Kansas @ Nebraska 12-12-2025 WVB Third Round

Dear Readers~

    It's now time for the third round (also called the Regional Semifinals) of the 2025 NCAA Division 1 National Championships as I cover so many people's favorite (or least favorite) team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, as they take on the Kansas Jayhawks. As someone from Kansas, I grew up around Kansas (and Kansas State, who Nebraska beat in the second round) fans and a few Nebraska fans so that's how this game was chosen. By this point in the bracket, there have been a total of 48 teams eliminated compared to the 64 teams that were on the bracket for the first round. Nebraska beat LIU in the first round then Kansas State in the second round while Kansas beat High Point in the first round and Miami in the second round. This matchup took place at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, so remember that for next week's game. In this "Nebraska quadrant" of the bracket, the only two teams remaining for the other third round are Texas A&M taking on Louisville. If you read about the last game, you know who won but for those who didn't, or may not remember, they will be playing the winner of this game in a later game I'll be covering, so stay tuned.

    Now that we've covered what each team did to get here after making the national championships, let's see how their records looked prior to the first round. Nebraska was the #1 team in the nation as they were sitting at 30-0 for the regular season while Kansas was sitting at 22-10. After each team won the first and second rounds to make it to this point, Nebraska is still undefeated while Kansas is at 24-10. Will Kansas be the first to beat Nebraska or will Nebraska prove once again why they're #1 in the nation and have been all season long?

    Before we get any further into today's game, let's see who's coaching the Huskers and who's coaching the Jayhawks. Up first is the Jayhawks from Lawrence. They are coached by Matt Ulmer as Head Coach. The Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator is Erika Dillard. The Offensive Coach and Associate Head Coach is Matt Werle. The Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator is Arica Nassar. The Director of Operations is Maggie Bowen. The Technical Coordinator is Tori Hohlios. The support staff includes Ann Wallace, who is the Associate Director of Athletic Training-Olympic Sports (VB), and Luke Bradford, who is the Director- Sports Performance (BSB, VB). Now we have the hosting Huskers from Lincoln. Their Head Coach is Dani Busboom Kelly (known also as DBK, her initials). The Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator is Jaylen Reyes. The other Assistant Coach is Kelly (Hunter) Natter. The Interim Assistant Coach is Brennan Hagar. The support staff includes Lindsay Peterson (Director of Operations), Nate Wilson (Video and Administrative Coordinator), Joni Duff (Volleyball Administrative Assistant), Jolene Emricson (Associate Athletic Trainer (Volleyball)), Brian Kmitta (Director of Olympic Sports Performance (Volleyball, Bowling)), Kristen Brown (Deputy AD- Senior Woman Administrator (Sport Administrator)), and Kate Frazier (Assistant Director of Life Skills (Secondary Sport Administrator)).

    If you've been following along this season, I'm sure you have an idea of how the sport works in the NCAA and the national championships are no different but for those who haven't seen my coverage of some of the earlier games in the season (or the first two rounds), let's explain. The NCAA indoor games are played anywhere from 3 to 5 sets. If you win 3 sets, you've won the game but if you lose 3 sets, you've lost the game, and this is the point in the season where if you lose 3 sets, your season is over. The game can last anywhere from 3 to 5 sets, depending on how long it takes one team to win three sets. The first four sets are played first to 25 (which happens very often unless you're Nebraska (sorry Kansas) or Kentucky for example) while the fifth set (if needed) is played first to 15. The thing is each set requires a lead of 2 points or more for the set to conclude. With most sets playing to 25, each team is given two timeouts for each set, just like how a timeout works in basketball. Just like in basketball, the NCAA lets teams switch out players up to 15 times each set but with 6 players on the court for each team, the changes need to be smart and strategic. With our explanation over, let's get into today's game from the capital of Nebraska as we see who can win their third-round game and move on to the quarterfinals to play either Texas A&M or Louisville in the Nebraskan capital of Lincoln later in the weekend.

    With every game from here on out being such a big deal (since if you lose, your season is over), the pressure is on for both teams, especially Kansas since they want to be the first team to beat Nebraska this season. With this being the only time all season they'll play each other, will Kansas do it and come out victorious or will they just be added to the long list of teams Nebraska has beaten this season? Let's find out.

