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'A Gift' to Nebraska Volleyball: Merritt Beason Leads Huskers Over Arizona State

Senior outside hitter Merritt Beason, led No. 5 Nebraska Volleyball to a three-set victory over No. 14 Arizona State on Friday night.

Maren Angus-Coombs

Nebraska hitter Merritt Beason goes on the attack against Arizona State.
Nebraska hitter Merritt Beason goes on the attack against Arizona State. / Nebraska Athletics

A large amount of responsibility has been placed on the shoulders of Nebraska volleyball's senior outside hitter Merritt Beason this season.

As the captain of this year's squad, there are high expectations for her to perform at the same level or better than she did last season which earned her AVCA All-America First Team honors.

This season didn't start how she would've liked, but she appeared to turn a corner on Friday night against No. 14 Arizona State when she sparked No. 5 Nebraska with 15 kills on .429 hitting.

Nebraska secured its third top-15 win of the season, and second of the week, with a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-19) sweep over the Sun Devils in front of 8,772 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

"Little rough start to the season but that's ok," Beason said after Friday's win. "My teammates were great, my coaches were great and we just had to figure there for a little bit. Like I said last time I was sitting in this chair sometimes you have to take a step backward to go forward two steps.

"I think without them (teammates) and without my coaches, it probably would have lasted a lot longer but I'm definitely feeling back into rhythm and connecting with Bergen and making sure that I'm being creative. Definitely feels like Merritt."

Throughout her answer, Beason acknowledged her teammate Rebekah Allick who was sitting to the right, and when Beason finished it was time for Allick to speak up.

Nebraska volleyball Merritt Beason gets her hands on the ball for a block against Arizona State.
Nebraska volleyball Merritt Beason gets her hands on the ball for a block against Arizona State. / Amarillo Mullen

"I want to add that Merritt is an incredibly hard worker and she already holds herself to such a high standard," Allick said. "Coach is constantly giving her stuff. I mean she was a first-team All-American last season and like she said, sometimes you're gonna have to take a step backward because she's constantly having to figure out how to get back to being on that top team, being an All-American all over again.

"I feel like even describing her not being at her top game, she was still capitalizing whether it was communication, blocking. It may not have been seen through attacks but she was covering the court in every other way."

Beason thanked her teammate with a pat on the back before they returned to fielding other questions but the emotion on her face was evident.

"She's a gift," said head coach John Cook. "She's an amazing leader. She's an amazing person. Anybody that wants to be a third-grade school teacher, that's all you gotta know about it. It was really good to see her play well because we needed her to have a big match."

Up next for the Huskers is a matinee against Wichita State on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the final match of the Nebraska Classic. The match will be streamed on B1G+. 

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Maren Angus-Coombs

MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

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