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No. 2 Nebraska Volleyball Grabs Season-Opening Win Over No. 9 Kentucky

The Huskers topped Kentucky 3-1 in the first match of the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Louisville on Tuesday.

Kaleb Henry

Kentucky Wildcats Brooklyn DeLeye (17) spikes the ball during their game against University of Nebraska on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024 at the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Ky.
Kentucky Wildcats Brooklyn DeLeye (17) spikes the ball during their game against University of Nebraska on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024 at the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Ky. / Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Match one. Match won.

Nebraska volleyball (1-0) opened the season with a four-set win over No. 9 Kentucky (0-1) Tuesday, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15, 25. The No. 2 Huskers are now 12-2 all-time against the Wildcats and have won the last 11 meetings.

Defense was the name of the game for the Big Red during the first match of the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Louisville. NU tallied 18 blocks, led by the 12 from Rebekah Allick. Adding to the tremendous defense, Lexi Rodriguez notched a team-high 15 digs while Bergen Reilly added 11.

Kentucky volleyball and Nebraska volleyball fans cheered on their team during the AVCA First Serve Showcase at the KFC Yum!
Kentucky volleyball and Nebraska volleyball fans cheered on their team during the AVCA First Serve Showcase at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. on Aug. 27, 2024 / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Reilly had a double-double, racking up 39 assists to go with her double-digit digs.

Offensively, Nebraska hit .258 for the match. The Huskers had a poor second set, hitting just .054, but hit at least .333 in the three other sets.

The Wildcats hit .139 for the match, including .257 in their lone set victory.

A balanced attack had Nebraska in rhythm. Allick and Merritt Beason each had a team-high 11 kills. Andi Jackson was next with 10, followed by Harper Murray's eight and Lindsay Krause's seven.

Nebraska returns to Lincoln for a pair of matches this weekend: Friday vs. Texas A&M - Corpus Christi and Saturday vs. TCU.

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Kaleb Henry

KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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