LINCOLN, NEBRASKA — The Iowa Hawkeye volleyball team faced the nation’s top-ranked opponent Saturday evening, November 14, 2026, and came away with a straight-set defeat as No. 1 Nebraska overpowered Iowa, 25-12, 25-15 and 25-17, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The loss dropped Iowa to 13-17 overall and 2-14 in Big Ten Conference play as the Hawkeyes prepare to return home for a Senior Night showdown against No. 25 Illinois.
Ksenija Tomic and Carmel Vares led the Iowa offense with six kills apiece. Liv Mogridge and Rosa Vesty added three kills each, while Jenna Meitzler and Hannah Whittingstall contributed two apiece.
Meitzler directed the Hawkeye attack with 17 assists and was involved in four blocks. Greta Schlichter, wearing the libero jersey, led Iowa defensively with eight digs, while Mogridge and Whittingstall each recorded three blocks.
Nebraska took control early in the opening set, racing to a 3-0 advantage before Mogridge put Iowa on the scoreboard. The Hawkeyes battled to remain within striking distance, but a 9-2 Nebraska run pushed the Huskers ahead 21-10. Nebraska closed out the first set 25-12.
Iowa briefly held a 4-3 lead in the second set after a kill by Vesty, but Nebraska answered with four consecutive points and built a commanding 15-7 advantage by the media timeout.
The Hawkeyes continued competing at the net, including a late block from Meitzler and Mogridge that temporarily denied Nebraska a set point. However, the Huskers claimed the second set 25-15 to move within one set of victory.
Iowa produced its strongest opening stretch in the third set.
A service ace from Jaimie Marquardt, followed by consecutive kills from Tomic and Vares, helped the Hawkeyes build a 7-4 lead against the nation’s top-ranked team.
Nebraska responded with four straight points to move ahead 8-7 and eventually extended its advantage to 19-10.
The Hawkeyes made one final push, putting together a 5-0 scoring run that cut Nebraska’s lead to 22-17. The Huskers recovered, claimed the final three points and completed the sweep with a 25-17 third-set victory.
The defeat marked another difficult Big Ten road assignment for Iowa, which had also fallen in straight sets to No. 19 Minnesota earlier in November.
Iowa will now turn its attention to Senior Night and an opportunity to challenge another nationally ranked conference opponent on its home floor.
The Hawkeyes host No. 25 Illinois on Tuesday, November 17, at 6 p.m. inside Xtream Arena in Coralville.