LINCOLN—The last time Tony Trifonov visited Lincoln, he scored one of the biggest upsets in Nebraska volleyball history.
Trifonov brought Florida A&M to Nebraska in 2004 and scored a four-set victory over the second-ranked Huskers in front of a stunned crowd at the NU Coliseum.
He returned this year with Long Island University and even stayed in the same hotel he had 21 years ago, but he was not as fortunate with the outcome. No. 1 Nebraska rolled the overmatched Sharks 25-11, 25-15, 25-17 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night in front of 8,656 at the Devaney Center.
Trifonov made the tournament 10 times with Florida A&M, once with Chicago State and in his first year at LIU. He’s seen a lot in his time, but left the match against NU impressed.
“This team is incredible,” Trifonov said. “This year’s team is probably one of the best teams that I’ve seen put together in NCAA volleyball.”
With the win, Nebraska advances to play Kansas State Saturday night in the second round of the tournament.
Against LIU, the Huskers (31-0) set a new rally-scoring postseason school record with a .476 hitting percentage as they amassed 47 kills in the three sets and just eight hitting errors.
Nebraska middle blocker Rebekah Allick attacks against LIU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She helped Nebraska set a new rally-scoring record with a .476 hitting percentage. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN
Nebraska’s middle blockers posted dominant performances as they both terminated 10 times on 12 swings. Andi Jackson finished with an .833 hitting percentage while Allick committed one error for a .750 efficiency. Even freshman Manaia Ogbechie made the best of her brief appearance in the third set as she recorded three kills on five attacks.
Jackson’s .833 is the best hitting percentage posted by a NU player in the postseason, surpassing the .824 mark from Cecilia Hall in a four-set win in 2014. Allick also would have broken the previous three-set record (.737 in 2003) and owns the third-best all-time postseason performance.
Allick said NU is playing well right now, and Reilly feeds them the ball in rallies where it might be forced a bit, but they can still deliver.
“I think I speak for all middles — We love when we get the ball,” Allick said. That’s something we understood from a young age, especially in this position, is with the opportunities you’re given, you have to deliver.”
The LIU defense had little answer for their slide attacks or quick sets from Bergen Reilly, who finished with 39 assists and 11 digs. For the match, the Sharks only dug Nebraska’s middle a combined four times on 29 swings. On one of the rare occasions LIU kept an attack from Jackson up, the 6-foot-3 junior attempted a backwards dump on second contact, but the Sharks covered the play.
Jackson said she wasn’t thinking on the play, but just reacting to the moment. She heard Reilly behind her but saw the ball drifting toward the net, so she tried to make something happen.
There’s so much confidence within our team, and I think we’ve earned the right to have that confidence, especially coming off of winning the Big Ten,” Jackson said. “We’ve worked really, really hard all season. We know that we’re 0-0 now, and we don’t want to get complacent during the tournament…With this team, that’s not an issue. We come in, we work hard every single day, and I think that it’s really translating into our play. Every single game, we just continue to get better, and we’re looking to continue that streak.”
Virginia Adriano celebrates the first of her six kills. She also had five blocks for the Huskers. | Amarillo Mullen
NU’s other attackers also posted solid performances. Outside hitters Taylor Landfair and Harper Murray finished with seven kills each, and freshman opposite Virginia Adriano added six kills on a .308 hitting percentage.
Olivia Mauch started at libero and tied Reilly for the team high of 11 digs. Adriano and Jackson posted five blocks each.
Nebraska used all 14 players on its bench against the Sharks. It briefly used a 6-2 offense in the second set, with freshman Campbell Flynn and Allie Sczech getting on the court. Maisie Boesiger served in the second set, and Skyler Pierce recorded a kill in the third set.
NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said she made it a point to get everyone playing time so they could get an early taste of the intensity of postseason matches. She said she expects them to help the Huskers later in this tournament and wants them to play with confidence.
“You want to get them to get some jitters out and their first kill or touches behind them. That way they can look forward, and they’ve done it, and they know what it feels like,” she said. “Even the atmosphere tonight, you can just feel there’s a little extra, so I know they’re feeling it on the court.”
Kansas State won the other first-round match 21-25, 25-17, 26-28, 25-22, 15-12 over No. 8 seed San Diego. The win came in the Wildcats’ first postseason appearance since 2016.
Lincoln Southwest grad Shaylee Myers of Kansas State attacks against San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Devaney Center. Myers will face her hometown Huskers in the second round. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN
KSU improved to 6-3 in matches that go the distance for the season. It took control of the game against the Toreros by jumping out to a 5-0 lead.
“We played a lot of five-set matches this season, so we were pretty confident, as a group, heading into that fifth set, and I liked our start.” KSU coach Jason Mansfield said.
Lincoln Southwest graduate Shaylee Myers led the Wildcats with 26 kills on a .328 hitting percentage. Papillion-La Vista South product Ava LeGrand finished with 49 assists, 14 digs, four kills, six blocks and two aces.
LeGrand, who played twice at Devaney Center while winning state championships with the Titans, is looking forward to playing the Huskers.
“Nebraska is a great team. They’ve proven it all season, but I think we’ve got to focus on us. We have to be the aggressor from the start,” she said. “I’m excited to see the scouting report, but I think it comes down to us, how we recover tonight, and how we get our minds right.”
The Wildcats are familiar with postseason play in Lincoln, as they have made their sixth trip north since 2011. Their only win came in that first meeting when KSU knocked off the No. 2 overall seed Huskers in the NU Coliseum.
Busboom Kelly expects a tough matchup against their old Big 12 Conference rivals.
“They’ve got a lot of Nebraska girls. I’m sure they’re going to be out to get us, and pretty fired up,” she said. “It’s not necessarily a rivalry, but it almost feels like it, because of the Nebraska connections. So I’m sure a lot of things are going to be thrown out the window, and anything can happen in matches like that with the makeup of who is on the court.
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