The Huskers won the opening two sets, only to see Utah rally to force a fifth set. Nebraska won the first four rallies of the fifth set and never trailed, improving to 20-1 all-time in second-round NCAA Tournament matches with a 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 15-11 victory over the 20th-ranked Utes.

With the win, Nebraska (23-9) advances to play No. 3 Washington next Friday in the NCAA Seattle Regional. First serve for the NCAA Regional Semifinal will be announced at a later date, but the match will be televised on ESPN3. Utah ended its season with a 21-13 record.

The Huskers gave their all to punch their ticket to the next round. Nebraska was outscored in the match, 106-105, and Utah had more kills, digs and blocks than NU. The Utes hit .289 in the match, the third-highest mark Nebraska has allowed this season, while the Huskers hit .201.

The difference in the match proved to be the service line, as the Huskers had six aces and only three errors, while Utah had 11 errors and only two aces.

In a tight first set, strong serving from Justine Wong-Orantes was the difference in the Huskers' 25-23 victory. Utah recorded six more kills (19) than the Huskers (13) and blocks were even at two apiece, but Nebraska scored on five of Wong-Orantes' seven serves, including a pair of aces from the sophomore libero. Utah terminated four of its first five swings to jump out to a quick 4-1 lead. Wong-Orantes served up a pair of aces following the break as Nebraska used a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the match. The Huskers never trailed again, but the Utes pulled even on seven occasions, including at 23-23 before a service error and a Mary Pollmiller killed close out the set. While Nebraska had three aces and no service errors in the set, the Utes had three service errors and no aces.

Utah won seven of the first 10 rallies in set two, only to see the Huskers respond by winning seven of the next eight points to take a 10-8 lead. Nebraska's lead grew to as many as four before the Utes used a 6-1 run to tie the set at 14. NU quickly regained the lead and stretched its advantage to four at 20-16. Utah would not go away, pulling to within one before the service game came back into effect. Trailing 23-22, Utah committed its sixth service error of the match to give the Huskers a set point, and Annika Albrecht followed the error with her second ace to close out Nebraska's 25-22- win.

In set three, Nebraska won four of the first five rallies before Utah bounced back to take a 15-14 lead. The Utes then won five consecutive points to take a 20-14 lead. Nebraska won three straight points to pull within one at 24-23, and the Huskers had a chance to extend the set, but a Kadie Rolfzen attack landed just wide to give the Utes a 25-23 victory.

Utah controlled the fourth set, cruising to a 25-17 win. The Utes led by six after the first 20 rallies and Nebraska could get no closer than six the rest of the way. Nebraska committed 10 hitting errors in the set, as Utah recorded five blocks. Adora Anae added six kills in the fourth set for the Utes, more than half of the Huskers' team total.

In the shortened fifth set, it was who Nebraska jumped out to the all-important early lead, winning the first four rallies. Nebraska maintained its four-point advantage at the switch, leading 8-4. Utah scored two consecutive points to pull within one, but the Huskers responded with three straight points to go on top, 12-8. Nebraska earned its first match point at 14-11 before a Pollmiller kill closed out the match.

Pollmiller was one of three players to post a double-double in the match, finishing with a match-high 45 assists and a season-high 10 kills. Kadie Rolfzen also had a double-double for Nebraska with 15 kills and 11 digs. Chelsey Schofield-Olsen ended her career on a strong note for the Utes, finishing with 12 kills and a career-high 21 digs.