Nebraska Refocused on Its Primary Goal After Dropping Set to UCLA

After seeing its 48-set winning streak end on Friday night against UCLA, Nebraska promptly started a new one in the next set and swept USC two days later.

Not that the Huskers are counting. They don’t mind that they dropped their first set in Big Ten play last week. In fact, it might help them, as the outcome of each set will be less of a distraction moving forward.

No. 1 Nebraska (26-0, 16-0) will try to continue its winning ways Thursday against Iowa at the Devaney Center at 7 p.m. CST.

Junior setter Bergen Reilly said it’s impressive what they accomplished. It was a little freeing for them now, so they can refocus on playing better and their primary objective: winning a national championship.

“Losing a set was probably going to help us get to our goal more than just winning a bunch of sweeps in a row,” Reilly said. “It was frustrating because we knew we beat ourselves in that set. We didn’t really work as hard as we normally did. We weren’t making plays we normally would, but it was great to see our response.”

Harper Murray celebrates with Bergen Reilly after a point against USC. Murray tied for the team lead with 10 kills. | Nebraska Athletics

While some undefeated teams say losing a match helps them learn lessons — Reilly referenced how beneficial their setback at SMU was last season — she said this year’s team doesn’t need to suffer a loss to figure out how to improve.

While defeats can make a team take a closer look at itself, Reilly said they faced challenges in the non-conference portion of the season that helped them identify and address shortcomings. She cited the four-set win against Pittsburgh, the reverse sweep of Kentucky and the five-set marathon against Creighton as valuable learning moments.

“We went through our ups and downs in non-con, and I don’t think we necessarily need to go through those anymore,” she said. “We’re just working towards our peak.”

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said it wasn’t just that it dropped a set to UCLA — almost all the Top 10 ranked teams did so last week — it was how it happened. She said the Huskers got outworked by the Bruins, including being outdug 59-48.

Freshman outside hitter Teraya Sigler said they can work on every aspect of their game in practice, but outside noise about their set streak shouldn’t allow them to get complacent. They can go back and watch film and learn from their mistakes without dwelling on them.

“It’s really cool to have that streak, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t mean anything,” she said. “We want to win out at the end of December. It doesn’t matter about our streak. (Losing a set) was really helpful for us — even ugly volleyball still wins. We pushed through some hard things.”

"THAT'S NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL."

- Paul Sunderland

🙂‍↕️🤏 pic.twitter.com/lLzckk4YC2
— Nebraska Volleyball (@HuskerVB) November 16, 2025

The Huskers’ new focus was on display Sunday during one highlight-filled rally against USC.

After the Trojans dug a slide attack, Jackson couldn’t swap positions with setter Bergen Reilly, so she retreated off the net and popped the ball up in an instinctive reaction. Harper Murray kept the ball alive before libero Olivia Mauch sent over a free ball. Teraya Sigler went to her knees in the back row to make another dig. Murray’s attack was rejected, but she covered the block and allowed Jackson another swing. USC sent over the ball on the second touch, and Laney Choboy was in position for an easy pass to Reilly, who then gave the ball to Jackson for a slide kill.

“That’s Nebraska volleyball,” TV announcer Paul Sunderland commented on the broadcast.

Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a share of the Big Ten title. — Nebraska volleyball players celebrate a share of the Big Ten title in 2024. NU could win its third straight title as soon as this week. | Nebraska Athletics

Three-Peat Watch

Nebraska’s perfect record, along with Oregon’s upset of Purdue on Sunday, puts the Big Ten title within reach against the Hawkeyes.

If the Huskers defeat Iowa, they will have earned a share of a conference championship for the third straight season. Any fanfare of a league title will likely wait until next week as the Huskers want to celebrate an outright title at home.

Wisconsin and Purdue are tied for second place with league records of 13-3 and play each other on Wednesday. An additional loss by the victor of that match or another NU win would give Nebraska the title outright.

Reilly said it’s an honor that they have the chance to win the championship before the final week of the regular season.

“It’s a testament to all the hard work we’ve put in, and it’s been a long season,” she said. “The Big Ten is hard. It’s 10 long weeks of traveling, homework, recovering and keeping yourself healthy. I’m just really proud of this group for sticking through it and getting to this point where we can hopefully win it in Week Nine.

Busboom Kelly won a Big Ten title with the Huskers as an assistant coach in 2016 and said it is a significant accomplishment to carry on the tradition, even with roster turnover and coaching changes.

“It’s a huge, huge deal in this conference, and I’m pretty proud to not have taken a step back to deliver on that championship,” she said. “A lot of people have asked, ‘Where’s that rate the Big Ten versus national championship?’ Clearly, the National Championship is the goal and the Big Ten is the icing on the cake.”

Celebrity Life

Busboom Kelly had her own Hollywood moment last weekend in Los Angeles.

The NU coach was wandering through a mall in Los Angeles on Saturday between matches when she was approached by a fan who had flown in from Canada to watch the Huskers and wanted a photo with her.

“When you’re in Beverly Hills and you’re at the mall and you’re the volleyball coach, you don’t expect to be stopped for a picture,” Busboom Kelly said. “There’s plenty of other stars out there, but when you talk about worldwide (recognition of Nebraska’s brand), it’s pretty cool.”

It’s become commonplace for Nebraska to bring a large following wherever it goes. The Huskers have sold out arenas in Michigan, New Jersey and Minnesota this season. This weekend, it was Los Angeles’s turn.

Nebraska drew record crowds at UCLA and USC this weekend, with a combined attendance of 19,570. The majority of fans at both matches were rooting for Nebraska.

Busboom Kelly said the vibe in both arenas was high.

“It felt like a lot of people were on vacation, and then they came to check out a match. Those fans are always so excited and appreciative, and it just creates an awesome energy,” she said. “Somebody gets a great dig, and the crowd goes wild in the middle of the rally. That’s a really fun atmosphere to be a part of, so I’ve loved the road games out there.”

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