Nebraska Volleyball Handed First Loss Of Season Against Texas A&M In NCAA Regional Final
Perfection is a heavy thing to carry, and on Sunday afternoon inside the Devaney Center, the weight finally became too much for Nebraska.
For the first time since November 2022, the Huskers walked off their home court with a loss. But this wasn’t just a regular-season stumble; it was a season-ending heartbreak in the NCAA Regional Finals against Texas A&M. The Aggies came into Lincoln and pulled off a five-set thriller (25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 35-37, 15-13) that left 8,650 fans in stunned silence and ended the Huskers’ bid for a perfect season.
A Shaky Start For Nebraska
The vibes were off before the first serve even crossed the net. During warmups, Nebraska suffered a freak accident when Allie Sczech tripped on a stray ball. Seeing her return to the bench in street clothes later in the match was a gut punch that seemed to linger over the rotation.
Texas A&M smelled blood early. They weren’t intimidated by the sea of red or the No. 1 seed standing across the net. The Aggies took the first two sets by identical 25-22 scores, putting Nebraska in an unfamiliar 0-2 hole. The offense looked disjointed, the defense was half a step slow, and for a moment, it looked like the Huskers might get swept out of their own gym.
The Fourth Set Chaos
Nebraska finally woke up in the third set, thanks largely to Harper Murray, who decided she wasn’t ready for winter break just yet. But the real madness happened in the fourth.
If you have any fingernails left after watching that set, you probably weren’t paying attention.
It was absolute chaos. Nebraska clawed back from a six-point deficit to force bonus volleyball. It turned into a marathon of survival, with the Huskers staring down three match points. The tension in the arena was thick enough to cut with a knife, but somehow, they survived. Winning that set 37-35 felt less like a volleyball game and more like a heavyweight boxing match where both fighters refused to fall.
Heartbreak In the Fifth
After the adrenaline dump of the fourth set, you had to wonder if Texas A&M had anything left in the tank. Turns out, they did.
The fifth set is a sprint, not a marathon, and the Aggies got out of the blocks faster. Despite a heroic effort from Murray (who finished with a team-high 25 kills) and Rebekah Allick (15 kills), the Huskers couldn’t close the gap. When Logan Lednicky put down the final kill for A&M, the reality set in: the perfect run was over.
Texas A&M’s Kyndal Stowers and Lednicky combined for 49 kills, effectively countering Nebraska’s defense all afternoon. The Aggies now head to their first-ever Final Four, while the Huskers are left wondering “what if.”
Sports can be cruel. Nebraska gave us a season for the history books, winning 33 straight, but 33-1 is a stat line that will sting for a long time in Lincoln.
