Nebraska Heads to California Looking to Keep Its Set Streak Alive

Nebraska hasn’t just been good during the Big Ten season; it’s been dominant.

The Huskers are 14-0 through seven weeks and haven’t dropped a set. Opponents are averaging 14.98 points per set while reaching 20 points just eight times. NU has played just two deuce games and never faced a set point.

Harper Murray said she is not surprised the Huskers haven’t dropped a set in any of the conference matches so far this season.

“We know what we’re capable of, and I think it’s shown by not losing a set,” the junior outside hitter said. “The Big Ten play has been a lot different than it’s been in the past few years, and it’s a lot different than what we’ve seen. So I think we’re just adjusting to that.”

You’ve got to see this Teraya Sigler block from @HuskerVB’s 1️⃣4️⃣th straight sweep 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/vxUg3GPvje
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) November 7, 2025

Since the Big Ten adopted a 20-match league schedule in 1991, seven teams have achieved an undefeated season: Penn State accomplished this six times between 1998 and 2009, and the 1991 Ohio State team.

The most sets dropped by any of those teams during their unblemished season was seven, by the 1999 Nittany Lions, while just one — the 2008 Penn State team — went through the entire league schedule without dropping a set. (That team only dropped two sets all season, in the national semifinals to Nebraska.)

Murray said the Huskers’ upcoming matches during a road trip to Los Angeles — at UCLA on Friday at 9 p.m. CST and at USC on Sunday at 2 p.m. CST — will provide tough tests against teams that play a different style of volleyball. She said California teams have a bigger beach influence on how they play, with more creativity while attacking.

“We’re excited to go to UCLA and USC. I think those will be some good games, and, if anything, those will be the two teams that, out of the last few weeks, could test us and take a set potentially,” she said. “Obviously, that’s not the goal. We want to finish that in three, per usual.”

While maintaining the set streak is a nice side effect of winning, the Huskers are focusing on the final six games of the regular season. They’ve made it quite clear all season that their objective isn’t to win six more regular-season matches, but the six matches they hope to play in December, capping the year with a national championship.

According to Evollve, Nebraska has an 82.9 percent chance of finishing the regular season undefeated. After this weekend, the Huskers also play at Indiana, while hosting Iowa, Penn State and Ohio State.

The Huskers are taking the Los Angeles road trip as a time to get away and prepare for the final month of the season. NU flew out on Wednesday, a day earlier than usual, to help adjust to the time zone difference and spend more time on team activities.

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said this road trip was one she was looking forward to before the season began. She’s never played at the two LA schools, and usually, the warm California weather can provide a reprieve in mid-November. Even though the high temperature in Lincoln is forecasted to be higher on Friday and Saturday, and Los Angeles is expecting rain each day over the weekend, the warm weather can still be a welcome change.

USC's Reese Messer averages more than 10 assists per set as a true freshman setter for the Trojans. | USC Athletics

The Huskers will also play in front of two record crowds this weekend. USC has announced a sell-out of the Galen Center, the first time that’s happened for volleyball. UCLA has sold all its tickets in the lower bowl at Pauley Pavilion and opened up several sections in the upper deck.

“Of course, there’ll be a lot of Husker fans, but I’m guessing it’s a lot of just general volleyball fans too, that aren’t necessarily die-hard,” Dani Busboom Kelly said.

UCLA has alternated wins and losses the past four weeks and is coming off a five-set win against Northwestern last weekend. They’ve dealt with some injuries, but PK Kong, who played for Busboom Kelly at Louisville, returned to the lineup last weekend.

The Trojans enter the match after winning their last eight games, including a four-set victory at Wisconsin on Oct. 19.

During their winning streak, London Wijay was named the Big Ten Player of the Week twice, and three players were named the conference’s top freshman: libero Taylor Deckert, setter Reese Messer and outside hitter Abigail Mullen.

“USC is rolling. They’re young, but super talented, and they’re playing great as well,” Busboom Kelly said. “At this time of the year, there’s teams that are getting better and teams that are pretty stagnant, and I feel like both these teams are getting better and playing well right now.”

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