Well-Rounded Attack Pushes No. 1 Huskers Past Michigan
Virginia Adriano finished with a career-high 14 kills to lead five Huskers with double-digit kills in a 26-28, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14 win at Michigan on Friday night.
The match was played in front of a crowd of 12,707, the second-ever sold-out volleyball match at the Crisler Center. It matched the previous attendance record set last season when the Huskers visited Ann Arbor in 2025.
With the win, the Huskers set a program record with their 53rd consecutive regular-season match win, surpassing the previous mark of 52 victories in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Nebraska also improved their win streak in road and neutral-site matches to 24 matches, which ranks tied for 11th all-time in NCAA history and the longest nationally since the Big Red’s string of 24 straight wins in 2015-16.
Nebraska (22-0, 11-0 Big Ten) hit at least .400 for the fourth time on the year with a .412 hitting percentage, while Michigan (13-9, 4-7 Big Ten) hit .289 as a team.
The Husker offense had five players with double-digit kills for the 12th time in the rally-scoring era, including the first since two occasions in the 2021 campaign.
Harper Murray led the way with 16 kills for her 22nd career match with at least 15 kills, which ranks sixth in the rally-scoring era. Adriano picked up a career-high 14 kills on .500 hitting to go with a pair of digs and blocks. Over her last four matches, the sophomore has 48 kills on .434 hitting to make her the fifth Husker to have 48-plus kills on .430-or-better hitting in a four-match stretch since 2021.
Andi Jackson eclipsed the 1,000-kill mark in her career with 13 kills on .455 hitting. The senior became the 13th Husker in the rally-scoring era to reach 1,000 career kills, joining Murray as active Huskers with 1,000-plus kills. Additionally, Jackson joined Sarah Pavan, Lauren Stivrins and Melissa Elmer as the only four Huskers in the rally-scoring era with at least 1,000 career kills and 400 career blocks.
Teraya Sigler posted the second double-double of her career with 12 kills on .400 hitting, 12 digs and a trio of blocks. Manaia Ogbechie totaled 11 kills with a .500 hitting percentage and had a team-high four blocks.
Bergen Reilly fell one dig shy of a double-double, recording 58 assists and nine digs to go with a pair of aces. Friday’s win was the ninth match of Reilly’s career with at least 50 assists, including two shy of her career high set in 2024. Olivia Mauch had a team-best 13 digs, while Laney Choboy added seven digs.
Nebraska had a 68-56 edge in kills, 51-48 advantage in digs, 4-3 lead in service aces and a 6-5 margin in blocks over the Wolverines.
Set 1: Nebraska saved six set points but dropped the opening set 28-26 at Michigan. The Huskers took control in the middle of the set when Mauch served five straight points during a 6-0 run that turned a 9-8 deficit into a 14-9 lead, with Jackson and Murray each contributing two kills in the spurt. The Wolverines responded by scoring eight of the next 11 points to tie it at 17, then used a 4-0 run from a 19-19 tie to go up 23-19. Down 24-20, Nebraska rallied as Adriano and Murray kills sparked four straight points to tie it at 24-24. The Huskers fought off two more set points on kills by Jackson and Murray, but consecutive kills from the Wolverines gave Michigan the 28-26 victory. Murray and Jackson led the Big Red with six kills apiece and Adriano added five, as the teams each finished with 22 kills in a set that featured 10 ties.
Set 2: The Huskers never trailed in the set and evened the match with a 25-20 win in the second set. Michigan tied it at six, but Reilly answered from the service line with back-to-back aces, and a block assist by Adriano and Ogbechie capped a 4-0 run that made it 10-6 to prompt a Michigan timeout. Murray then accounted for three straight Nebraska points with kills to push the lead to 14-9. Holding a 16-13 advantage, the Huskers broke the set open with a 5-0 run, again with Reilly serving, as Sigler and Adrianio combined for three kills to make it 21-13. Adriano added two more kills down the stretch, including the one that brought up set point, before a Michigan service error ended the set. Adriano and Murray led the Big Red with five kills apiece in the second set.
Set 3: Nebraska took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-20 win in the third set. Michigan built its biggest lead at 10-7, but Sigler went to the service line and served four consecutive points during a 5-0 Husker run, highlighted by back-to-back Adriano kills, to make it 12-10. The Wolverines tied it three more times, the last at 14-14, before Sigler took over at the net. She had a hand in five straight NU points, recording three kills and then teaming with Ogbechie on back-to-back blocks to push the lead to 20-16 and force a Michigan timeout. Murray put down the kill that brought up set point, and the Huskers closed it out on a Michigan attack error. Sigler and Murray led NU with four kills each, while the Big Red defense forced nine Michigan errors.
Set 4: Nebraska closed out a 3-1 win at Michigan with a dominant 25-14 fourth set. Mauch served three straight points to open the set, including a Jackson and Adriano block, and the Huskers jumped in front 4-0. After Michigan pulled within 8-6, Jackson took over at the service line after a kill and served four straight points, capped by an ace, during a 5-0 run that made it 13-6. Ogbechie then put down three kills over the next four Nebraska points, and Choboy’s ace extended the lead to 18-10 and prompted a Michigan timeout. Gabby DiVita added a kill off the bench, Murray brought up match point and Ogbechie ended it with a kill. Jackson and Ogbechie led the Huskers with five kills apiece, while Nebraska held the Wolverines to 10 kills in the set.
Nebraska returns to action with a visit to No. 25 Michigan State tomorrow afternoon. First serve between the Huskers and Spartans is set for 3:30 p.m. CT on B1G+.