Former Big 12 foe Texas A&M stuffs Nebraska volleyball’s dream season

After a 33-0 run to start the Dani Busboom Kelly era, the Nebraska Cornhuskers' undefeated season fell short on Sunday.

Former Big 12 Conference rival No. 3 seed Texas A&M upset the No. 1 overall seed Huskers, 3-2, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

The Aggie block and pressure from the service line kept the home crowd quiet much of the afternoon. Nebraska’s potent offense was neutralized by 17 blocks from the Texas A&M defense.

The Aggies controlled the match often. They managed several large runs, including a 10-0 breakout in set one. That rally came shortly after the Big Red had jumped out to a large lead and the Devaney Center fans were roaring.

Those runs were buoyed by strong serves from the Aggies, who dropped in nine aces against the Big Red defense, helping them to take the first two sets.

But Nebraska rallied, taking the third set before battling in a marathon fourth set.

The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair that seemed like it would never end. Full of service errors and momentum swings, it went to seemingly endless extra points. Nebraska took the marathon of a set, 37-35, on its 10th set point.

In set five, teams traded points early. A&M pulled in front by five. Nebraska fought back, but the Aggies kept the pressure on. Eventually, the Aggies got the final point, taking the set 15-13.

"I felt pretty good going into the fifth," Husker head coach Busboom Kelly said. "When you come back like that and fight that hard to win a fourth, you do have a lot of momentum. It’s just A&M – they weren’t rattled by that, obviously, and they started out strong in the fifth.”

Texas A&M won with scores of 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 35-37 and 15-13. Kyndal Stowers and Logan Lednicky led the A&M offensive attack with 25 and 24 kills, respectively.

It was Nebraska's first home loss since 2022, and the Aggies' first win against a No. 1-ranked team since 1995.

Harper Murray led the Husker offense with 24 kills. Rebekah Allick tallied 15 kills.

Busboom Kelly said she was proud of the way her team fought back.

"I think we maxed out. What we had today, we maxed out. That's always the goal at the end of the year. That's why as a coach, I don't feel upset," Busboom Kelly said. "We didn't make the Final Four. We're not winning a national championship, but we maxed out today. And when we can walk away from the last game of the season, and feel like we gave it our all and look back and have no regrets, that's what I'm really proud of and I hope these players don't have any regrets either."

The Huskers were without backup setter Campbell Flynn who has a broken pinky and opposite hitter Allie Sczech who was injured in warm-ups. Also, Big Ten Player of the Year and starting setter Bergen Reilly was sick but still played.

The Huskers ended the 2025 season 33-1. Sunday marked the final game for four seniors: transfers Taylor Landfair and Sczech as well as four-year players Allick and Maisie Boesiger.

During the postgame press conference, Allick sat in front of reporters with watery eyes, following her final game at the Devaney Center. Murray, comforting her teammate, explained why emotions ran high for the senior middle blocker who grew up in the Lincoln area.

“I just want to say, Bekah has put her heart and soul into this program. You can tell by her face how much she cares. And I think, I don’t even care if we win or we lose, because what I tried to tell Bekah in the locker room is that she’s going to take away the memories and the relationships that we’ve made," Murray said. "And winning and losing, yeah, it’s a part of volleyball and it sucks. But, she put her heart and soul into this program for four years. And she’s leaving behind a great legacy and has so much to be proud of. We all see how much she cares and it's unbelievable.”