LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 13 Penn State Women’s Volleyball saw both its winning streak and unbeaten run to start the Big Ten schedule come to an end with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) loss to No. 2 Nebraska on Saturday night at the Devaney Center.
The Nittany Lions, who entered the much-anticipated match with nine consecutive wins, dropped to 13-4 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten. It was their first loss in over a month, with their last defeat coming on the road to then-No. 2 Louisville on Sept. 10.
The Cornhuskers remained unbeaten on the season, moving to 17-0 overall and 8-0 in the conference. They are tied with Wisconsin atop the Big Ten standings, while Penn State is third and holds a two-match lead over the fourth-place teams.
Penn State struggled to get the attack going, hitting just .117 compared to .269 for Nebraska. A big factor in that low hitting percentage was the play of standout libero Lexi Rodriguez. She racked up an impressive 18 digs in the three-set match, including 12 in the first set alone.
Jess Mruzik led Penn State with 12 kills and added six digs and four blocks. Allie Holland was efficient with five kills and no errors on eight swings for a .625 hitting percentage. Holland was also strong at the net as she was in on seven of the team’s 10 blocks.
Defensively, the Nittany Lions were paced by Gillian Grimes with 15 digs. Anjelina Starck had seven digs, while Maddy Bilinovic chipped in with six.
Merritt Beason and Lindsay Krause powered Nebraska to the win. Beason hit .333 with 13 kills and…
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