Nebraska volleyball falls to Oregon in five-set classic

Nebraska volleyball’s post season run has come to an end. The Huskers came up short against the Oregon Ducks 25-14, 24-26, 25-22, 30-32, 11-15.

Thursday’s match was a test of the “defense wins championships” adage. Nebraska entered the match with a .123 opponent hitting percentage, the top mark in the country. Oregon’s high-octane offense boasted the fourth best hitting percentage in the land at .298 and the Ducks had won 15 consecutive matches.

The Huskers held Oregon to .217, below their season average, but couldn’t match the Ducks on the offensive end. Here is a recap of what transpired in Nebraska’s Regional Semifinal defeat.

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Each team traded blows in the first 20 rallies.

Nebraska took a four point lead, 11-7, off consecutive kills from Lindsay Krause. Oregon cut the Husker lead to 11-9, but Nebraska claimed five straight bouts and took a 16-9 advantage. The Huskers had relatively smooth sailing from there closing the first set on a 18-8 run and claiming a 25-14 win.

Fittingly, Nebraska opened and closed the set with a block. NU held the Ducks to a .026 hitting percentage, totaled 23 digs and added three aces in the win. Krause, Kaitlyn Hord, Ally Batenhorst and Madi Kubik posted three kills in the set.

Oregon came out on fire in the second set.

The Ducks set the tone with an ace to begin the set and used that momentum to build their largest lead of the match at 10-7. Nebraska evened it at 12 with the help of several Oregon attack errors, but the Ducks capitalized on an assortment of Husker miscues to make it 18-14 forcing a timeout from NU head coach John Cook.

That’s when Nebraska responded.

A 6-0 Husker run, punctuated by a Batenhorst kill, gave NU a 22-20 lead. Oregon rallied with back-to-back kills from freshman Mimi Colyer to knot the set at 22 and bring her kill total to 12. Four points later, the score was tied at 24 and Oregon quickly claimed the second set in extras 26-24.

The Ducks vastly improved their attack with .283 hitting percentage in the second. Colyer’s kills and .393 hit percentage led all attackers with more than 20 swings.

Digs: Nebraska volleyball up against fast-paced Oregon team in Sweet 16

Oregon gained the first separation in the third set, yet it was short lived. The Ducks held a 13-10 lead before Nebraska fought back to tie it at 13-13. Oregon regained a two-point edge and, once again, the Huskers tied it and then took the lead with a 3-0 run. With the help of a pair of favorable reviews, Nebraska grew its lead to two and hung on for dear life.

The Huskers took the third 25-22 on an Oregon service error and held a commanding 2-1 lead in the match.

The margin for error was slim to none in the fourth. There were 12 ties and three lead changes before either team could find solid footing. Batenhorst pushed Nebraska ahead 15-13 with a pair of aces and a kill to continue her outstanding Sweet 16 showing.

The Huskers maintained their lead until a 3-0 run from Oregon made for the set’s 13th tie at 20-20. The Ducks didn’t slow down. Oregon forced a set point at 24-22, yet Nebraska fought off both. A 3-0 run put the Huskers up 25-24, but that was far from the last lead change.

In the final 13 rallies, there were six ties, four lead changes and five set points before the Ducks came out on top in a 32-30 finish to the fourth.

A Krause kill began the race to 15. Yet, it was Oregon that snagged control with a 3-0 run to build a 6-2 lead and claim a Nebraska timeout. The Huskers couldn’t respond. A 4-0 Ducks run put Oregon up 10-4. Soon the Ducks had match point. In a 14-5 hole, Nebraska fought off six consecutive set points to make it 14-11.

Then Oregon slammed the door. Kiari Robey pounded the ball to the middle of the floor and ended the Huskers’ season.

Nebraska’s sophomore pin hitters were outstanding. Krause led the team with 16 kills, hitting at a .324 clip and added six blocks. Batenhorst and Whitney Lauenstein posted 15 and 12 kills respectively. Hord provided seven kills and nine blocks in a losing effort.

It wasn’t enough.

Colyer led Oregon with 26 prolific kills on 71 swings and was assisted by Brooke Nuneviller’s 16 kills on 56 attempts.

Nebraska finishes its season 26-6 and two wins shy of a Final Four trip to Omaha.

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