In what can only be described as a showcase of dominance, the No. 5 Nebraska volleyball team swept No. 4 Louisville in front of 14,126 fans at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday. With this emphatic 25-16, 25-17, 25-20 victory, Nebraska improved to 10-1 on the season, taking down their second top-five opponent of the week. Louisville, which came into the match with an 8-1 record, now sits at 8-2. But they had no answers for the Big Red juggernaut that stormed through the match like it was a Sunday stroll through Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s serves were lethal, tallying seven aces to Louisville’s zero—a stat that epitomizes how one-sided the contest was. Defensively, the Huskers were equally commanding, posting nine blocks and holding Louisville to a paltry .133 hitting percentage. The Huskers, meanwhile, were sizzling on offense, hitting .305. Harper Murray led the way with 11 kills, supported by Merritt Beason’s nine kills and .364 hitting. Beason also added four blocks, while Andi Jackson’s .545 hitting percentage with four blocks was another bright spot for the Cornhuskers.
Set 1 saw Louisville take a 5-3 lead before Nebraska took control, sparked by a 7-0 run led by Lindsay Krause’s serving. That run included a block party and a couple of aces, which left Louisville calling back-to-back timeouts, clearly rattled. By the time the dust settled, Nebraska had cruised to a 25-16 win.
Set 2 was more of the same with Krause and Lexi Rodriguez stepping up at the service line. Krause fired off three straight aces, and Rodriguez’s six-point service run propelled the Huskers to a 12-3 lead. The Cardinals attempted to fight back, but Nebraska was relentless, eventually securing a 25-17 set victory.
In Set 3, Louisville mounted some resistance, even taking a 10-7 lead at one point. But Nebraska calmly responded, with Beason and Murray leading the attack. After a few Louisville errors and a commanding block from Jackson and Bergen Reilly, the Huskers pulled away, finishing the set 25-20 to complete the sweep.
This was Nebraska’s first sweep of a top-five team on the road since their victory over Minnesota in 2021, and it marked a statement win as they prepare to enter Big Ten play. With performances like these, Husker fans have every reason to believe this could be a special season.
