Huskers lose to SMU – University of Nebraska

DALLAS – Nebraska’s No. 2 volleyball team lost 25-23, 25-21 and 25-18 at SMU on Tuesday night in front of 6,773 spectators at Moody Coliseum.

The Huskers (3-1) made 11 service errors and had just one ace, while SMU (2-1) hit seven aces and made 10 service errors against Nebraska.

SMU outscored the Big Red by .242 to .171 and also had the edge in kills (39-36), blocks (10-9) and digs (43-36).

Merritt Beason had nine kills for NU. Andi Jackson had eight kills and a .667 batting average with six blocks. Harper Murray had six kills and Rebekah Allick and Lindsay Krause each had five.

Bergen Reilly had 31 assists and 11 digs.

Naya Shime and Maya Tabron led the Mustangs with nine kills each.

The loss was Nebraska’s first against an unranked team since 2017.

Set 1: The Huskers had seven kills in their first 13 attacks, but three service errors allowed a 9-9 tie. The Mustangs took a 11-10 lead, but kills by Beason and Murray put NU ahead 12-11. A block by Jackson and Murray and a hitting error by SMU made it 15-12, and Beason finished from the back row, putting the Huskers ahead 16-12 after a 4-0 run. Jackson added another kill and a block with Landfair for an 18-13 lead. Jackson then made her fifth kill before serving her first career ace to make it 20-15. Nebraska led 21-16, but SMU went on a 6-0 run to take a 22-21 lead. Lindsay Krause came on and scored immediately to tie the score at 22-22, but NU’s fourth service error put SMU back in front. Allick and Beason then combined for a block to tie the score at 23-23, but two consecutive kills from SMU gave the Mustangs a 25-23 victory.

Set 2: SMU took a 7-4 lead, but a Krause kill sparked a 3-0 Husker run. But SMU responded with a 4-0 run – including two aces – to take a 13-8 lead. NU cut it to 19-18, but two more service errors helped the Mustangs take a 22-19 lead, and SMU won 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead.

Set 3: NU broke an 8-8 tie with kills from Allick and Murray and a block from Murray and Jackson to take an 11-8 lead, but SMU came right back to tie the score at 11-11. Nebraska led 14-13 when SMU scored five straight points to take an 18-14 lead. SMU extended the lead to 23-15 after a 5-0 run and won the set and game 25-18.

Next up: The Husker Invitational takes place this Thursday and Saturday at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The schedule is as follows:

Thursday
3:30 p.m. – Montana State vs. Denver
6pm – Nebraska vs. The Citadel (B1G+)

Friday
10am – The Citadel vs. Montana State
4:00 p.m. – Denver vs. The Citadel

Saturday
2:00 p.m. – Nebraska vs. Montana State (NPM/B1G+)