The night looked promising for the Hoosiers (15-14) when they originally led the Cornhuskers in the opening set, 7-4, but the Cornhuskers (23-4) came back to take the lead and finalize the first set win, 25-16.
In the second set both teams kept it tied, but IU was unable to put enough points on the board to keep up, due to the large block defense by Nebraska. IU also led the two teams in errors during the second set with a total of four, allowing Nebraska to win the second set, 25-19, taking a two-point match lead.
The Hoosiers came back out in the third set falling behind the Cornhuskers but later caught up midway through, forcing a two-point deficit, 16-14.
The Hoosiers led both teams in total attacks with 106. They weren’t able to keep up with their opponents as the Huskers kept a 36.8 hitting percentage compared to the Hoosiers 15.6 percent.
IU tried to keep up but dropped the third set, 25-19, putting an end to its most recent win streak, giving Nebraska it’s seventh straight win.
Freshman Elizabeth Asdell posted a career-high 12 kills on just 19 swings and two errors. Senior Courtney Harnish moved into seventh place on the all-time IU digs list, recording 15 digs Wednesday and pushing her career total to 1,070.
Moving forward, IU will play one of its last three matches of the season when the Hoosiers travel this weekend to take on the Fighting Illini for the second time at 8 p.m. Saturday night.
Courtney Robb
