The Badgers had 11 service errors and the Huskers took advantage of the miscues to sweep the series.
After a rousing rival victory Wednesday against Minnesota, the No. 6 Badgers (15-3 Big Ten, 21-6 overall) were dominated once again this season by the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (18-0, 28-1) as the Huskers notched a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-22, 25-17) to get the season sweep on Wisconsin for the first time since 2012.
In a match where Wisconsin again did not have the services of freshman libero Lola Schumacher or junior defensive specialist Gülce Güçtekin, the Badgers had similar struggles with serving as they did in their thrilling victory over Minnesota. UW had 11 service errors — four from freshman Saige Damrow and three from graduate transfer Carly Anderson — with seemingly all of them coming at times that absolutely killed momentum for Wisconsin.
Nebraska’s strong serving meanwhile helped the Huskers get off to a quick lead in the opening set. Libero Lexi Rodriguez served a 6-0 run to give the Huskers a 6-1 lead as Nebraska had three early blocks. Wisconsin fought back as senior Sarah Franklin’s kill made it a 14-11 set. But two straight Nebraska kills that stemmed from overpasses by UW gave the Huskers a 19-14 lead and forced the Badgers to call timeout.
Junior middle blocker Carter Booth and freshman setterCharlie Fuerbringer had two blocks in a row that cut the Husker advantage to 20-18 as Wisconsin started to build momentum. But any momentum fell apart when Damrow hit a service error that gave Nebraska set point at 24-21, which they eventually hit. Bekah Allick had six kills in the opening set and despite UW’s late push, they could not come back in the opening set.
Nebraska got off to another good start in the second set, going up 10-5 with their whole offense humming. Wisconsin could not move the Huskers out of system, giving them all options available. Five Huskers had seven or more kills, with Merritt Beason leading the way with 11 on the night. She and Harper Murray gave Wisconsin fits from the backrow.
Wisconsin fought its way back into the set on a 4-0 run, tallying three blocks in a row to cut the Husker lead to 14-12 and force a timeout. The Badgers outblocked the Huskers 11-7 on the night with Booth having an impressive night with seven kills and six blocks. But Damrow had a service error and Nebraska went on a 3-0 run to turn the tide and make it 18-14. The lead was shrunk to 20-19 before Fuerbringer’s serve went long to make it 21-19 for the Huskers. Wisconsin kept the lead close at 22-21, before Orzoł had a net violation on what would’ve been a kill on an overpass. Then, with the score 23-22, Anderson served long to give Nebraska set point, which they closed out the set on the next point to go up 2-0 on the night.
The untimely errors ruined Wisconsin, but Nebraska’s defense also kept extending points with incredible digs. Rodriguez had 16 digs for the Huskers while Laney Choboy had some highlight reel saves as well on balls that seemed down. Nebraska had 54 digs as a team and held UW to .169 hitting.
In the final set, despite the Badgers taking an early 5-2 lead, the Huskers went on a 7-0 run to make it 9-5 and force a Wisconsin timeout. Franklin was able to help the Badgers battle back, with some great kills and an ace that tied the must-win set 14-all and forced a Nebraska timeout. But the Husker went on a 4-1 run that was aided by a Damrow service error when UW managed to side out that gave the Huskers a lead they would not relinquish.
The Badgers are clearly a different team without their top backrow players — as you may expect — but errors were really costly in a match that was relatively close in stretches. But with the loss Saturday night, Wisconsin now has no chance at a conference title and will likely miss out on a Top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which would guarantee home court advantage for the first four rounds, for the first time in a long time.
UW will hope the team can get healthy before the Big Dance starts in December. Before that, Wisconsin will host the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans to close out the season.