Lincoln, Neb. -- Taking on the nation's third-ranked team in a primetime Big Ten matchup, the Wisconsin volleyball team set out to do what it never did before: beat Nebraska on the road.
 
The No. 16 Badgers did just that on Saturday night in the Devaney Center, upsetting the third-ranked Huskers 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-22 in front of a full crowd to make program history.
 
"We're not a finished product by any means, but we're getting better and I love our work ethic," UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said. "I hope people are getting excited as they see this team grow. The competitiveness, the drive, the communication, the strength and the expanded games prove that they're all in. They're being tough, so I'm having a lot of fun coaching this team."
 
With the victory, the Badgers improve to 14-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten. Behind a season-high 15 blocks, the Badger block proved to be the pivotal factor against powerhouse Nebraska, who recorded eight blocks.
 
Junior Haleigh Nelson led with a season-high eight blocks followed by freshman Tionna Williams, who tied her career high of seven.
 
Both sides produced 66 digs. Leading the Badgers was sophomore Lauryn Gillis, who notched a career-high 19 digs. Fellow sophomore and outside hitter Kelli Bates followed with 14 and senior Taylor Morey added 13.
 
UW hit .253 (55 kills - 17 errors -150 total attempts), while the Badgers held Nebraska to hit just .133 (58-35-173).
 
In front of a packed Devaney Center, the Badgers came out fired up to quickly silence the crowd and hint of the tough road ahead. Nelson got things going with a kill to spark a 5-0 run to put UW up 8-5, but tough serving guided the Huskers through a 7-0 run that put Nebraska on top, 18-13.
 
A swing by Williams snapped the Husker streak and a Nebraska attack error cut the Husker lead to 21-19. Two straight kills by Gillis brought it to 22-21, but two ensuing Husker kills brought set point. In a controversial end to the first set, Morey's impressive diving pancake save was ruled as a dead ball despite Sheffield's challenge.
 
To start the second set, the Badger block shut down the Husker attack as four blocks, including one solo block by Nelson, put UW up 7-3. After sharp hitting by both sides kept the score close, huge swings from Gillis, redshirt junior Romana Kriskova and Bates paced a 5-1 Badger run to put UW up 17-10 and force the Nebraska timeout. Accurate hitting at the net by the Badgers kept the Huskers out of reach for the remainder of the set, and a Nelson kill brought set point before a service error tied the match at 1-1. The Badgers hit .429 (13-1-28), while the UW defense held the powerful Nebraska attack to just .158 (16-10-38) in the second set.
 
Impressive hitting by the balanced Badger attack continued to guide UW through the third set. After leading 12-8 thanks to another strong swing by Bates, the Huskers clawed their way back to tie it at 13. Eager to shut down the Husker momentum, Kriskova put down a kill to spark a 4-0 Badger run to give UW an 18-14 lead and the Badgers never looked back. To bring set point, Nelson and Carlini combined for the stop and Bates topped it off with a kill to give UW a 2-1 lead. With eight kills in the third set alone, Bates' energy lit up the court to halt the Huskers.
 
With the match on the line, both sides battled for every point. After putting up few blocks in the first three sets, the Husker block came alive in the fourth set and set the Badgers back early on. A Bates kill tied it at 13 after two straight Nebraska blocks, but a 3-0 Husker run gave Nebraska a 16-13 lead. Knowing it couldn't give Nebraska a comfortable lead, Wisconsin managed to tie it up at 17 behind a Carlini ace and Kriskova kill.
 
Five Badger kills in seven points gave the Badgers a 23-20 lead, but an attack error and Husker ace brought the Huskers dangerously close at 23-22. Hoping to stop the Husker momentum, the Badgers called a timeout just two points away from winning the match. The decision proved to be worth it as the Huskers produced a service error to bring match point. Sealing the upset victory was Bates, who fired off a kill to complete the historic comeback.
 
At the helm of the Badger attack was Bates, who recorded a match-high 16 kills. Gillis followed with 14, while Williams contributed nine.
 
After another do-it-all performance by both Bates and Gillis, the duo recorded their sixth and fourth double-doubles of the season, respectively.
 
Carlini put up 49 assists and added four kills, five blocks, one ace and eight digs to round out her all-around night.
 
"It's a nice win to be able to have the kind of confidence against a top-10 team, but like we said in the locker room the train keeps moving," Bates said. "We'll enjoy this win for about a day or two and then we have to get ready for the second half of the Big Ten."
 
Up next, the Badgers return home to face No. 19 Purdue on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Field House. The Badgers' match against the Boilermakers will air on BTN.