Nebraska volleyball (33-1, 20-0) suffered its first loss of the year to Texas A&M (27-4, 14-1) in the Elite Eight in a five-set thriller on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
It has been over 1,100 days since the Huskers lost at home, with the last match dropped being against Minnesota, on Nov. 26, 2022. The streak of 63 consecutive matches won has come to an end.
“I have to look back at the match,” Texas A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said. “I think it was one of the best matches played in the sport.”
From the beginning to the end, the Huskers did not give up once. Sunday marked the end of what was intended to be one of the greatest seasons in program history.
“I’m proud of the way we fought back, we played our hearts out,” Nebraska head coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. “We had a lot of things against us this week, and we still came this close.”
Despite the uncharacteristic match for Nebraska, two Huskers posted career-highs in kills.
Junior outside hitter Harper Murray played lights out, posting 25 kills on 51 swings and did all she could. Also, senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick put up 15, hitting .480.
“Bekka [Allick] has put her heart and soul into this program,” Murray said. “She is leaving behind a great legacy, and has so much to be proud of.”
Set one:
Nebraska started the first five points of the match with lots of momentum, sparking John Cook Arena to be the loudest it’s been all season.
Murray was responsible for the early points of the set, as she recorded four kills and a block.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Bob that loud. Today it was so so loud,” Murray said. “It’s hard to beat us in our own gym, and they found a way to do that.”
When Nebraska led 15-10, an attacking error from junior middle blocker Andi Jackson changed the tide of the match upside down.
The Aggies proceeded to go on a 10-0 scoring run, which put Nebraska in an uncomfortable situation, an obstacle that they haven’t had to face a ton this season.
“We always talk about that response is everything,” senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla said. “Coming into this match, we knew who we were playing.”
Texas A&M sophomore outside hitter Kyndall Stowers accounted for most of the Aggies’ offensive production. In the set, she notched six of her 25 kills and hit .327 in the afternoon.
When Texas A&M led 21-19, head coach Dani Busboom Kelly subbed in senior defensive specialist Maisie Boesiger to serve. Following the substitute, Boesiger served, and the play was capped with a double block off the hands of senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick and freshman opposite hitter Virginia Adriano.
“My biggest thing is for them to lead by example,” Allick said. “For me, mine was Lexi Rodriguez; whether it was a handhold or a hug, everything she did was intentional.”
Although Nebraska ignited a 3-0 scoring run of its own in the red zone, Texas A&M pulled through to win the set, 25-22, marking the eighth set the Huskers have dropped all season.
Set two:
Nebraska started the second set looking like it had gained its confidence back, with a service ace from freshman outside hitter Teraya Sigler. Soon after, the Aggies fired back immediately, with a small 3-0 scoring run.
The set was back and forth up until the 11-11 mark, which is when Stowers began to catch fire. She recorded four kills in the set, as did senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky, who finished the match with 24.
The Huskers only hit .211, a drastic dropoff from the team’s season average. Meanwhile, the Aggies hit an even .400. In addition, Texas A&M put up eight service aces through two. Choboy was held responsible for most, with five reception errors.
Aside from the offensive aspect, Nebraska struggled to block as well, not recording a single one, while Texas A&M chalked up six.
For the first time since Aug. 31 against Kentucky, the Huskers dropped the first two sets of the match, and their ninth all year. Lednicky’s kill took the set for the Aggies, 25-22.
Set three:
Nebraska had no other choice than to wake up, as its season was on the line, down two sets to none. It was its final chance.
As a collective, the Huskers hit .462 on the set and tallied 15 kills. The team looked completely different in the set, with much less nerves.
Adriano looked much more comfortable on the floor, providing lots of important big plays at the right time. She had three kills in the set and eight in the match.
The Huskers earned its first set of the afternoon, 25-20, backed by Murray reaching 16 kills on 29 swings.
Set four:
In another do-or-die set for the Huskers, it did not disappoint in any means, going into deuce volleyball.
Busboom Kelly decided to use her challenge on a play that she expected was going to be unsuccessful, to allow her team a chance to rest.
Following the timeout, a 4-0 scoring run came for the Huskers at the perfect time.
The Huskers had a chance to close out the set 10 times, but A&M kept firing back. Allick posted five kills in the set and hit with aggression on every swing.
“I’ve never been in a situation like that,” Murray said. “That set showed that we weren’t going to let them just take it from us on our court, in our home gym.”
Nebraska stayed alive to win the set 37-35, pushing the match to five.
“I couldn’t hear myself think,” Texas A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said. “I remember looking around thinking, this is amazing.”
Murray reached a new career-high in kills with 25, breaking her previous record of 23, on Aug. 31 against Kentucky earlier in the year.
Set five:
After a competitive set in the fourth, Nebraska knew it had lots to take care of. They had to trust junior setter Bergen Reilly, even with the sickness she fought all week, who finished with 58 assists.
“She is such a big part of our team,” Murray said. “She’s the best setter I have ever played with. The fact that she went out there and played her butt off is truly amazing. I love her to death.”
Ogbechie replaced Jackson at middle blocker position for good at the end of the fourth. Jackson, who recently set the new Big Ten conference hitting percentage record, did not touch the floor in the fifth at all.
“Manaia and her [Jackson] have pretty similar tendencies, so it wasn’t that different,” Morrison said. “They didn’t mix as much distance on the slide, so that eased things up a bit.”
At 13-9, Nebraska went on a 3-0 scoring run to bring it within one point. Two of the next three kills belonged to Lednicky, which brought the match to an end.
“I am proud that we are on the way to developing something that they have similar here at Nebraska,” Morrison said. “I have a lot of respect for this volleyball program, the atmosphere and the community here.”
Texas A&M will advance to the semifinals and face Pittsburgh in the Final Four in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.
“When I was being recruited, I wanted to go to a school that wasn’t already well-developed,” Cos-Okpalla said. “I wanted to be somewhere that could be one of the top programs in the country, to be sitting here after beating Nebraska is insane.”
Last thoughts:
The 2025 Nebraska season reached the end of its journey, but it was an incredible one that people around the world will never forget.
“My biggest message to this team is to stick to the people that we trust,” Murray said. “We have so much to be proud of; we wouldn’t be able to do what we do, without everyone who supports us.”
Busboom Kelly’s first season at the helm is now over, but she is proud of how her team performed throughout the year.
“I think of how this team really trusted each other and this staff,” Busboom Kelly said. “As a coach, I don’t feel upset. We maxed out today, we can walk away knowing that we gave it our all.”