LINCOLN, Neb.-- The No. 4 Wisconsin volleyball team looked to secure its second-ever victory in Lincoln, but fell in three sets to top-ranked Nebraska, 25-21, 25-22, 25-15 at Devaney Sports Center.

The Badgers (15-3 overall, 7-2 Big Ten) hit .179 percent through the match (39 kills - 19 errors - 112 attempts), while the Huskers held a .330 attack percentage (46-11-106). Nebraska (17-1, 8-1 Big Ten), the reigning NCAA champion, outblocked UW 10-5.5, and out dug the Badgers, 48-38.

"I think a big part of that," UW head coach Kelly Sheffield explained, "is that we've had a week and a half with this lineup. When you're playing great competition and the game gets going that fast, there were quite a bit of hesitation points. I think frustration set in, but I thought early on that was a big thing.

"We had an opportunity of winning both the first and the second, and those hesitation points were critical moments. Those will obviously be thing's we'll work out over time, but it is what it is right now."

Sophomore Tionna Williams led the Wisconsin offense, hitting 11 kills and a .269 attack percentage with only four errors on 26 attempts. Redshirt senior Romana Kriskova hit eight kills, adding one block, while junior Lauryn Gillis added seven kills and freshman Molly Haggerty contributed six.

Junior Kelli Bates led the Badgers in digs, recording 15, while senior Haleigh Nelson added three blocks. Senior Lauren Carlini tallied 30 assists, adding six digs.

Nelson, Haggerty and sophomore Amber MacDonald each served up an ace for the Badgers.

The Badgers kept even with Nebraska through the start of the first set, playing to four tie points until 12-12. The Huskers went on a 9-4 run, forcing UW to use both of its timeouts by 21-16. The Badgers took a 4-0 run late in the set and cut the Husker lead to 23-21, but eventually fell 25-21 on a hitting error.

The Badgers were held to a .159 (13-6-44) hitting percentage in set one while Nebraska managed a .297 percentage (16-5-37).

"[Nebraska] played well and kept their errors down, their hitting errors were pretty low," Sheffield said. "We had a tough time, our points were really, really hard. Part of it was their defense, I thought their defense was really good. There wasn't a whole lot of pass-set-hit. The first part of the first set I thought there was, and then we didn't control the ball very well."

Set two started much like the first as Wisconsin closely trailed Nebraska midway through the set, 11-10. The Badgers battled through the next 20 points, claiming nine and forcing a Husker timeout after Carlini won a joust to bring the Badgers within three points, 22-19. UW held off two Nebraska set points after the Huskers ran out of substitutions, but dropped the set 25-22.

Wisconsin hit .194 (11-5-31) in set three, its highest attack percentage of the match, but had trouble holding off Nebraska's hitters. Nebraska surged to a 6-1 lead in the final set, forcing an early Wisconsin timeout. The Huskers tallied eight kills and forced several UW hitting errors over the following points, leading 19-11 as the Badgers used their second timeout. Williams, Gillis and Nelson each tallied kills following the break, but Nebraska's lead proved to be too great as it finished the set 25-15 to take the match.

"We're irritated, probably should be," Sheffield said. "It's always about getting better, where we're at right now isn't what we're going to be, whether we won or lost this match. We're not where we want to be, but I don't think anyone is going to be scared to put the work in.

"We're just not where we want to be right now, so let's get to work."

The Badgers continue their road stint on Saturday, facing Iowa in Iowa City. First serve at Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 7 p.m.