Hunter posts a career-best against her home-state Tar Heels, while Murray breaks out of slump and the Huskers record their best serving night since 2005.
LINCOLN — On her first swing of the match, Ryan Hunter’s attack sailed long.
The point gave North Carolina a 12-8 lead in the third set, with the match tied 1-1. During the ensuing timeout, NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly told Hunter not to let the error bother her and to stay aggressive and swing away.
Hunter took the message to heart and recorded two kills during a 4-0 run after the timeout, firing up her teammates and the crowd of 10,497 in John Cook Arena. Hunter carried that hot streak the rest of the match as the Charlotte, N.C., native finished with six kills on a .714 hitting percentage and sparked the top-ranked Huskers to a 25-14, 20-25, 25-21, 25-10 win over No. 25 UNC Friday night.
“She brought that fire and that energy,” Busboom Kelly said about Hunter. “That’s the type of player she is. Super energetic, super athletic. She’s not going to tip.”
It was a special match for Hunter, who was playing against several former club teammates and friends from her home state. During the lineup introductions, the 6-foot-2 opposite went over to the Tar Heels and hugged several players before giving her ball to Laynie Smith, who also played at Triangle Volleyball Club.
Ryan Hunter celebrates after a point against her home-state Tar Heels. The sophomore opposite finished with six kills on seven swings after entering the match in the third set. | Nebraska AthleticsHunter said it was great to see many of her old friends and lineup and go against them on the court. She rode the energy during the final set and a half she was on the court.
“I already felt fired up on the bench, so that helped along the way,” Hunter said. “I fed off my teammates, fed off the crowd and, yeah, had a great time.”
Harper Murray also came alive during the last set and half offensively. She put away two out-of-system kills during the 4-0 run that tied the third set. Then, to start the fourth set, the senior outside hitter recorded four kills on touch calls on four consecutive rallies. North Carolina tried to challenge one of the plays, but to no avail. After her fourth kill, UNC called a timeout, and their coach, Mike Schall, spent most of the break talking to the down official.
Murray tied her season high with 12 kills and hit .346 for the match. She said she hasn’t been the happiest with her performance this season — Murray entered the match with a .178 hitting percentage — but she’s been working with associate head coach Jaylen Reyes on her footwork and fine-tuning her shot.
“I definitely haven’t been feeling the most confident recently, but it’s so early on, and I just have to keep reminding myself of that,” Murray said. “I know it’s going to work out. I just have to give it time and let it run its course because volleyball is a game of errors. It’s never going to be perfect, but I definitely feel like this game was a good start to getting my confidence back.”
Nebraska (9-0) also dominated the match from the service line with 13 aces. Five different players notched an ace, led by three from Teraya Sigler, Olivia Mauch and Laney Choboy. Murray and Andi Jackson added two each.
All of Choboy’s aces came during an 8-0 run in the third set that put the Huskers up 12-1. Hunter said she was proud of her fellow North Carolina native for her great service game, along with her seven digs.
“Lainey is one of my biggest cheerleaders. I feel very connected to her when we’re both screaming and yelling,” Hunter said. “I’m happy when she’s out there killing it, acing it, passing it up — all the good things.”
The 13 aces are a Devaney Center record and the most by the team since they totaled 14 against Alabama A&M in 2005. In addition to scoring points, NU’s tough serving helped limit the UNC attack, which finished with a .123 hitting percentage. Chelsea Thorpe led the Tar Heels (4-3) with 14 kills on 31 attacks.
Murray is glad their work on serving has paid off. She said they dread serving time during practice — she’d rather play high-energy six-on-six drills — but they know it is paying off.
“Games like this that really show the training part of practice is so important,” she said. “Throughout the whole season, it’s been really good, and I feel like it’s improved a lot since last year. When the other team is out of system, and they’re not passing well, it makes our job a lot easier.”
Andi Jackson put up a solid game with 10 kills on a .571 hitting percentage. Manaia Ogbechie returned after missing Wednesday’s match against Creighton with an illness and finished with seven kills and four blocks. Sigler also added seven kills. Mauch led the floor defense with 10 digs.
Reilly tallied 34 assists, three kills and eight digs. With her total tonight, she passed Greichaly Cepero for fourth place on Nebraska’s all-time career assists leaderboard and now has 4,001 in her NU career.
Busboom Kelly said she was glad the team responded after easing up on their intensity in the second set. UNC finished with five aces, and three of those came in the second set.
“I think our passing broke down a little bit. I just thought we got tight,” she said. “Overall, we just let our foot off the gas and got a little complacent. So it was good to see us come out after the break and play really well and fight really hard.”
The Huskers will have a day off Saturday as North Carolina faces Florida Gulf Coast at noon. The Eagles will then play Nebraska on Sunday at noon to wrap up the Ameritas Players Challenge.
