No. 2 Nebraska volleyball hands No. 1 Wisconsin its first loss of the season in five-set thriller

In front of a record-setting crowd, No. 2 Nebraska volleyball (19-0) took down No. 1 Wisconsin (18-1) on Saturday night 25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13.

It’s the Huskers first win over the Badgers since 2017 (the last time Nebraska won the national championship) and gives NU the sole lead in the Big Ten standings.

In total, 9,198 fans watched the match which is the most in the history of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Attendees shattered the previous record of 8,711 fans set in late September in a match against Ohio State.

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Nebraska was the first team to create separation in the opening set. A kill from Lexi Rodriguez via an overpass that tagged the sideline gave the Huskers their first lead of the set. That sparked a 5-0 run which featured a Bergen Reilly joust at the net and a missile from Andi Jackson lifted NU to a 9-4 lead. By the midway point in the set, Nebraska owned a .192 hitting percentage and a 15-11 advantage.

A balanced attack helped the Huskers force Wisconsin’s first timeout after pulling ahead 17-12. But, it wasn’t long before the Badgers struck back and claimed a Nebraska timeout by cutting the deficit to 18-15. The Huskers countered by winning three of the next four points and any further Wisconsin rallies for a 25-22 victory as Ally Batenhorst and Reilly sealed the first with a block.

Nebraska’s offense boasted three different attackers with four kills and a .214 attack percentage by set’s end. Meanwhile, Devyn Robinson, Sarah Franklin, and Carter Booth each had three kills for Wisconsin. The Badgers hit .125 in the set with 11 total kills compared to the Huskers’ 17.

Wisconsin takes hold

Wisconsin grabbed the early upper hand in the second using four blocks create a 8-5 edge. Blocks remained a critical theme in the set. By the time the Huskers called for their second timeout, the Badgers had tallied nine blocks in the set, Nebraska had 18 attack errors and had fallen behind 17-10. Wisconsin seemed to be on cruise control for the rest of the set en route to a 25-17 win.

Errors greatly fueled the Badgers’ success in the first two sets. Husker attack and service errors accounted for 28 of Wisconsin’s’ 47 points including a long serve that put an end to a 3-0 Nebraska run at the end of the second.

Unforced errors stacked up for the Huskers in the third. Four attack errors and two service errors were the difference in a 11-5 Badger lead without any Wisconsin blocks. Soon after the Badgers grew their advantage to 18-11 and Cook called his second timeout.

That’s when Nebraska made its run winning five of the next six rallies to make it 22-18, Wisconsin. In the midst of that stretch, the Badgers were assessed a yellow card for arguing for a double contact that was not called on Harper Murray. Behind a reignited Devaney Center, the Huskers cut the Wisconsin lead to 23-20.

But, the Badgers recovered for a 25-20 win and pulled ahead for a decisive 2-1 edge in the match.

The Huskers strike back

Wisconsin struck first in the fourth by winning four of the first five rallies. Nebraska struck back and got the home crowd involved once again with a 5-0 run that put the Huskers in front 9-6. Kills from Andi Jackson, Batenhorst, Reilly and two Badger attack errors made up the run.

Nebraska maintained three points of separation until Wisconsin battled back to tie it 17-17 and force a Husker timeout. Assisted by a pair of NU attack errors and a kill by Temi Thomas-Ailara, the Badger run continued and helped build a 21-18 lead. Nebraska stormed back to even the ledger at 21-21 before a Wisconsin block put the Badgers up 22-21.

The set’s fifth tie came at 23-23 and Murray delivered a sixth with a kill to make it 24-24. Her swing marked her first kill since the 9-7 mark of the second set. Kills from Jackson and Bekka Allick completed a 3-0 run and sent the match to a fifth set with a 26-24 Husker win.

Nebraska’s 10 attack errors in the set cut its hitting percentage to .076 for the match and marked the second time in the match the Huskers had logged double-digit attack errors.

A back-and-forth fifth gave way to a 6-6 tie before Wisconsin won consecutive rallies and held a 8-6 edge at the midpoint of the set. Nebraska drew within one multiple times, but the Badgers held on and the Huskers called timeout down 11-9 after a kill from Anna Smrek.

Behind 12-10, Nebraska made its final push. A Batenhorst kill, followed by three consecutive kills from Murray put the Huskers up 14-12 and forced Wisconsin’s final timeout. Sarah Franklin pounded her 17th kill of the match to the floor to make it 14-13 before what appeared to be an attack error on Murray tied it back up at 14-14.

But, Cook challenged that there was a net violation on the play and the call was overturned giving the Huskers a 15-13 victory.

Nebraska overcame 44 attack errors and was led by Merritt Beason with 21 kills on 52 swings. Murray tallied 14 kills, including seven in the final set, and Batenhorst poured in 13 more. Reilly added 50 assists and 17 digs which was matched by Rodriguez.

Next up, the Huskers host Maryland and Rutgers next weekend.