MADISON, Wis. – For the first time since 2013, the Nebraska volleyball team came away victorious against the Wisconsin Badgers at the UW Field House, earning an emphatic 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 sweep on 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 sweep at the UW Field House since 2016. Nebraska was dominant throughout the match, holding Wisconsin to .094 hitting, which was its lowest output since 2016.
Nebraska hit .202 and was led by Taylor Landfair’s 13 kills. Merritt Beason recorded 11 kills and hit .391, and Andi 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 all had three blocks.
NU had five aces and six errors. Olivia Mauch and Lexi Rodriguez each had two, while Kennedi Orr had one. Wisconsin had two aces and five errors.
Bergen Reilly posted 32 assists for the Big Red. Rodriguez had 12 digs, and Laney Choboy had nine.
Wisconsin saw its 25-match home win streak come to an end, while the Huskers snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Badgers in the UW Field House.
Sarah Franklin had 16 kills for Wisconsin.
Set 1: Nebraska went ahead 10-8 after a kill by Landfair and two blocks by Allick, one with Murray and one with Beason. After Wisconsin regained an 11-10 lead, Allick had a kill and Jackson produced a solo block for a 12-11 Husker lead. A block by Landfair and Jackson put the Big Red up 15-13 at the media timeout, but the Badgers got two kills to knot the score at 15-15. Murray started a 3-0 run with a kill, as Landfair, Allick and Reilly followed with a triple block, and Orr served an ace to make it 18-15. Landfair added two more kills, and an ace by Rodriguez made it 23-18. Murray and Beason closed out the set with kills for a 25-21 win. 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 go ahead 12-7. Beason had three kills, and the Badgers committed three straight hitting errors. Nebraska led 13-8, but Wisconsin answered with a 9-1 run to claim a 17-14 advantage. After Nebraska’s second timeout, Landfair tallied back-to-back kills, but Wisconsin responded with a kill and an 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 for a 20-19 Husker lead, but two straight hitting errors by NU put Wisconsin back on top, 21-20. However, a Landfair kill started a 4-0 run that put the Huskers at set point. Mauch served an ace, Murray recorded a kill, and Allick and Murray had a block to make it 24-21. Beason again clinched the set with a kill, 25-22. Nebraska limited 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 each by Murray and Jackson. Wisconsin fought all the way back 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 pounded two more kills for a 21-19 advantage, and the last started 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.
