Madison falls in three to Nebraska

Madison, Wis. -  March 12, 2026 - LOVB Nebraska swept LOVB Madison (26-24, 25-17, 25-15) at Alliant Energy Center Thursday night. 

Match Stats

“We work really hard as a team, and that's disappointing to have that today,” started head coach Matt Fuerbringer. “We’ve got to wear that. We have to get better. So we'll watch video tomorrow and come back and come back ready for Austin on Sunday.”

The first set was back-and-forth with the largest lead only reaching three points. Madison fought off a pair of set points, but  Nebraska eventually won the set, 26-24. They carried that momentum into the second set, going on a 7-1 scoring run off the bat and maintaining pressure for a  25-17 set win. The visitors  won the third, 25-15, to clinch their third win in a row and break the LOVB record with nine consecutive set victories.

Kimberly Drewniok led LOVB Nebraska, putting up 17 kills, two aces and a block. The opposite earned match MVP honors as she led all players in points scored and kills.

Nebraska outpaced Madison 6-2 in aces, 45-33 in kills and 11-4 in blocks. Emily Thater and Anna Buijs were also integral parts in Nebraska’s win. Thater had eight kills, four blocks and an ace while Buijs had 10 kills and a block.

Madison’ was led by outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic with eight kills and a block. Gong Xiangyu, Temi Thomas-Ailara and Callie Schwarzenbach each added seven points..

“We have to go in very confident,” said libero Gillian Grimes when approaching her next match, “we'll be able to learn from our mistakes and take it in so we can use that in our Austin match.”

Next up, LOVB Madison stays home to host LOVB Austin for the second time this season. The game is set for Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. Central. Tickets are available for purchase and fans can stream the match on ESPN+.