LINCOLN — For the first time all season, No. 1 Nebraska got pushed — but then shoved back.

The Huskers trailed 23-22 in the third set against No. 20 Baylor, but there was no panic or worry in the team huddle during a timeout. While the coaches worked on strategy, senior defensive specialist Laney Choboy told her teammates they had trained for this moment. 

The top-ranked Huskers responded and won four of the next five rallies to earn a 25-20, 25-22, 26-24 victory over Baylor Friday night in front of 10, 497 fans at John Cook Arena. 

Bergen Reilly said all four seniors take turns leading the team, and today it was Choboy who took charge when the moment called for it. 

“All of us knew from that point on, like we were not losing that game,” Reilly said. “It’s not just one of us. It’s all four of us just instilling confidence in those that maybe haven’t been in those games, so it was really cool to see.”

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said she didn’t think Nebraska (6-0) was in danger of dropping the set based on the body language and communication among the players. 

“Even our bench was just giving a super confident vibe,” she said. “They were just talking about what we’re going to do to side out or score a point, and then they executed.”

The Huskers looked in control late in the third set after a kill from senior outside hitter Harper Murray put them up 22-19. However, Baylor (5-2) claimed the next four points to take a one-point lead. Following a timeout, senior middle blocker Andi Jackson pounded home a kill on a quick set, and then Murray fired an attack out of the back row to put NU up one.

After Baylor’s Victoria Davis knotted the set at 24-all with a kill, Manaia Ogbechie answered with a kill of her own, and Reilly finished it off with her third ace of the match. 

“It’s a good learning curve for us to figure out what we need in that moment, who we might need it from,” Murray said. “I think it’s just a good experience for us to understand that and see what’s going to work for us long-term.”

Reilly finished with 41 assists and nine digs while the Huskers hit .315 for the match. Murray put up 12 kills to match Ogbechie, who hit .571. 

Adriano finished with eight kills and a .385 hitting percentage, while Teraya Sigler and Jackson put up seven kills each. 

Baylor kept close in each of those sets before the Huskers pulled away late. The Bears closed to 17-16 in the first set before NU responded with three straight points to go up 20-16, and the teams traded side outs the rest of the way. 

In the second set, the Huskers were up 15-14 before going on a 5-1 run. Baylor closed to 23-21, but Sigler and Ogbechie provided the final two kills. 

Nebraska finished with only five blocks in the match, with Adriano in on three of them, as Baylor found ways to hit around and over the front-row defense, and NU recorded just two blocks over the first two sets. 

However, the floor defense picked up the slack as Olivia Mauch and Choboy each recorded 13 digs. Reilly chipped in nine, and Murray finished with seven. Overall, NU recorded 50 digs, with 24 in the third set alone. 

Additionally, Choboy added two aces, while Mauch had one.

“We’re going to rely on them to have those performances all the time,” Busboom Kelly said about Mauch and Choboy. “If we want to be where we want to be in December, they’re going to have to play that way consistently.”

Ksenia Rakhmanchik led the Bears with 18 kills. Baylor hit .235 for the match.  With the loss, Baylor fell to 0-33 all-time against Nebraska.

The Huskers will wrap up their first homestand of the season with a match against Georgia Tech at 2 p.m. 

Nebraska set two new attendance records in its first two home matches of the year, with attendance listed at 10,497 for both. 

Despite the increased capacity, several people at the press conferences said the environment felt a little quieter than in previous years. In addition to the expanded seating, the athletic department also went through a reseating process. 

Murray said she’s still getting used to all the changes and updates inside John Cook Arena, and perhaps the fans are too.  

“I feel like the fans have been a little quiet recently, so maybe everyone’s just getting used to the new arena, but so are we,” she said. “It’s always fun to play in here, but I think it’s a new adjustment for everyone.”

On Thursday night, Adriano said she enjoyed the student section behind the bench for the first two sets, but they could use more energy. She liked how they mirrored the action and cheers they did for every player when they went back to the service line. 

“I thought the beginning was a little bit quiet,” she said. “They also still need to get used to it.”

Busboom Kelly said the crowd was a little subdued for the opener but hoped the atmosphere would crank up against a ranked team like Baylor. 

“It was much different tonight than a big game,” Busboom Kelly said. “I expect more energy tomorrow for a ranked team, but obviously it looked great, felt great, everything was awesome about being back here.”

Nebraska players wore special golden jerseys during warmups as part of the Angels Among Us campaign, a local nonprofit that supports families dealing with pediatric cancer. 

Before the match, several of the Huskers threw their mini-volleyballs to special Angels Among Us guests wearing yellow shirts. Reilly also wore her jersey to the postgame press conference, along with the gold ribbon in her ponytail. 

Reilly said special matches where they play for others help put everything in perspective, and she admires the children’s strength as they battle cancer. 

“We want to win volleyball games, but there’s so much more to life than that, and there’s a lot of people fighting way harder battles than a volleyball game,” Reilly said. “It’s really awesome that a couple of those kids got to come and just experience that, and I hope that they got to take their mind off of what they’re going through for a couple hours.” 

Murray spent time a few weeks ago with Sami Ketelsen, an Omaha Skutt student fighting osteosarcoma. Murray, who lost her father to cancer when she was little, said she felt a connection to the cause. She was glad to have Ketelsen in the crowd tonight and to help raise awareness about children fighting cancer.

“I know we have such a big platform and we have such a big audience that I feel like this is just going to help their foundation and help the girls and boys that are a part of it feel more loved and supported,” she said. “I hope what comes out of it is those kids feel more love and support than they ever have.”