Huskers Outlast No. 10 Boilermakers in Five Sets

LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team defeated No. 10 Purdue in a thrilling five-set match, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 17-15 on Friday night in front of a crowd of 8,715 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Huskers improved to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten play. It was their 12th straight win and 35th straight win at home. Purdue fell to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in conference action. 

The Boilermakers outhit the Huskers .311 to .242, and Purdue had a better hitting percentage in each of the five sets. Purdue also had 15 blocks to 5.5 for Nebraska, but the Huskers still battled their way to victory. NU had six more kills, 74-68, and served three aces to just one for Purdue. The Boilermakers committed 19 service errors, while Nebraska had just seven. 

Merritt Beason led the Big Red with a season-high 22 kills, along with three blocks and eight digs. Harper Murray registered 17 kills, while Andi Jackson had 14 kills and four blocks, while Rebekah Allick had 10 kills.

Bergen Reilly posted a career-high 60 assists, along with 17 digs for her ninth double-double of the year. Lexi Rodriguez added 12 digs and Laney Choboy had nine.

Eva Hudson led Purdue with 26 kills, while Chloe Chicoine notched 22.

Set 1: The Huskers held a 9-5 lead after kills by Jackson and Lindsay Krause. Purdue answered with a 7-2 run to take a 12-11 lead. Kills by Murray and Beason put NU back in the lead, and another Murray kill put the Big Red ahead 15-14 at the media timeout. Murray came out of the timeout with an ace, but Purdue tied the score at 17-17. With the score still tied at 20-20, Murray put down her fourth kill of the set before Jackson followed with back-to-back kills for a 23-20 Husker lead. After a Hudson sideout kill for Purdue, Jackson connected again for her fifth kill on her fifth swing for set point, 24-21. Beason finished out the set with a kill out of the back row for a 25-22 win. 

Set 2: Purdue jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but Beason posted a kill and served an ace to cut it to 5-4. A 4-0 run for the Boilermakers put them ahead 12-8, and Purdue was in control, building the lead to 19-13. A kill by Taylor Landfair and a Purdue hitting error preceded a block by Allick and Landfair, and the deficit was cut in half, 19-16. After a Purdue timeout, the Boilers hit long to bring NU within two, 19-17. But Chicoine earned sideout with a kill, and the Huskers misfired on two straight swings to put Purdue up 22-17. The Boilermakers grabbed set point at 24-19, but the Huskers fought back with kills by Beason, Murray and Jackson to pull within 24-22 and force a Purdue timeout. But Hudson terminated a kill after the timeout for a 25-22 Purdue win to even the match at 1-1.  

Set 3: Purdue used a 4-0 run to go up 9-5. A kill by Murray, block by Beason and kill by Jackson tied the score at 11-11. The Boilermakers went back ahead 17-15, but Beason and Allick answered with kills to even the score again, 17-17. NU took an 18-17 lead after a Purdue error, and kills by Allick and Murray made it 20-18 Big Red. Chicoine posted a sideout kill for Purdue, but Jackson answered with her 11th of the night. The Huskers led 22-20, but Purdue scored three in a row - two off Husker hitting errors - to go up 23-22. After a timeout, Krause killed an overpass to tie the score at 23-23. But another Husker hitting error gave Purdue set point, and the Boilermakers won the set 25-23 on a kill by Hudson. 

Set 4: Reilly opened the set with an ace, and Allick had a kill before a block by Beason and Jackson made it 5-2. Another kill by Beason and a Purdue hitting error put the Huskers up 8-4. Beason put the Huskers ahead 11-6, and later in the set a block by Reilly and Jackson made it 17-12 Big Red. After a timeout, Purdue scored three in a row to get within 17-15. Murray recorded a sideout kill, and kills by Allick and Landfair kept NU on top, 20-16. Landfair added another kill before two by Beason made it 23-18 NU. The Huskers earned set point at 24-19 before surrendering three straight points. Finally, Beason connected from the back row for a 25-22 win to force a fifth set. 

Set 5: Purdue led 3-1 before kills by Allick and Murray tied the score. The teams sided out the next 11 rallies to a 9-8 Purdue lead, and then Purdue held serve with a kill by Hudson that made it 10-8. After a timeout, Beason fired her 19th kill to cut it to 10-9, and Jackson tied the score at 10-10 with her 12th kill. Hudson answered for Purdue, but Beason came right back for NU to make it 11-11. Hudson put Purdue back in front, 12-11, but Murray produced a big kill to tie it 12-12. Jackson put NU in front for the first time since 1-0 with her 13th kill. After a timeout, Hudson tied the score at 13-13 with her 26th kill. But Jackson earned match point, 14-13, with another kill. Chicoine answered for the Boilermakers, and a block by Purdue gave the Boilermakers match point at 15-14. Beason hammered a back-row kill to make it 15-15, and Landfair earned a kill after Purdue went into the net for another match point at 16-15. Beason ended the match with her 22nd kill. 

Up Next: The Huskers host Rutgers on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center. The match will be streamed on B1G+ and can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network.