No. 1 Nebraska volleyball extended its winning streak to 17 matches by sweeping No. 7 Wisconsin 25-23, 25-14, 25-20 on Saturday night at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, backed by a season-high 20 kills from Harper Murray.
The top-ranked Cornhuskers controlled the net and outmatched the Badgers in every major statistical category during the annual blackout theme night. Nebraska recorded 50 kills compared to Wisconsin’s 36, held a 44-28 advantage in digs, and posted nine blocks to the Badgers’ two, handing the visitors their first conference loss of the season in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,497 fans.
Harper Murray and the Offense Dominate the Net
Murray led the charge for the Big Red, converting her season-high 20 kills at a blistering .471 hitting percentage while adding four digs and three blocks. Setter Bergen Reilly anchored the offense with 39 assists, helping Nebraska hit .396 as a team on the night. Andi Jackson chipped in 11 kills, marking her sixth double-digit output of the season, and Teraya Sigler added nine kills while hitting .533.
Wisconsin freshman Decelise Champion led her squad with 12 kills and contributed an ace and two blocks. Defensively for the Huskers, Laney Choboy led everyone with 13 digs while Olivia Mauch added 12.
How the Match Unfolded Set by Set
The opening frame featured intense back-and-forth action with 12 ties and five lead changes. The Cornhuskers answered with four consecutive points, and though the Badgers trimmed the deficit to 24-23 to force a timeout, Murray smashed a back-row kill to close out the 25-23 win.
Nebraska turned the second set into a blowout. After a tight opening sequence, the Huskers launched a 10-1 run that included five straight points to break open the score. Nebraska hit .424 with 18 kills in the frame while clamping down defensively to hold Wisconsin to a .053 hitting percentage, securing a 25-14 victory capped by Jackson’s tenth kill.
The third set mirrored the opening frame’s tight battle, featuring 13 ties. Wisconsin stayed within striking distance until the score reached 16-all, when consecutive blocks from Manaia Ogbechie and Virginia Adriano stretched the lead to 19-16. The Badgers twice closed within two points, but the Huskers rattled off three straight points at the finish, punctuated by Murray’s twentieth kill of the night to complete the sweep.
Coach Kelly Sheffield Reflects on the Standard
Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield acknowledged his team’s flashes of high-level play while pointing out the lessons learned from facing the nation’s top-ranked squad on the road.
“I thought we played really well in spurts. What we did tonight would have been good enough to beat just about everybody in the country — just about. This was great for learning, that we can get back to work and we got this at the front of our heads. This is the standard.”
For Nebraska, the victory marks 58 consecutive regular-season home wins inside the Devaney Center, a streak stretching back to the start of the 2023 campaign. The Cornhuskers stand at 17-0 overall and 6-0 in Big Ten play following a demanding two-game week against top-15 opponents that included a victory over Indiana.
Wisconsin dropped to 11-5 overall and 5-1 in conference matches, moving their all-time record against Nebraska to 13-25-1. The Badgers return home to the UW Field House to host Maryland on Thursday, Oct. 16, with first serve slated for 7 p.m. on B1G+.
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