MADISON, Wis. – For the first time since 2013, the Nebraska volleyball team picked up the win against the Wisconsin Badgers at the UW Field House, winning in emphatic fashion 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 Friday night in front of 7,229.
The No. 2 Huskers (21-1, 11-0 Big Ten) handed the No. 7 Badgers (15-5, 9-2 Big Ten) their first hit at UW Field House since 2016. Nebraska dominated throughout the game, holding Wisconsin to .094, its lowest hitting percentage since 2016.
Nebraska hit .202 and was led by Taylor Landfair’s 13 kills. Merritt Beeson recorded 11 kills and hit .391, and Andy Jackson and Harper Murray had seven and six kills, respectively.
The Huskers totaled 10.5 blocks, led by Rebekah Allick’s seven. Landfair, Beason, Jackson and Murray each had three blocks.
NU had five aces and six errors. Olivia Mauch and Lexi Rodriguez each had two, while Kennedy Orr had one. Wisconsin had two aces and five errors.
Bergen Riley dished out 32 assists for the Big Red. Rodriguez had 12 hits and Laney Choboy had nine.
Wisconsin saw its 25-game home winning streak end as the Huskers snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Badgers at UW Field House.
Sarah Franklin had 16 kills for Wisconsin.
Set 1: Nebraska took a 10-8 lead after a kill by Landfair and two blocks by Allick, one by Murray and one by Beason. After Wisconsin regained the lead at 11-10, Allick got a kill and Jackson made a solo block for a 12-11 Husker lead. Blocks by Landfair and Jackson put the Big Red up 15-13 at the media timeout, but the Badgers had two kills to make it 15-15. Murray started a 3-0 run with a kill, then Landfair, Alick and Riley followed with a triple block and Orr served an ace to make it 18-15. Landfair added two more kills and Rodriguez’s ace made it 23-18. Murray and Beason closed out the set with kills for a 25-21 victory. The Huskers had 6.5 blocks in the first set and held the Badgers to .108 hitting.
Set 2: The Huskers used a 7-1 run to take a 12-7 lead. Beason had three kills and the Badgers had three hitting errors. Nebraska took a 13-8 lead, but Wisconsin responded with a 9-1 run to gain a 17-14 advantage. After Nebraska’s second timeout, Landfair tallied back-to-back kills, but Wisconsin responded with a kill and ace to go up 19-16. Landfair posted another kill and Beason followed before a Wisconsin hitting error tied the score at 19-19. Landfair and Allick combined for a block to give the Huskers a 20-19 lead, but two straight NU errors put Wisconsin back on top 21-20. A kill by Landfair, however, started a 4-0 run that put the Huskers at set point. Mauch served an ace, Murray recorded a kill and Alick and Murray blocked to make it 24-21. Beeson won the set again with a kill, 25-22. Nebraska held Wisconsin to .061 hitting in the second set.
Set 3: The Huskers started strong, taking a 7-2 lead on the strength of aces by Mauch and Rodriguez and two kills apiece by Murray and Jackson. Wisconsin fought until the end and led 15-14. But three straight Badger hitting errors and a kill by Landfair gave Nebraska an 18-15 lead. Wisconsin pulled within 19-18, but Landfair hit two more kills for a 21-19 advantage, the latter starting a 5-0 Husker run served by Mauch to end the match, 25-19.
Up next: The Huskers travel to face Northwestern on Sunday at noon.