The Fallout: A heartbreaker for Nebraska volleyball, but history for men’s basketball

Just like that, the Nebraska volleyball dream is dead.

The Huskers entered Sunday’s Elite 8 matchup against Texas A&M 33-0. Nebraska volleyball had won 72 of its last 73 sets. Yet, Nebraska volleyball lost the first two at home on Sunday.

It was shocking. The Aggies went on a 10-0 run in the first set. Andi Jackson, who set the Big Ten record for hitting percentage this season, hit below .100 and was benched.

Serve-receive was a major issue, just like it was in the 2023 national championship game. The passing wasn’t good enough and Bergen Reilly clearly wasn’t herself. Nebraska’s dominant offense hit below .300. Texas A&M hit .275.

The Aggies dominated the block and the service line, and the Huskers’ best players weren’t at their best when they needed to be. It’s a tough pill to swallow.

Nebraska volleyball players gave it everything they it had, but for the third year in a row, the Huskers will walk away without a national title as the No. 1 overall seed.

This felt like a team of destiny. Yet, sometimes, destiny has other ideas.

Historic win for Nebraska basketball

The bright spot remaining from this past weekend was the historic win for the Huskers in men’s basketball. Fred Hoiberg’s team won a top-25 matchup at the buzzer.

The 23rd-ranked Huskers are 11-0 and sure to move up, maybe as high as the top 15. The Huskers have two more buy games before a massive showdown against Michigan State, at the Vault on January 2nd.

Nebraska basketball is ranked 21st in the Kenpom rankings. The Huskers just defeated Illinois, which is ranked 16th, and Wisconsin (37th). The win over the Badgers was by 30, and even though we are only 1/3 of the way through the season, this feels like an all-time great Nebraska basketball team already.

Huskers stay undefeated in women’s basketball

The Huskers won twice this week in women’s basketball against low-major opponents, starting with an 87-35 win over Omaha on Tuesday. Callin Hake tied a career high with 17 points and six assists. She made three 3-pointers in the second stanza as 24th-ranked Nebraska rolled to an easy win.

Nebraska then used a 21-2 start to blow past Illinois State on Sunday, 85-44. Petra Bozan scored 14 points to lead the way for the Huskers. Britt Prince added 13.

Wait and see for Nebraska football

On the Nebraska football front, there isn’t much to report. The Huskers are still working to add Elijah Robinson. A new report over the weekend stated he wasn’t expected to end up with LSU or Texas A&M. Does that mean Nebraska or somewhere else?

Either way, adding a D-line coach has taken longer than expected, although if Robinson is the guy, he’s worth the wait. The Huskers are also in wait-and-see mode on Dylan Raiola.

CBS Sports has reported that Raiola is considering the transfer portal as he did last offseason. We haven’t heard anything from the Nebraska football quarterback since the season ended, but with the transfer portal opening on January 2nd, an announcement, one way or another, should come in the next two weeks.

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