No. 2 Nebraska swept by SMU, loses first game against unranked opponent since 2017

The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team was the third major power in college volleyball to suffer an upset within the first two weeks of the season. Plagued by sloppy passing, passive serving and the inability to build a consistent offense, the Huskers were swept off the court by a motivated SMU team with scores of 25:23, 25:21 and 25:18 in front of 6,773 spectators at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas on Tuesday evening.

What made the result so bizarre was the Huskers’ brilliant start. Nebraska scored seven kills in their first 13 shots, but three service errors kept the first set close. Andy Jackson picked up five kills and her first career ace to take a 21-16 lead. An unassailable lead vanished before Nebraska’s eyes with a 6-0 run by SMU that secured a 22-21 lead. The decisive blow came at 23-23, when consecutive kills by SMU’s Nnedi Okammor and Natalie Foster secured the 25-23 comeback set victory and set the tone for the evening.

“We got a punch in the face and let them keep hitting us,” Nebraska coach John Cook said. “I’m pretty disappointed with how we responded tonight, but to be honest, I saw that. This all started Saturday night. We talked about frustration and didn’t fix it. We had a great practice last night, but we didn’t compete tonight. It was pretty disappointing.”

It’s the first loss to an unranked opponent since 2017 for Nebraska, which hasn’t had the best start to the 2024 season. After a four-set win over No. 9 Kentucky in the season opener, cracks began to show in the Huskers, especially on offense. A four-set win over TCU exposed some holes on offense, while Tuesday showed just how far the Huskers have to go in their service game, which rarely threw the Mustangs off track.

Nebraska was limited to a .171 hitting percentage with 18 errors compared to 36 kills. SMU had a better hitting percentage of .242. The Mustangs defeated the Huskers 43-36, while SMU prevailed from the service line with seven aces to one ace from Nebraska. The Mustangs also had the upper hand with 10 blocks, while the Huskers racked up nine.

No player reached double-digit kill numbers as Merritt Beason led NU with nine kills, while Naya Shime and Maya Tabron also had nine hits each. Jackson had eight kills on a .667 hitting percentage with six blocks. Foster also totaled eight kills on a .462 hitting percentage.

Bergen Reilly scored a double-double for the Huskers with 31 assists and 11 digs. Lexi Rodriguez She was tied with her teammate with 11, but SMU outside hitter Jamison Wheeler had the most digs of the game with 13.

“They have to step up,” Cook said. “Part of it is we think we’re Nebraska and we’re going to come out here and destroy teams. This team (SMU) played very inspired tonight. They played great. Let’s put it this way. They won all the long rallies. That’s attitude and effort.”

Nebraska will need to regroup quickly to prepare to host the Huskers Invitational. NU will face The Citadel on Thursday at 6 p.m. CDT on BTN+ before taking on Montana State on Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT on Nebraska Public Media.

Result

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