Nebraska Mixes Up The Lineup, Pulls Off Reverse Sweep Against Kentucky

NASHVILLE—Nebraska proved that a full house was enough to overcome Kentucky’s pair on Sunday afternoon. 

The top-ranked Huskers made several lineup changes after dropping the first two sets and rallied for a reverse sweep against No. 7 Kentucky Sunday afternoon in front of a Husker-friendly crowd at Bridgestone Arena. 

Junior outside hitter Harper Murray powered the Huskers with a career-high 23 kills and a .340 hitting percentage. 

Olivia Mauch subbed in at libero at the beginning of the third set and settled NU’s passing woes. The sophomore from Bennington finished with 14 digs and recorded an ace that secured the match point. 

Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick each tallied 10 kills. Allick added 8 blocks, while Jackson had four. Taylor Landfair had seven kills. 

Brooklyn DeLeye finished with 23 kills to pace, while Eva Hudson had 19 kills. However, both struggled with efficiency, finishing with hitting percentages below .200—162 and .185, respectively, as they both took more than 60 swings. 

Nebraska (4-0) started quickly and used a pair of 3-0 bursts to go up 13-8, but the Wildcats took a timeout and began to fight back. UK tied the set at 16-all before using three straight points to take its first lead at 20-18. The Huskers tied it up 23-23, but Kentucky closed it out on its second set point. 

Kentucky won seven out of eight points to go up 10-7 in the second set. The Huskers were sparked after a set from Allick to Taylor Landfair and went back in front 12-11. NU was up 19-18 when the Wildcats scored six straight points. Eva Hudson hammered two kills, and Ava Sarafa recorded an ace to give UK set point, which Hudson delivered with another kill after a side out. 

Nebraska changed its lineup for the third set with Mauch switching to libero and Virginia Adriano coming in at opposite. After jumping out to a 5-3 lead, the Wildcats rallied and went up 10-9. However, Allick recorded back-to-back blocks to put NU in front again. The Huskers pulled away with a 4-0 run to set up set point, which Allick put away on a slide. Murray terminated on five of her six attacks in the set. 

In the fourth set, the Huskers started quickly and led by as much as 11-6 before Kentucky began chipping away. The Wildcats got as close as one point, 13-12, but NU won five of the next six points for an 18-13 advantage. Kentucky rallied and tied it up at 19-all. NU took a two-point lead on a DeLeye hitting error. After the teams exchanged service errors, Jackson ended the set with a kill on a slide attack. 

NU took charge in the fifth set by jumping out to a 6-2 lead, but the Wildcats responded with three points in a row. UK looked to be close to 7-6, but after a challenge reversal, the Huskers led 8-5 as the teams changed sides. Nebraska took control with a 4-0 run late before Mauch ended the match with an ace. 

Nebraska will finally play a regular-season match at John Cook Arena this next weekend. The Huskers host Wright State on Friday before taking on California on Sunday.

Nebraska Volleyball 2025 Schedule

Home matches are bolded. All times central.

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.