USC women’s volleyball lost in three straight sets Sunday to undefeated Nebraska in front of a sold-out Galen Center.
The No.1 Cornhuskers’ victory over the No. 17 Trojans brought USC’s nine-game win streak to an end.
“I just thought we were flat today,” head coach Brad Keller said. “It was a bad day.”
There were 9,072 fans in attendance, the first sold-out game for USC women’s volleyball in Galen Center history.
The Trojans lost 25-13 in the first set, with four tie scores and two lead changes.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay led the attack for USC with four kills in the set.
“I just really wanted to win,” said Wijay. “Every part of me did.”
Nebraska senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair had six of the Cornhuskers’ 17 kills in the first set, with a team hitting percentage of .500 for the set. Nebraska held USC to 10 kills and a hitting percentage of .125.
Nebraska led in points the entire second set, winning 25-16.
Junior outside hitter Harper Murray led the Cornhuskers’ offense with four kills in the set. Freshman right side Abigail Mullen also had four kills for the Trojans.
Wijay had five digs, the most for the Trojan defense in the second set.
Nebraska won the third set 25-20. The set saw 14 kills for the Trojans, their most kills per set in the match. The Cornhuskers had 19.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina faced an attack error in the third set after her cross-court hit was called out of bounds. Keller challenged the call. It was overturned, making the score 10-8. Nebraska responded with a kill from Landfair.
The Trojans continued to trail by two or three points for the rest of the set, with their longest scoring run coming from three consecutive kills.
USC used every time-out available throughout the match, but it made no dent in Nebraska’s momentum.
The Cornhuskers finished the match with 52 total kills and a hitting percentage of .412. They held the Trojans to 25 kills and a hitting percentage of .156.
Nebraska had zero errors on serve receive.
The match brought USC to 20-5 and 11-4 in the Big Ten. Nebraska continued its undefeated season, moving to 25-0, 15-0.
The Trojans travel to play the Oregon Ducks Wednesday at Matt Knight Arena.
“This team showed us exactly what we need to do, and we know how to get there,” Keller said. “It’s about duck hunting season now.”