Nebraska volleyball sweeps Kansas in NCAA Sweet 16: Score, highlights

The NCAA volleyball tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, Nebraska, continued its undefeated season on Friday.

The Huskers improved to 33-0 after sweeping No. 4 Kansas in the 2025 NCAA regional semifinal in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Huskers advance to the regional final to face No. 3 Texas A&M on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

Nebraska has not dropped a set in the postseason. In fact, the Huskers have dropped seven sets all season, the last coming nearly a month ago on Nov. 14 against UCLA.

‘We work really hard,’ said Andi Jackson, who finished with nine kills on .600 hitting, five blocks and two digs. ‘It’s all coming to fruition right now with just how many attempts we’re getting and how many kills we’re getting.’

USA TODAY Sports provided live updates and highlights from the match below:

Live score updates: Nebraska 3, Kansas 0

Set 3 final: Nebraska 25, Kansas 12

Nebraska swept Kansas after winning the third set, 25-12. The Huskers have now won 29 straight NCAA tournament matches at home. Andi Jackson (nine kills on .600 hitting) and Rebekah Allick (nine kills on 1.000 hitting) combined for 18 kills with no errors. Nebraska hit .450 collectively, while holding Kansas to .029 hitting.

Set 3: Nebraska first to 15 vs. Kansas

Nebraska is in the driver’s seat once again and was the first team to reach 15 points in the third set, leading 15-8. The Huskers are hitting .762, while Kansas is hitting .353 in the set so far.

Set 2 final: Nebraska 25, Kansas 11

No. 1 Nebraska went on a 5-0 run to claim the second set, 25-11. The Huskers have been dominant on both sides of the ball, recording 22 kills and 17 total blocks through the first two sets, all while holding Kansas to a negative hitting percentage (-.039).

‘Our blocking. That’s probably going to be a season high for us,’ Huskers coach Dani Busboom Kelly said when asked what she’s liking from her team. ‘I just feel like we came out on a mission. Our goal was to block a lot of balls tonight.’

Nebraska’s Rebekah Allick has been the hot hand, with nine kills on nine attempts, hitting a perfect 1.000. Andi Jackson added five kills on .500 hitting, in addition to five blocks.

Set 2: Nebraska 13, Kansas 7

The Huskers cruised through the first set, but the second set started out much closer. Kansas cut Nebraska’s lead to 9–7, but the Huskers responded with a 4–0 run to go up 13–7. Rebekah Allick has been the hot hand, with nine kills on nine attempts, hitting a perfect 1.000.

Set 1 final: Nebraska 25, Kansas 12

Nebraska looked every bit like the No. 1 overall seed in a dominant first set against No. 4 Kansas. The Huskers collectively hit .357 and registered six blocks against the Jayhawks, who were held to a negative hitting percentage (-.024) in the first set. Rebekah Allick led the Huskers with six kills on six attempts, while Andi Jackson added four blocks and three kills.

Nebraska takes 12-3 lead vs. Kansas

It was all Nebraska to start. The Huskers jumped to a 12-3 lead over Kansas. Andi Jackson is already up to four blocks for Nebraska, while Harper Murray and Bergen Reilly each added two blocks. Kansas is hitting -.200.

How to watch Nebraska volleyball tonight vs. Kansas

The game Friday begins at 9:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch, stream Nebraska volleyball play Kansas in NCAA tournament

ESPN2 will broadcast the Nebraska vs. Kansas match.

Live stream Nebraska volleyball on ESPN+ (subscriber only)

Nebraska volleyball’s starting lineup

Nebraska volleyball coaching staff

• Head Coach: Dani Busboom Kelly

Busboom succeeded longtime coach and mentor John Cook in January. The Nebraska alum won national titles with the program as a player in 2006 and as an assistant coach in 2015. Nebraska (32-0) has kicked off the Busboom Kelly era with its first undefeated season since 2000. Although Busboom Kelly said, ‘whoever is (coaching Nebraska) would be doing well,’ her players argue otherwise.

