Against No. 2 Texas
 Ostrander |  Rolfzen |  Wong-Orantes |
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1 2 3 4 5
Texas (2) 25 21 25 23 15
NEBRASKA (9) 23 25 19 25 8
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Kadie Rolfzen paced the Huskers (6-3) with a career-high 21 kills and 16 digs. Alicia Ostrander, coming off a strong outing off the bench against Creighton, earned the start and tallied 14 kills and four blocks. Justine Wong-Orantes recorded a career-high 29 digs with no receiving errors, and Mary Pollmiller had 40 assists, a career-high six blocks and five kills. Meghan Haggerty had nine blocks to match her season high.
Texas All-American Haley Eckerman led the Longhorns with 20 kills. Amy Neal added 15 kills, and Khat Bell had seven blocks for Texas.
The Huskers hit .165, while Texas hit .189, the lowest it has hit all season. Texas (8-0) entered the match with the nation's eighth-ranked attack at .307 percent, but NU held the Longhorns well under their season average. Texas had also lost just one set all season before the Huskers topped them twice on Saturday.
Nebraska outblocked Texas (15-13) and outdug the Longhorns (78-76). The Big Red also committed fewer service errors with 11 to Texas' 13. But in the fifth set with the match on the line, Texas produced nine kills on 22 attacks with one error for a .364 hitting percentage, while Nebraska put together five kills on 23 attacks with three errors for a .087 hitting percentage.
In game one, the Huskers fought back from a 6-4 deficit to take a 12-10 lead on Kadie Rolfzen's thunderous swing, but Neal's kill and a wide shot from NU tied the set at 12-12. The Huskers reclaimed a two-point lead at 14-12 after a Melanie Keil kill and an errant Longhorn attack and went to the media timeout up 15-13. But Texas scored the first three points out of the timeout to go up 16-15 after a Husker service error, set error and attacking error. Texas went up by two, 21-19, as Neal hit off a Husker block and out. Amber Rolfzen's kill cut the lead to 22-21, and a block from Kadie Rolfzen tied the set at 22-22 to force a Texas timeout. After a long rally and sprawling digs from Wong-Orantes and Sydney Townsend, Nicole Dalton killed it for Texas for a 23-22 Longhorn lead. Eckerman then blasted to the floor to make it 24-22, and after a Kadie Rolfzen kill, Eckerman put one to the floor to end the back-and-forth set. Both teams committed five service errors in the opening frame, and there were 13 ties and six lead changes.
Nebraska opened up a 6-2 lead in the second set after Kadie Rolfzen's eighth kill. The Huskers went up five at 12-7 on a Texas receiving error and went up 14-9 after Texas hit wide following a quick-reaction dig from Annika Albrecht. Texas took a timeout trailing 15-10 and responded with five of the next six rallies to trim the lead to 16-15 before Kadie Rolfzen hit off a Longhorn block attempt and out. Texas rallied to tie it at 17-17 on a service ace from Cat McCoy, but Pollmiller executed a timely dump to put NU back up 18-17. Ostrander then crossed up the Texas defense for a 19-17 lead, and the Huskers went up 20-17 on a Texas net violation. Kelsey Fien entered the match for the first time and immediately swatted a kill for a 22-19 NU lead. A block from Haggerty and Fien gave NU set point at 24-21, and Haggerty teamed up with Pollmiller this time for another block and the 25-21 win in set two. It was just the second time the Longhorns had dropped a set this season. Nebraska hit .317 in the second set, the highest a Texas opponent has hit all season.
Texas jumped in front 9-6 in the third set, but Haggerty posted a kill and Texas hit into the net and wide to even up the set at 9-9. The Huskers went up 11-10 after Texas hit long and 12-11 after an Ostrander block. Ostrander and Keil then teamed up for another block, as the Huskers staked a 13-11 lead. The Huskers thought they had gone up 14-12 when Kadie Rolfzen's swing appeared to bounce inside the back line, but the point went to Texas and the Longhorns went on to continue the 4-0 run and go up 15-13. Texas grabbed a 17-14 lead, but the Huskers showed their resiliency as Kadie Rolfzen and Pollmiller notched consecutive kills to make it 17-16. NU then tied the set at 18-18 after consecutive blocks from Haggerty and then Fien and Haggerty again. Chiaka Ogbogu posted a kill out of a timeout, starting a 5-0 Texas run that put the Horns up 23-18.
The Huskers were playing from behind in set four after Texas went up 12-7 with a three-point run. The Huskers got within 13-11 on Kadie Rolfzen's kill, but Neal came right back for Texas with her 14th kill. NU kept battling and Kadie Rolfzen's 17th kill drew the Big Red within 14-13. Trailing 15-13, the Huskers found some magic and went on a 7-0 run to stake a 20-15 lead. Haggerty and Pollmiller's combined block tied the set at 15-15 and the Huskers took the lead after Texas hit into the net. Pollmiller's solo block then gave NU a 17-15 lead and lifted the roof off the Devaney Center. Following a Texas timeout, Kadie Rolfzen fooled Texas with a soft kill and Texas hit wide for a 19-15 NU lead. Another kill from Kadie Rolfzen made it 20-15, but Texas responded with a 7-1 run to go up 22-21, as a service ace from Ogbogu put the Longhorns back in front. Nebraska briefly tied it at 22-22 on a kill by Ostrander, but Pilar Victoria answered. Ostrander hit off a Texas block attempt and out for another tie at 23-23, then Keil hammered down a kill off the back row for set point. Nebraska finished off the 25-23 win on a Texas miscue to force a deciding game five.
In the fifth set, Texas gained a 5-1 edge with four straight kills, two each by Eckerman and Victoria. The Huskers could get no closer than three points the rest of the set.
The Huskers are back in action on Wednesday night, as they start Big Ten play by hosting Iowa at 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center.