MADISON, Wis. – The Nebraska volleyball team’s 11-match win streak came to an end after a 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 loss at No. 5 Wisconsin on Wednesday night in front of 7,229 at the UW Field House.
The top-ranked Huskers (18-2, 10-1 Big Ten) fell for the first time since Sept. 13. Bekka Allick had a career-high 13 kills and hit .647 to lead the Huskers in the match. Whitney Lauenstein had seven kills, and Madi Kubik chipped in seven kills. Ally Batenhorst had four kills to go with five blocks. Kaitlyn Hord had three kills and seven blocks, and Lindsay Krause also had three kills.
Wisconsin (16-3, 10-1 Big Ten) outhit Nebraska .205 to .164. Wisconsin had the edge in kills (44-37), aces (6-1) and digs (52-46). Blocks were even at 9-9.
Nicklin Hamed had 15 assists and 14 digs for her second straight double-double. Lexi Rodriguez had 12 digs. Anni Evans added 12 assists.
Sarah Franklin had 21 kills on .381 hitting to pace the Badgers. Devyn Robinson recorded nine kills and six blocks.
Set 1: Nebraska jumped out to a 7-3 lead with three early kills by Lauenstein, but Wisconsin put together a 9-3 run to go ahead 12-10. Krause earned a sideout for the Huskers with a kill and a Badger error tied it 12-12. However, the Badgers scored the next three points as the Huskers struggled in serve receive to go up 15-12. The Huskers cut it to one at 15-14, but three Wisconsin kills had the Badgers back up by four, 18-14. Wisconsin led 20-16 when Krause and Allick struck for kills and Allick blocked back a Wisconsin attack to cut it to 20-19. After a Wisconsin timeout, a Husker service error made it 21-19 Badgers. But Nebraska sided out thanks to another Allick kill. Wisconsin answered with a kill, and a Husker hitting error made it 23-20 Badgers. The Huskers put up a wall at the net for a block and sideout, but Wisconsin answered for set point and went on to claim a 25-23 win.
Set 2: Wisconsin controlled the beginning of the set, going up 7-3 and building the lead to 17-7 after a 7-0 run. The Badgers went up 22-12 before the Huskers finally gained some momentum. Krause and Hord started a run with a block, and then Hord and Batenhorst teamed up for a block. With Hames serving, Hord added a kill and then another block with Lauenstein to get within 22-16. Back-to-back kills by Batenhorst and Hord, followed by another block by that duo all of the sudden had the Huskers within 22-19, and Wisconsin used its second timeout to try and stop the Huskers’ 7-0 run. A Wisconsin overpass was hammered down by Hord to make it 22-20, but Wisconsin ended the run at 8-0 with a kill by Jade Demps that made it 23-20. Batenhorst terminated to give the serve right back to the Huskers, and Kenzie Knuckles served an ace to get the Huskers within one, 23-22. A Wisconsin attack was tipped to the floor by Lauenstein and Hord to tie the score at 23-23, but the Badgers answered with a block to earn set point at 24-23, and another Badger block ended the set at 25-23, thwarting the Huskers’ furious comeback attempt.
Set 3: The Huskers went up 8-7 on a kill by Allick, but a service error was followed by two reception errors as Wisconsin went up 10-8. After a Wisconsin service error, the Badgers ripped off a 6-0 run with four kills and a block to make it 16-9. A service error ended the run, but Wisconsin came right back with the next three points to go up 19-10 and take control. The match ended at 25-18.
Up Next: The Huskers return home to welcome Maryland to the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
