LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 14 Penn State dropped a road match to No. 3 Nebraska 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-9) in a Big Ten women's volleyball match Friday night at the Devaney Center. The Lions, who saw their record dip to 14-4 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten, played a top-10 opponent for the third time in five matches. The Huskers improved to 15-1, 7-0 B1G.
Junior Cassie Kuerschen was a bright spot for Penn State, finishing with a career-high 17 digs in just three sets. That eclipsed her previous high of 14 that she set in a five-set win at Maryland last season.
Kuerschen was one of three Penn State players with double-digit digs in the match as the Lions held Nebraska to .208 hitting. Maddy Bilinovic totaled 12 digs, while Gillian Grimes had 10. Seleisa Elisaia chipped in with eight.
Nebraska, however, turned to a strong defensive unit at the net to get the win. The Huskers finished with 16 blocks, led by Kaitlyn Hord with nine. Whitney Lauenstein had eight in addition to seven kills.
Penn State ran in to a Nebraska team that entered the match ranking first in the nation in opponent hitting percentage at .117. The Huskers held the Lions to .017 hitting. Lexi Rodriguez tallied a team-high 16 digs.
Katie Clark started just one of the three sets for Penn State but contributed a team-best seven kills. Alexa Markley, Allie Holland, and Kashauna Williams each had five kills, while Taylor Trammell added four.
Penn State leaves Lincoln and heads across the state line to play Iowa on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. The Hawkeyes dropped to 7-11 overall and 1-6 in the conference with a 3-0 loss to No. 5 Wisconsin on Friday.
Saturday's match will stream on B1G+.
The 2022 Penn State women's volleyball season is presented by McLanahan's.