    Let's see how the game started with the first set. The first set ended at 25-12, in favor of Nebraska and give them a 1-0 lead over Kansas. The second set wasn't much better as it ended at 25-11, in favor of Nebraska again and giving them a 2-0 lead over Kansas. The third set was the last chance Kansas had or else their season would be over. The third set ended at 25-12, just like the first, in favor of Nebraska and ending the game at 3-0 in favor of Nebraska and moving them on to the quarterfinals later that weekend as they hosted the regional finals. When the game was concluded, Nebraska ended with 57 points while Kansas had 27 points when combining the three sets.

    Now that we know which team came out on top, let's see who some of the leaders of each team were for the 5 stats we'll be looking at. As usual, the five stats include kills, aces, blocks, assists, and digs. The leader in kills goes to Nebraska's Andi Jackson and Rebekah Allick, each with 9. The next highest is Nebraska's Harper Murray, with 7, while Kansas was led by Jovana Zelenovic, Reese Ptacek, and Rhian Swanson, each with 6 kills of their own. The leader in aces goes to Nebraska's Olivia Mauch, with 3 (and the only player to get more than one), while her teammates Virginia Adriano, Harper Murray, and Laney Choboy each had one ace of their own. Reese Ptacek was the only player on the Kansas team to get an ace. The leader in blocks goes to the previously mentioned Nebraska player of Andi Jackson, with 5, followed shortly by Harper Murray, with 4, and Virginia Adriano and Rebekah Allick, each with 3. As for Kansas, Aisha Aiono and Cristin Cline each had one block for their team. The leader in assists (by nearly a multiple of 3) goes to Nebraska's Bergen Reilly, with 30, while Kansas was led by Katie Dalton, with 11. The leader in digs brings us to the previously mentioned Harper Murray, of Nebraska, with 10, followed shortly by her teammates Laney Choboy, with 9, and Olivia Mauch, with 8. The leaders for Kansas include Logan Bell and Selena Leban, each with 7, followed shortly by Ryan White, with 5. If you're not sure by now, the athlete who's shown up the most has showed up in 4 of the 5 mentioned stats and that is Outside Hitter Harper Murray, of Nebraska. She ended the game with 7 kills, 1 ace, 4 blocks, and 10 digs. The leader for Kansas was a tie as three different players showed up in two of the five stats mentioned. These three are Middle Blocker Reese Ptacek, Setter Cristin Cline, and Pin Hitter Logan Bell. Ptacek got 6 kills and 1 ace. Cline got 1 block and 8 assists. Bell got 3 assists and 7 digs.

    With this being the end of Kansas' 2025 season, they would go on to end their season at 24-11. As for Nebraska, their undefeated season expands to 33-0 as they get ready to host the regional finals. I will be covering that matchup soon, so stay tuned for that coming out shortly to see who Nebraska plays.

Nebraska's gameday post on their Instagram as they host Kansas. Give them a follow over on that platform to see what they're up to now that the season is over: @huskervb

Kansas showing us their matchday post on their Instagram for their game against Nebraska. Give them a follow over on that platform to see what they're doing this off season: @kuvolleyball

Nebraska showing us yet another sweep of the 2025 season

The NCAA showing us Nebraska means business. Follow the NCAA over on their Instagram: @ncaavolleyball

Nebraska moves on to the regional finals to take on the winner of our last game in Lincoln, Nebraska

Kansas giving a big thank you to those who supported the team this 2025 season

    This concludes the third round, or regional semifinals, of the 2025 NCAA Division 1 national Championships as Nebraska is now one step closer to the national title and making it to the semifinals and finals that took place in Kansas City, Missouri on December 18th and 21st. Up next will be the quarterfinals. With only 8 teams remaining, who do you think will come out on top? Once the season is over, I will be covering the 2026 NCAA Beach Volleyball season and maybe the 2026 NCAA Indoor Men's Volleyball season if you'd prefer that. Let me know if you'd prefer the indoor or beach games come the spring. Stay tuned for the quarterfinals and until next time, Miller out

~J. Miller