Nebraska coach John Cook tipped his red cowboy hat to salute the Huskers’ top-2 victory as thousands of fans lingered in the sold-out Devaney Center to celebrate No. 2 Nebraska’s 3-2 (25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13) win against No. 1 Wisconsin on Oct. 21. The win halted the Badgers’ streak at 10 in a row in the series.
GET CAUGHT UP: Complete stats from the Nebraska-Wisconsin match
Nebraska took the first set, but the Huskers lost their momentum and dropped the next two — hitting .016 during the second and third set combined. The Huskers continued to play from behind in the fourth, but kept the match in check and forced a fifth set with three consecutive kills by Harper Murray, Andi Jackson and Bekka Allick.
Three final bombs from Harper Murray decided the match. Murray notched a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs, but was held to a .091 clip on the evening.
Outside hitter Merritt Beason attacked from the front and back line, killing 21 — one off from her career high — on 52 swings and digging up seven.
This match wouldn’t be recapped properly without credit given to the Wisconsin block. The Badgers denied balls left and right specifically in the second frame, stuffing 12 — this was double what they blocked the rest of the match (totaled 18 overall), and also double what Nebraska blocked the entire match (7).
With this win, the Huskers remained undefeated and snapped Wisconsin’s 18-match win streak. Nebraska took the Badgers’ No. 1 spot in the AVCA rankings, which Wisconsin had held since Week 1, and has been the AVCA No. 1 team since.