OMAHA, Nebraska – February 1, 2026 – LOVB Nebraska Volleyball saw its two-match win streak snapped Sunday after falling to LOVB Austin in four sets, 25-22, 16-25, 25-15, 25-16 at Baxter Arena.
“Austin played exceptionally well, probably as well as we’ve seen them thus far,” said Nebraska head coach Suzie Fritz. “The battle we have to win when we play them is the serve-pass battle. We sided out pretty well with them at times, but we have to be able to force them into some out-of-system stuff. That wasn’t where we wanted to be.”
Austin opened the match with a set one victory, but not before Nebraska clawed back mid-set deficits of up to seven points. Outside hitter Jaali Winters scored more than half her total points in the first set, and she added five more in the second as Nebraska evened the match at one set apiece.
The third and fourth sets opened with teams trading points – the fourth specifically featured 12 tie scores – but Austin pulled ahead mid-set in each, clinching another win between the 2025 LOVB Finals championship match contestants.
Winters ended the match with a season-high 15 points, including 13 kills on a .357 attack efficiency. Opposite Kimberly Drewniok scored 12 points, all from the attack, and Dutch outside hitter Anne Buijs landed 10 kills on 20 attacks and a .400 efficiency.
Libero Lexi Rodriguez led Nebraska’s defense with 15 digs and a perfect 1.00 dig percentage, while setter Laura Dijkema dished out 39 assists.
While the teams’ service and defensive numbers were similar, Austin won the offensive efficiency battle, attacking at a .362 clip compared to Nebraska’s .240. Austin outside hitter Logan Eggleston scored 17 kills for a .533 attack efficiency and opposite Madisen Skinner added 18 kills on a .406 efficiency.
With the loss, Nebraska drops to 3-3 and into a tie for third place in the LOVB standings.
LOVB Nebraska will travel to Provo, Utah on Saturday, February 7 when they battle first-place LOVB Salt Lake (5-1). First serve is set for 4 p.m. Central at BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse and will stream on Victory+.
