Stop me if you've heard this before but Nebraska volleyball is on absolute fire. The team is 21-0 through the first two months of the season and look unstoppable as they vie for their first championship since 2017.
The 21-0 start has come against plenty of difficult opponents, making it even more impressive that the Cornhuskers have yet to falter. Nebraska has already faced seven teams currently ranked in the top 25 and handled the competition with ease (not to mention, several other teams were ranked when the Huskers played them). They've dropped just four sets all season and only appear to be getting better as we inch closer to the official tournament.
With seven matches remaining until the Big Ten Tournament (a first in the history of the sport), let's try and figure out which one of those teams has the best shot at handing Nebraska its first loss of the 2026 season.
The Huskers play Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, and Washington on the road this weekend and next before returning to Lincoln to close out their regular season against Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. Four of those seven teams are currently in the top 25 rankings.
When will Nebraska volleyball suffer its first loss of the season?
Given how easily the Cornhuskers have handled their opponents, it wouldn't be surprising to see them finish the regular season undefeated for the second straight year. They're that good.
With that said, their closing schedule isn't going to be a cakewalk by any means. The next two weekends consist of the team going on the road to play some tough teams who are fighting to move up the standings in the closing weeks of the season.
Nebraska should be able to take care of business against Michigan in Ann Arbor but things will get increasingly more difficult for them after that match. They'll then head to East Lansing for a date with the Michigan State Spartans, who entered the rankings this week as the 25th ranked team.
Michigan State is 17-3 and have held their own against tough opponents this year. They defeated Penn State in four sets in late September and while they ultimately fell to Oregon and Washington, they avoided a sweep in both matches.
The good news for Nebraska heading into this one is that, the night before MSU hosts the Huskers, they'll host ranked Indiana. Hopefully, Michigan State expends a lot of energy during that match and run out of gas by the time Nebraska comes to town. The Cornhuskers should be able to win this one in a sweep but if not, then at least by a 3-1 final.
Road trip against Oregon and Washington will be tough for Nebraska
The following weekend will take the Cornhuskers to Eugene for a match against the Oregon Ducks and then to Seattle to face the Washington Huskies. Both the Ducks and Huskies are ranked with Oregon sitting at 12 and Washington at 20.
If Nebraska is going to lose during the regular season, the most likely time that would happen would occur against one of these teams. Oregon has been a top-notch program for a long time and are 17-3 on the year so far. Their losses have come against ranked Arizona State (who was No. 7 in the country at the time), Wisconsin (No. 6 at the time), and Penn State (No. 16 at the time). Meanwhile, the Ducks took down ranked teams such as Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan State.
As for Washington, they might be on Nebraska fans' radar now due to recently knocking off Wisconsin in Madison. They've also defeated Purdue and Michigan State. If I had to pick either Oregon or Washington to give Nebraska more problems, it'd be Washington because when they're on, they're really, really good, proven by their road win over the Badgers last week.
If the Huskers make it through these next two weekends unscathed, then they should be able to make it through the rest of the season with an undefeated record. No disrespect to Illinois, Iowa, or Minnesota, but the Huskers will be in tournament form by this point and losing at home would be quite the shock.
Yes, they fell at home in the tournament last season but there were a lot of unfortunate circumstances that helped make that happen. Bergen Reilly was battling the flu and Ali Sczech had rolled her ankle during warmups. Even still, the Cornhuskers nearly held off Texas A&M and probably go on to win the whole dang thing if they do.
My point being that the Cornhuskers are clearly a good team and they're even better at home. They should be able to run through those three teams. Whether they already have a loss on their record by the time they return to Lincoln or not is another story.
Anything can happen in the tournament
Say Nebraska does go undefeated in the regular season. On the one hand, that's obviously a very difficult accomplishment, especially the ability to do so in back-to-back years. But, as we saw a year ago, the regular season's success doesn't always carry over into the tournament.
The Nebraska team that won it all in 2017 was a footnote entering the tournament, earning the No. 7 seed and having to play the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight matches on the road. They went on to win the whole dang thing.
So, again, regular season success is great but this team needs to show that it can rise to the occasion in December. They've melted down the past three years but hopefully, this time is different. If they enter the tournament without a loss on their record, will that be good for them or would it be better for them to know how to handle a loss and how to respond to it?
It should be a fun finish for this Nebraska Cornhuskers group.
Add us as a preferred source on Google