Raucous fans packed the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska Saturday evening to watch the No. 6 University of Wisconsin-Madison volleyball team take on the No. 2 University of Nebraska.
The last time these two heavyweight teams competed against each other, Nebraska came away with a dominant three-set win in Madison at the beginning of November. Their second match-up ended the same way, marking the first time since 2012 that Nebraska has swept Wisconsin twice in one season.
The Badgers won the first point of the senior night match in Nebraska with a kill by fifth-year outside hitter Sarah Franklin. But the Huskers responded with a seven-point run, and the Badgers were never able to retake the lead. A kill from senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair gave the Huskers set one, 25-21.
In similar fashion to the first set, the second set got off to a shaky start for the Badgers due to a six-point Nebraska run. Later in the set, though, Wisconsin strung together four points that included three massive blocks. Fifth-year middle blocker CC Crawford earned a service ace to bring the Badgers within one point of the Huskers. The two teams traded points back and forth from there, but an unfortunate overpass by the Badgers resulted in another Landfair kill to win the set for Nebraska, 25-22.
The third set seemed to be going better for the Badgers as they started off with a 3-1 lead. Senior right-side hitter Anna Smrek earned two blocks in the first four Wisconsin points to help build their lead. Although Wisconsin started the set on a 5-2 run, Nebraska quickly responded with a 9-1 run of their own. Nebraska’s energy remained high, feeding off the enthusiasm of their fans. A kill from senior outside hitter Merritt Beason closed out the set 25-17 in favor of the Huskers.
Despite losing the match, the Badgers out-blocked the Huskers 11-7. Junior middle blocker Carter Booth earned six of those blocks, while Smrek contributed five. As a team, the Badgers hit just .169 on the match. Franklin led the team with 10 kills, Booth had seven and Smrek had six.
Freshman libero Lola Schumacher was still out with an injury, so redshirt freshman Saige Damrow got her third consecutive start at libero. She earned nine digs against the Huskers. Freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer continued to perform well with 27 assists.
With this win, Nebraska ended their regular season at home with an impressive 41-match win streak. Wisconsin has two more matches at home to end the season, and the next one is on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Ohio State at the UW Field House.
