 15-14 at the media timeout in the third. Back-to-back blocks from Manaia Ogbechie and Virginia Adriano stretched the lead to 19-16, and a Murray kill made it 20-17. Wisconsin cut it to two twice. After a Charlie Fuerbringer kill made it 22-20, Nebraska scored three straight to finish the match, with Murray’s 20th kill ending it.

The numbers

Nebraska led in kills (50-36), digs (44-28) and blocks (9-2). Wisconsin hit just .171 for the match. Champion was the Badgers’ most productive hitter with 12 kills on .241 hitting.

Ogbechie had seven block assists, the most on the team. The match had 30 ties and 12 lead changes, including 12 ties and five lead changes in the first set alone.

What is next

No. 1 Nebraska hits the road to face Northwestern on Thursday, Oct. 15. First serve is 7 p.m. on B1G+.

Husker Nation, Thursday tells us whether a team that hit .396 against a top 10 opponent at home can do it again on the road.