Badgers fall to No. 2 Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. – Despite a hard-fought effort, No. 6 Wisconsin fell to No. 2 Nebraska in straight sets, 21-25, 22-25, 17-25, on Saturday night.

Wisconsin (21-6, 15-3 B1G) hit .169 (34 kills – 14 errors – 118 attempts) as Sarah Franklin led the team with 10 kills. 

Merritt Beason tallied a match-high 11 kills, as Nebraska (28-1, 18-0 B1G) hit .259 (47 – 19 – 108) on the night. 

The Badgers got out to a slow start in set one. After UW scored the first point of the match, Nebraska scored the next seven to take a 7-1 lead. Wisconsin sided out with a kill from Anna Smrek, but the Huskers maintained their lead, extending it to 10-3. The Badgers responded with a 4-0 run to bring it back within three (10-7). The teams traded points back and forth as Nebraska grabbed a 20-15 lead. UW tallied two kills and a block, to make it a two-point game, trailing 19-21. The Huskers finished it out with a kill from Taylor Landfair to take set one 25-21. 

Once again, Nebraska went on a run early in the set, establishing a 7-3 lead. The Badgers put down three blocks in a row to force a Nebraska timeout as the Huskers led 14-12. Out of the break, Nebraska responded with a 4-1 run to boost their lead back to 18-14. A service ace from CC Crawford brought it within one point (18-19). The teams went point for point until Nebraska strung two points together at the end to take set two 25-22. 

Wisconsin started set three with a quick 3-1 lead. Nebraska silenced them with a 7-0 run to prompt a Wisconsin timeout as they trailed 5-9. After the timeout, Wisconsin sided out thanks to a CC Crawford kill. Wisconsin slowly…