STANFORD, Calif. –(NU Athletics Sept. 12)– The No. 4 Nebraska volleyball team toppled No. 5 Stanford, 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 19-25, 25-21) on Tuesday night at Maples Pavilion. 

It marked the Huskers’ first regular-season road win against a top-five team since 2017 (at No. 2 Penn State). Nebraska improved to 8-0 for the first time since 2016. Stanford fell to 6-2 on the season. 

Merritt Beason led the Big Red with 15 kills, while Harper Murray put down 12 kills on .417 hitting with four blocks and three ace serves. Andi Jackson tallied eight kills on .462 hitting, and Bekka Allick chipped in seven kills on .500 hitting with a career-high eight blocks. Lindsay Krause recorded seven kills. 

Nebraska hit .333, while Stanford hit .218. The Huskers had three more blocks (11.5-8.5) and four more kills (52-48). NU also had eight more digs (38-30). Lexi Rodriguez had 12 digs, while Bergen Reilly had seven digs to go with 37 assists and three kills.  

Both teams had four aces, while Nebraska made 17 service errors and Stanford 15. The Cardinal were led by 15 kills from Caitie Baird. 

Set 1: Stanford led 6-3, but a Beason kill and Stanford error was followed by a Krause and Jackson block that tied the score at 6-6. Murray earned a back-row kill after Stanford went into the net to make it 8-7 Huskers. The Cardinal regained a 13-10 lead after a pair of Husker errors, but a kill by Allick and back-to-back aces by Murray off the top of the net made it 15-14 Huskers at the media timeout. Beason and Allick blocked a Stanford attack to make it 16-14 Big Red, but Stanford scored six of the next nine points to regain a 20-19 lead. The teams traded sideouts to a 21-21 tie, and a Stanford attacking error was followed by an Allick kill that made it 23-21. NU earned set point at 24-22 with a block by Allick and Murray, and Beason put the set away at 25-23 with a kill. 

Set 2: The Huskers got off to a 7-2 start with seven kills on seven swings. Kr
ause and Beason each had two, and Murray, Allick and Jackson each had one. An ace by Beason made it 9-3 Huskers, and NU built the lead to 12-5 after  a kill by Murray. Two more kills by Murray kept the lead at seven, 14-7. Stanford got two kills in a row to cut it to 15-10, but Jackson pounded a kill and Stanford hit wide to put NU back up by seven, 17-10. Back-to-back Stanford aces trimmed NU’s lead to four, 17-13, but the Cardinal committed a service error after a Husker timeout. Murray tallied another kill and Stanford hit long for a 20-13 Husker lead. Murray unleashed two more kills to make it 22-14, and Allick and Reilly teamed up for a block to go up 23-15. Beason’s seventh kill made it 24-15 and the Huskers won 25-16. NU hit .696 in the set with 17 kills and one error on 23 attacks. 

Set 3: Stanford took a 9-6 lead before a service error, a block by Murray, Allick and Beason, and a hitting error tied the score at 9-9. Beason on the slide made it 10-9 Huskers, but Stanford took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout. Reilly and Allick posted kills out of the break to put the Huskers in front, 16-15, but the Cardinal got three kills in a row and a block to go up 20-17, and Stanford went on to win 25-19. 

Set 4: Kills by Allick and Beason helped NU to a 4-2 lead, but Stanford answered to go up 6-5. Murray’s 10th kill and Beason’s 11th put the Huskers on top, 9-7. Beason tallied three more kills and Krause added one as NU took a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. Allick and Reilly combined for a block, and Nebraska’s back row specialists Choboy and Rodriguez hustled down a ball that led to a Murray kill and a 19-15 Husker lead. A Stanford back-row attack and an ensuing hitting error gave the Huskers a 21-15 advantage as Stanford called timeout. Beason had a kill and Murray served an ace for a 23-16 lead, and Allick and Krause combined for a block and match point at 24-18. The Cardinal scored three in a row to get within 24-21, but Jackson put the match away at 25-21.   

Up Next: The Huskers are off until Sunday when they host No. 21 Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

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