No. 1 Nebraska Sweeps No. 2 Texas, and the Season Already Has a Pulse
Memorial Stadium opens Saturday. That will swallow the oxygen in this state, and it should. But the volleyball team is already playing like a national-title favorite in August. Ranked No. 1. Money in the bank from Arlington. A sweep of Texas in a building that was loud enough to feel like March.
Football is trying to look different. Volleyball already does.
No. 1 Nebraska went to Las Vegas, swept UNLV on Saturday, then beat No. 2 Texas in three on Sunday: 25-19, 25-19, 25-16 at T-Mobile Arena. Nine thousand people in the building. The Huskers hit .293. Texas hit .152. Andi Jackson put down nine kills at .571 and the block looked like it had been waiting a year for that matchup.
That is 2-0. It is also the first regular-season meeting with Texas since 2016, and Nebraska’s first sweep in the series since that night. The last time these two played for something real, Texas won the 2023 national title in a sweep. Sunday was not that stage. It still felt like someone settled a tab.
The week before the week
This did not start in Vegas. On Thursday in Arlington, Nebraska won the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights event at AT&T Stadium — exhibitions against No. 17 Florida and No. 11 SMU, a $150,000 prize, and a $200,000 appearance check for every team in the field. Short sets. Big building. The Huskers treated it like a dress rehearsal and still walked out with the trophy.
Then the regular season opened against UNLV. Sweep. Harper Murray had 11 kills. Bergen Reilly put up a double-double. The Rebels hit .054. That match was supposed to be the tune-up. Texas was the reason they flew to Nevada.
What showed up against Texas
The serving. Dani Busboom Kelly has been on that all offseason. Practices start with it. Libero work, pressure from the end line, no free balls. Texas did not get an ace. Nebraska served seven. When a top-two match is that lopsided in the serve-pass battle, the rest of the night gets easy.
Jackson was the middle who would not miss. Teraya Sigler and Murray kept the pins honest. Reilly ran the offense like she has for two years. Texas got 12 kills from Cari Spears and not enough of anything else. The Longhorns cut a set to 19-17 once. Nebraska closed it. That has been the difference in Lincoln for a while: the other team gets close, then the Huskers remember they are the Huskers.
Wrigley is next
Sunday they play Missouri outdoors at Wrigley Field in the SEC-Big Ten Challenge. Penn State and Kentucky are on the same card. It will look like a spectacle. It is still a match. Missouri is not Texas. It does not have to be. After a 2-0 start that already includes a sweep of the No. 2 team in the country, the only way this week gets wasted is if Nebraska treats Chicago like a field trip.
Why this matters right now!