Nebraska volleyball's Harper Murray accused of shoplifting, suspended for spring match vs. Denver

Nebraska volleyball outside hitter Harper Murray has been accused of shoplifting in Lincoln, according to the Lincoln Journal Star’s Amie Just. She is also facing a suspension for Saturday’s spring match, 1011 News’ Chase Matteson reported.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Murray was accused of stealing $70 worth of merchandise from Scheels in Lincoln before buying $350 worth of merchandise. Lincoln Police then filed an incident report, as the post stated, and found she took five rings worth $12.99 apiece.

Nebraska Athletics addressed the situation in a statement to the Journal Star and said the decision to suspend her for Saturday’s match was already made before this occurrence.

“We are aware of the incident report from Thursday night and are gathering more information,” the statement read. “We had previously made the determination that Harper would be suspended for Saturday’s spring match. Any further discipline will be handled internally. We will have no further comment at this time.”

This marks the second incident involving Murray in as many months. In early April, she received a citation for DUI, and a breathalyzer test showed her blood-alcohol content as .169, according to Lincoln Police – double the legal limit. She also received citations for reckless driving, obstruction of a peace officer, minor in possession and carrying a false ID.

Nebraska is preparing for its spring match on Saturday against Denver as the Huskers look to follow up last season’s run to the national championship. Murray was a key piece of that team, too, ranking second on the team with 3.23 kills per set. She also had a .237 hitting percentage to go with 2.07 digs per set and a team-high 36 service aces. In fact, Murray finished the season with the highest kills per set average by a Husker freshman since Kadie Rolfzen (3.46) in 2013.

For her efforts, Harper Murray was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in the 2023 campaign. She was also selected for the All-Big Ten First Team, AVCA All-Region Team and AVCA All-America Third Team.

A Nebraska spokesperson said the school was aware of the situation, but had no further comment at the time.

Nebraska went 19-1 this past season, with its sole loss coming in the national championship.

Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.