No. 7 Kentucky volleyball collapses down the stretch in 3-2 loss to No. 1 Nebraska

Kentucky volleyball was one set away from sweeping the top-ranked team in the nation, but too many unforced errors in the final three sets led to an unfortunate collapse.

The No. 7 Wildcats (1-1) came up short 3-2 (26-24, 25-20, 19-25, 23-25, 8-15) against No. 1 Nebraska (4-0) on Sunday afternoon inside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The two teams made history as the first to ever play a volleyball match that was broadcast on ABC, but it was the powerhouse Cornhuskers that remained calm throughout the five-set match.

Kentucky took a 2-0 set lead and looked to be on the brink of a statement win, but the sweep was ultimately reversed as Nebraska, led by former Louisville head coach Dani Busboom Kelly, controlled the final three sets en route to victory.

Nebraska’s Harper Murray was the star of the afternoon, recording a career-high 23 kills on .340 hitting. Kentucky’s reigning SEC Player of the Year, Brooklyn DeLeye, matched Harper with 23 kills of her own, but she committed 12 errors along the way while hitting just .162. Kentucky setter Ava Sarafa posted 43 assists while Molly Tuozzo recorded a team-high 16 digs.

It won’t get any easier for Kentucky and head coach Craig Skinner, either. The ‘Cats return to action on Friday for a road match against No. 2 Penn State. While losing to Nebraska after such a hot start stings, Kentucky proved on the national stage that this is a program to be reckoned with in 2025.

Kentucky came out looking tense in front of a jam-packed crowd filled with mostly Nebraska fans. Some mental mistakes from Skinner’s squad crept in to begin the first set. It was a 15-12 Cornhusker lead in the opening set before the ‘Cats settled in, eventually tying the score 18-18 before winning the set 26-24. The second set started out similarly, with Kentucky going down early before responding late. After trailing 19-18, UK responded with six straight points and eventually won the set 25-20 to take a commanding 2-0 lead.

A sweep of the country’s top-ranked team was fully on the table.

But then Nebraska started to prove why it held the number one ranking. It was a back-and-forth affair early into the third set before the Cornhuskers took off. Too many errors from the ‘Cats led to a strong finish from Nebraska, which took the third set 25-19. All momentum was with the Cornhuskers now. That carried over into the fourth set as Kentucky was officially playing on its toes. Again, too many errors killed Kentucky as Nebraska won the fourth set 25-23.

That took us to a decisive fifth set, the first to 15 points ruled the winner. Kentucky did its best to stay competitive, but Nebraska was in a groove offensively and created a brick wall at the net. The Cornhuskers cruised in the fifth, 15-8, to steal what would have been a massive victory for the ‘Cats.