‘When (Busboom Kelly) came in here, that Nebraska standard wasn’t lost at all. She knew what she wanted and she really pushes us to reach that level,’ Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson told USA TODAY Sports.

Nebraska volleyball assistant coaches

• Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator: Jaylen Reyes
• Assistant Coach: Kelly (Hunter) Natter
• Interim Assistant Coach: Brennan Hagar

How tall is Harper Murray?

Harper Murray is listed at 6-foot-2.

How tall is Andi Jackson?

Andi Jackson is listed at 6-foot-3.

Nebraska women’s volleyball roster

Kansas volleyball’s starting lineup

Kansas women’s volleyball roster

Check out Harper Murray’s pregame routine

Nebraska outside hitter Harper Murray carefully tapes her hands before every match.

She inscribes ’27’ on the tape binding her left ring finger in honor of her late father Vada Murray, who died when she was 5 years old. He wore No. 27 while playing football at Michigan. Murray then writes former coach John Cook’s initials on her left pointer finger, ‘a father figure’ that helped her grow as a player. She also adds Huskers head coach Dani Busboom Kelly’s initials on her middle finger as a reminder to lay it all on the line.

Nebraska setter Campbell Flynn suffers season-ending injury

Freshman setter Campbell Flynn suffered a broken pinky finger, according to former head coach John Cook’s pregame radio show. Flynn will be out the remainder of the season with the injury. The freshman averaged 4.50 assists per set.

Nebraska has three Player of the Year semifinalists

When the AVCA Player of the Year semifinalists were announced in November, Nebraska had three of the 14 players on the list — Andi Jackson, Harper Murray and junior setter Bergen Reilly. It’s another example of the Huskers’ depth.

‘We have arguably the best in each position for the country,’ Andi Jackson told USA TODAY Sports. ‘We have the best setter in the country, we have the best outside in the country. And I think it just shows how strong our team is, especially at that front row that we have. When Harper (Murray), Bergen (Reilly) and I are up, we always give each other a smile because we know what we have to offer.’

The trio led Nebraska to the nation’s top hitting percentage (.353) and fourth-highest kill per set mark (14.72).

NCAA volleyball tournament regionals schedule

Friday, Dec. 12

• No. 1 Texas 3, No. 4 Indiana 0 
• No. 3 Wisconsin 3, No. 2 Stanford 1 
• No. 3 Texas A&M 3, No. 2 Louisville 2
• No. 1 Nebraska 3, No. 4 Kansas 0

Saturday, Dec. 13

• No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Creighton, 5 p.m. | ESPN2
• No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 3 Purdue, 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Sunday, Dec. 14

• No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 3 Texas A&M, 3 p.m. ET | ABC
• No. 1 Texas vs. No. 3 Wisconsin, 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

NCAA women’s volleyball bracket

Find the full NCAA women’s volleyball tournament bracket on the NCAA website.

Nebraska stats, top players

Nebraska’s nation-leading offense is led by junior outside hitter Harper Murray (347 kills), junior middle blocker Andi Jackson (273) and senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick (235).

Murray also leads the team in service aces (30) and is among the top four on defense for digs. (212). Allick and Jackson lead the team in blocks (121 and 112, respectively).

Setter Bergen Reilly (1,011 assists) runs the show and also is second on the team for digs (264), behind Laney Choboy (276 digs). Olivia Mauch (256 digs) joins them in keeping the ball off the floor.

Kansas stats, top players

Kansas has a trio of heavy hitters with Jovana Zelenovic (369 kills), who also leads the team with 46 serving aces; Rhian Swanson (346 kills); and Reese Ptacek (325 kills).

Senior Katie Dalton (769 assists) and sophomore Cristin Cline (552 assists) anchor the team at the setter position. On defense, Ryan White (5-8 digs) and Grace Nelson (298 digs) lead the way.

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