OMAHA, Nebraska - January 30, 2026 - After a wild night of volleyball at Baxter Arena Friday that saw extra points, plenty of digs, and a new record set, LOVB Nebraska found itself alone at No. 2 in the League One Volleyball standings
Nebraska (3-2) downed LOVB Madison in five sets 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 24-26,16-14 to leapfrog Madison in the league standings. Both teams entered the match with 2-2 records. Now, Nebraska’s second and on a two-match win streak.
“At times, I thought we played extraordinarily well,” said Nebraska head coach Suzie Fritz. “At the end, we stayed relatively patient, stayed pretty clean, didn’t hurt ourselves; that’s who we have to be. We have to count on everybody to make plays. We’re at our best when we can count on all of them.”
Two Nebraska players led the match with 17 points apiece, but Ana Carolina da Silva – Carol – did so while reshaping LOVB’s record book. She tallied 10 blocks on the night, six in the first two sets alone. The Olympic medalist from Brazil added seven kills and one dig, earning Player of the Match honors.
Carol’s record-breaking 10th block came late in the fifth, stuffing Madison’s Gong Xiangyu and putting Nebraska ahead 11-10. A Nebraska error tied the score again, and two points later, it was still tied before outside hitter Jordan Larson landed a cross-court kill and a Madison hitting error put Nebraska on the brink at 14-12. Making her return to Nebraska, former Cornhusker Callie Schwarzenbach staved off two match points with a block and a kill, tying the set at 14-all. Nebraska retook the lead on a Madison service error, and opposite Kimberly Drewniok ended the match with a kill.
The visitors opened the match with late first-set dominance to take an early lead, but two solid runs by Nebraska in the second evened things up. Nebraska never trailed in the third and turned aside one match point in the fourth before back-to-back errors gave Madison the frame and brought about the deciding fifth set.
“It’s nice [to set a record],” Carol said after the match, “but it’s better just to win … I’m happy we could do the things we are supposed to do and see these good actions happening and becoming points.
"I always say it's nice when you block because it means your pins are in the right position. It’s always [easier].”
Larson also scored 17 points for her club, pairing 14 kills with two blocks, one ace and 16 digs. Outside hitters Jaali Winters and Anne Buijs added 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while middle blocker Emily Thater paired eight kills with two blocks.
Libero Lexi Rodriguez led all players with 22 digs, and three others – Larson, Winters and setter Laura Dijkema – reached double-digits. In all, Nebraska dug up 86 Madison attacks, third-most in league history.
Madison, meanwhile, tallied 90 digs, just two shy of their own league record set last season. Setter Lauren Carlini made 21 and libero Milica Medved 20.
Schwarzenbach led Madison with 15 points: 10 kills and five blocks.
LOVB Nebraska returns to action on Sunday, February 1 when they host LOVB Austin (3-3). First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. Central at Baxter Arena and will stream on ESPN+.
