The No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers fell 3-0 to the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers on the road on Saturday evening, snapping a seven-game win streak.
Wisconsin, coming in with an 11-4 record and a 5-0 record in conference play, had some major life in the first set, as neither team could really pull away. Neither side led by more than three in the first set until Nebraska led 16-13, but Wisconsin immediately responded with a 5-1 run to take an 18-17 lead.
But the Huskers quickly went on a 4-0 run, recapturing the momentum as they led 21-18. The Badgers were able to cut it to one at 24-23, but Harper Murray finished the set with a kill to give the Huskers the first set 25-23.
The second set was tight to start again, with Wisconsin taking an early 6-4 lead. But Nebraska put up four straight, and both sides went back and forth, being tied at nine apiece. That’s where the Huskers really started to separate themselves, though. Nebraska went on a 7-1 run to take a commanding 16-10 lead. Then, after another point from the Badgers, Nebraska put up five more points for a 21-12 lead.
The Huskers were able to finish out the 25-15, taking a 2-0 lead going into the third. Nebraska was aggressive in both sets, recording 35 kills through the first two sets compared to Wisconsin’s 20.
Wisconsin just wouldn’t give up, though. They fought quite hard in a back-and-forth battle in the third set, with both sides being tied at 16 as neither team could separate themselves. But a pair of late rallies from the Huskers, which included a 4-1 run and a 3-0 run to end the set, gave Nebraska the sweep.
The win for the Cornhuskers marked their fifth straight over Wisconsin, as the Badgers hit only .171, marking their worst number since they faced Texas earlier this season. Still, head coach Kelly Sheffield came away quite confident from his team’s performance.
“I thought we played really well in spurts,” Sheffield said, per UW Communications. “What we did tonight would have been good enough to beat just about everybody in the country — just about. This was great for learning, that we can get back to work and we got this at the front of our heads. This is the standard.”
Freshman Decelise Champion led the Badgers in kills (12), aces (1), and blocks (2), while Charlie Fuerbringer added 29 assists and seven digs. On the other side, Harper Murray had 20 kills for the Huskers, while Bergen Reilly added 39 assists and Laney Choboy had 12 digs.
