The University of Tennessee at Martin saw its storybook season come to a close in the first round of the NCAA Division 1 Volleyball Tournament Friday night as the host Nebraska Huskers lived up to their ominous billing. Nebraska posted a 3-0 victory over the Skyhawks.

Tennessee-Martin finishes the season with a 24-6 record, its second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship and its first Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship in school history. It was the tournament championship win against Southeast Missouri that earned the Skyhawks their first-ever berth in the NCAA tournament.

“It was a huge honor for us to win our conference championship this year,” said Chris Rushing, Tennessee-Martin head volleyball coach. “Half our team are seniors, and I think it's a great way for them to end their career. We got blasted pretty good, but what a great environment to play in. It's an honor to be in the NCAA tournament. We're looking forward to more bids in the NCAA tournament.”

The Skyhawks hit minus .071 in the match. Sophomore Leigh Reiniche led the effort with a .250 hitting mark. Heather Kea and Jamie Fitzwater had two kills each.

“We were a little overwhelmed with the size of the crowd, the band adds atmosphere. I asked the girls if it was intimidating and they said, yeah at first, but you have to get the jitters out. The court is the same size as it is at Martin,” Rushing said.

Nebraska hit .414 in the first game and never looked back. Greichaly Cepero led the Huskers with her 1.000 hitting percentage. Amber Holmquist and Laura Pilakoski racked up five kills each.

“I thought it was a good opening-round effort,” said John Cook, Nebraska head coach. “We did some really nice things. Certainly Tennessee-Martin is not used to playing at our tempo with our level of athletes.”

Nebraska won game two 30-17, but the Skyhawks showed they weren’t afraid of the nation’s third best team. The Skyhawks trailed at one time 4-3 and 15-12. Nebraska managed five team blocks in the game and used its size and power to pick the Skyhawks apart. Nebraska had 19 kills in the game.

“It's hard to play Tennessee-Martin, but we shouldn't let teams affect the way we play. I thought we did a pretty good job even though we let up a little in game two,” said Nebraska senior setter Greichaly Cepero.

In game three, Nebraska opened up a 10-0 lead before the Skyhawks could get on the scoreboard. The Skyhawks cut into the Huskers lead, but to no avail. The Huskers closed out the match with a 30-14 victory.

Rushing gave all his Skyhawk players a chance to play in the third game in front of the more than 4,200 Nebraska fans.

“The crowd was amazingly positive,” said senior Lindsey Stock, the Skyhawks middle hitter. “They're very observant, I tried to take it all in. As a senior, I couldn't ask for a better way to end the season. I have been watching Nebraska since I was in eight grade, coming to play them and winning the conference championship — I accomplished every goal.”

Nebraska has only lost six games this season and sports a 29-1 record. That lone Nebraska loss was to the University of Southern California, the nation’s top-ranked team. USC posted a 3-0 win. Nebraska has only played three four-game matches, and its never played a five-game match this season.

Tennessee-Martin / Nebraska Box Score