Nebraska volleyball is back, and so are its winning ways.
The No. 1 Cornhuskers won the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights title on Thursday, Aug. 27 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, after beating No. 17 Florida (21-19, 21-18) and No. 11 SMU (21-12, 21-11) in exhibition games. Nebraska won $150,000 in prize money for its efforts, and each team in the tournament (Penn State, SMU, Florida and Nebraska) took home $200,000 for appearing in the competition.
"There's a lot that goes into how we get to use that money, with being a university," Huskers coach Dani Busboom Kelly said. "But it's just great to celebrate winning exhibitions, something this team, I hope, we do better than years past, just celebrating the little things. Of course there was
money on the line, but I think it meant a lot more than just the money."
Despite it being an exhibition win, Nebraska's latest title is an early boost to its 2026 season. It comes after a disappointing end to the team's postseason push last year, which ended in an Elite Eight loss to the eventual champion Texas A&M. The Aggies beat the top-seeded Huskers in a five-set thriller (25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 35-37, 15-13) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, stunning the volleyball world.
Thursday evening was a different story.
After moving past the Gators, the Cornhuskers held the Mustangs to just a .068 hitting percentage in the tournament final while maintaining .339 hitting on the other end of the ball. Nebraska held off SMU 21-12 in the first set and finished with a 10-3 run in the second set to win the frame 21-11 and cruise to a title.
Sophomore outside hitter Teraya Sigler finished with a match-high seven kills and five digs, while senior outside hitter Harper Murray unleashed six kills and five digs. Rounding out the night's big performances was 2025 AVCA Player of the Year finalist and senior setter Bergen Reilly, who had 21 assists and a team-high two blocks, and junior libero Olivia Mauch, who had a team-high seven digs.
"We talked in the locker room about the growth between game one and two," Reilly said. "There were definitely some game one jitters, even though it was just an exhibition; it felt very real. And I think just seeing how well we adapted and learned and grew from that first game to that second game was kind of the best part for me and the best part for a lot of us."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nebraska volleyball sweeps Spikes Under the Lights tournament, wins $150K
