Nebraska Falls Short After Going the Distance with Madison

OMAHA, Nebraska – February 22, 2026 – In a crucial match at the season’s halfway point for both teams who entered the night riding losing streaks, it was LOVB Madison who came out victorious, scoring a five-set win over LOVB Nebraska (25-23, 16-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-11) on Sunday evening at Baxter Arena.

Despite having its losing streak extended to five, Nebraska (3-7) saw some of its best offensive production with setter Laura Dijkema returning to the starting lineup, who made her first start in three weeks tonight. For just the second time all season, Nebraska fielded four athletes to have 10+ kills in the match.

“What I like about [Laura] is she had some really nice balance in our offense,” said Nebraska head coach Suzie Fritz. “We saw a few more in-system sets. I thought she had a little bit better distribution, especially to our lefts.”

Speaking of lefts, the Nebraska outside hitters shined tonight, with the tandem pins of Anne Buijs (20p, 18k, 2b) and Jordan Larson (18p, 18k) leading the offensive charge for the home team. The combined 38 points and 36 kills is the most in a match this season by the starting pair of outsides.

“To be honest, I think this built our confidence, too,” said Larson. “We had a lot of great plays tonight and had a lot of moments that ‘that’s us.’ I think this week of training felt intentional, it felt present, and I felt that on the court tonight, which I think shows a big translation of what we’re trying to do.”

On the other side of the net for Madison (3-8), setter Lauren Carlini shined, breaking the league record for most assists in a single match with 64. Opposite hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara (26p, 24k, 1a, 1b) and outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic (22p, 19k, 2a, 1b) were the thriving recipients from the national team setter. The win snapped an eight-match losing streak for the visitors.

“I didn’t tell the girls this, but in my mind this was a must-win game for us to get in the playoffs,” said Madison head coach Matt Fuerbringer. “You know, I’ve been in a lot of really big matches and won a lot of big matches, and that’s honestly one of my favorite matches I’ve ever won as a coach or player. When the pressure starts to build like that and for us to respond this way, it just shows our character, and we just have to take this and build.”

LOVB Nebraska will return to action on Thursday, February 26, with a road match at second-place LOVB Houston (7-4). The contest will stream on Victory+ at 7 p.m. Central.