ROSENBERG, Texas – February 26, 2026 – For the second time this season, LOVB Nebraska and LOVB Houston went the full-five sets, and once again Nebraska emerged victorious, ending its five-match losing streak in a reverse sweep victory (23-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-19, 15-11) on Thursday night at the Fort Bend County Epicenter.
Nebraska (4-7) picked up right where they left off on the offensive side of the net from Sunday, producing a season-high 87 points, 73 kills, and a .369 hitting efficiency on the night. Setter Laura Dijkema nearly replicated having four of her attackers reach 10+ kills, with middle blocker Emily Thater coming up one kill short. The Dutchwoman will have to settle with catalyzing her tandem pin-hitters, Jordan Larson and Anne Buijs, to a new combined season high 42 points and 36 kills on a .325 hitting efficiency.
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Buijs: 21 points, 18 kills, 11 digs, three blocks, .368 hitting efficiency
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Larson: 21 points, 18 kills, nine digs, two blocks, one ace, .289 hitting efficiency
“Oh man, I have so many things to say,” said Nebraska head coach Suzie Fritz. “They are working so hard. We’re trying really hard not to be outcomes based, but man, it feels good to get the outcome [tonight].”
“We wanted a win so bad,” said Buijs. “We were a little more like, going to grab it instead of waiting. We were so close so many times, but I think today we were a little more convinced than normal to get this victory. Suzie always tells me to go with courage and today I tried to do that and it worked out well.”
The quiet star of the night was the aforementioned Thater. She came off the bench to start the third set and would become a cornerstone to Nebraska’s comeback. The middle hit for .833 in the third set, leading her team with five kills, and finished her three-set performance swinging .692 with a pair of blocks.
“[My mentality was] just to help,” said Thater, when asked about coming off the bench. “When you’ve got somebody like a [Jordan Thompson], when you’ve got incredibly efficient outside hitters, when you’ve got a setter, very creative and fast offense, the goal as a middle is just to help. Get a positive touch, slow it down if you can, transition like crazy.”
The German duo of opposite hitter Kimberly Drewniok and libero Annie Cesar also played critical roles on the night. Drewniok recorded her fifth double-double on the season (17 kills, 13 digs), most in the league by an opposite hitter. Cesar made her first LOVB career start at libero in place of a sick Lexi Rodriguez, piecing together a 13-dig and 61.5% in-system performance
Houston (7-5) has now dropped two of its last three matches after a blistering six-match winning streak. Opposite hitter Jordan Thompson had her third straight match with 26 kills and her league-leading seventh match of the season with 20+ kills. She paired yet another outstanding offensive performance with 11 digs, good for her fourth double-double on the season. Outside hitter Madi Rishel also recorded a double-double, finishing with 12 kills and 15 digs.
“I thought we were sloppy, undisciplined,” said Houston head coach Sanja Tomašević. “It’s a little disappointing to see the team play this kind of chaotic and disorganized [volleyball]. This is a good time of the season to learn this lesson.”
LOVB Nebraska’s next match will be a special one as the team heads to Grand Island, Nebraska, in what will be the first regular season pro volleyball match in the state played outside of Omaha. They will meet LOVB Salt Lake at the Heartland Events Center for a 7 p.m. Central first serve. The contest will stream for free on Victory+.
