No. 2 Huskers defeat No. 20 Trojans, but Batenhorst gets warm welcome

The Devaney Center gave former Husker ally Batenhorst a warm welcome, but the Huskers weren't nearly as kind to their USC team as No. 2 Nebraska defeated the No. 20 Trojans on Sunday to begin the first week of Big Ten play. to finish games.

Nebraska picked up its sixth top-25 win of the season with a 25-18, 25-22, 25-16 victory over the Trojans, hitting .245 and holding USC to .137.

“That was kind of a weird game with Tyler (Hildebrand) over there and Ally, and you can see how close Ally still is to all those guys,” coach John Cook said. “And it was just weird. USC came out and had a great game plan…but I thought we did a great job adjusting. We kept them to zero in the last game, so we're really proud of our team…

“Every 3-0 win in the Big Ten is a relief and a great effort because these teams are so good and so talented. Our team did a really good job tonight and our crowd was great tonight. There was a lot of excitement in the air this evening; you could feel it down there.”

Batenhorst transferred to USC after graduating from Nebraska for three years. She received a loud and sustained ovation when the starting lineup was announced, and some fans showed their appreciation throughout the game as she made a big entrance. Upon her return to Lincoln, she finished with 13 kills on .242 hitting and nine digs.

“Even though she’s from Texas, she’s a Nebraska girl,” Cook said. “Her parents are from Nebraska. Her father's family farm is in northeast Nebraska. She's a husker and I think people loved watching her play. She did a great job on social media and then you can see how close she is still with our players. So there's just an emotional connection and she trained with us all spring.

“She is part of our family and I think our fans know that and have rewarded her for it. I felt bad for her because I tried to go through all that and then play, but she played great. So good for her; you can't prepare for that. There are no classes to prepare for a moment like this.”

Batenhorst fought back tears during the fans' ovation, then showed her emotions again as Lexi Rodriguez, Harper Murray and Kennedi Orr presented her with a mini volleyball containing notes from all the team members.

“It was great,” Murray said. “Ally is one of my best friends and I still talk to her every weekend. We kind of set up a time every Sunday to talk. It was really nice to see them and we saw them last night too. It was great that she was able to come here and play against us because obviously the Husker nation really welcomed her. I know she was excited and it was kind of emotional for her, but I think it was really fun.”

Batenhorst's emotions ran high after the game when she talked about the ovations and gifts from her former teammates.

“I think everyone saw me cry; That was cool,” said Batenhorst. “I was just completely overwhelmed by the joy and so much support. I'll cry again if I talk about it. It was just great to see everyone. It was just amazing and Husker Nation is so sweet and means so much to me… (The volleyball) was so sweet and they wrote little notes about it. It just means the world to me. I love her.”

Murray led the Huskers with 12 kills on .259 hitting and two aces. Merritt Beason added 11 kills while hitting .250, nine digs and an ace. Rodriguez recorded a game-high 13 digs, while Bergen Reilly finished with 33 assists, eight digs, three kills (on three attacks) and one ace.

As a team, Nebraska served four aces with eight errors and allowed just one ace. The Trojans failed 13 times from the service line.

USC entered the weekend ranked third in the country with a blocks performance of 3.17 per set, but the Huskers limited the Trojans to 2.5 blocks throughout the game.

“It's hard to block when you hit high and hard, but I think before this game we knew our balanced offense was going to be tested,” Beason said. “So it was just a matter of being us and being Harper and Merritt and knowing that Bergen would put us in good situations and good scenarios and then just do what we do every day. What makes our team so special at the moment is our balance. It makes it very difficult to defend.”

Nebraska took an early 6-3 lead, helped by three Trojan service errors and a Beason ace, but USC tied the score with three straight plays, including back-to-back Batenhorst kills. Nebraska responded with a 7-2 run to take USC's first timeout, 13-8.

The Huskers made another run late – eight in a row on Murray's serve – to secure the set point. The Trojans weren't easily defeated, scoring six straight goals to extend the set, but Lindsay Krause finally ended the game with a swing through the block and downfield.

Nebraska hit .364 despite a few late errors and held USC to .192, although Batenhorst posted a career-high six kills, hitting .364.

The second set was more back-and-forth than the first, with eight ties and four lead changes in the first 17 rallies before the Trojans managed to grab a small lead at 10-8 and then 13-10. However, Nebraska calmed down and went on a 5-0 run with Olivia Mauch at the service line to take a 21-18 lead.

Nebraska traded sideouts the rest of the game and took a 2-0 lead at the break when USC's seventh service error of the night ended the set. After hitting just one shot in the first set (a back row error), Murray managed nine kills on 15 swings in the second set as Nebraska hit .262 to .205.

“We talked about it, my energy was a little low, and I don't know if that was because I had a set or whatever it was,” Murray said. “Bergen and I were able to connect better in the second set. I just don't think there were many opportunities to get me the ball and we kind of had the ball in the first set. So I don't think it really matters, but I think it definitely helped me in the second set has to get going.”

The third set initially looked a lot like the second, with six ties in the first 13 rallies, but the Huskers turned it into a rout by outscoring USC 12-3 over the next 15 points. USC's service woes continued with three more errors (including one on match point) as Nebraska cruised to victory.

Nebraska limited USC to five kills and .000 hits in the third set.

The Huskers were one of six Big Ten teams to lose 2-0 in the first weekend of conference play. They will look to continue that start next week with their first Big Ten road game on Thursday at Illinois.