SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Arizona volleyball rallied after intermission, but could not complete the comeback against second-ranked Nebraska on Friday afternoon, falling in four sets (25-17, 25-14, 17-25, 25-17) to open the SDSU/USD Invitational in San Diego.
 
Nebraska (3-0) was overpowering in the first two sets, but the Wildcats (2-2) came out of intermission with a dominant third-set victory and rolled that momentum into a fourth-set lead, but ran out of gas in the end in the Huskers' four-set win.
 
After Nebraska hit .326 and .438 in the first two sets, Arizona held the high-powered offense to -.081 and .179 hitting in the third and fourth sets, leveling the match hitting percentage to just .214 for Nebraska, by far a season-low for the Cornhuskers.
 
Arizona's third-set victory over Nebraska marked the first time that the Cornhuskers had dropped a set to an unranked team since Oct. 24, 2018 (Ohio State).
 
Paige Whipple led the offense with 13 kills while adding six digs, an ace and a pair of assists.
 
In her first match of the season after missing opening weekend, Devyn Cross made an immediate impact for the Wildcats, posting six kills on .333 hitting and adding a team-high three blocks.
 
Arizona dug 57 balls in the match, led by Kamaile Hiapo (15) and Katie Smoot (14).
 
BY SET
 
Set 1 (Nebraska 25, Arizona 17): Nebraska scored 10 of the final 13 points in the first set, distancing itself after Arizona cut its lead to one at 12-13 and 14-15. Arizona hit .234 against Nebraska, which had held both of its first two opponents of the season under .100, but allowed the Huskers to hit .395.
 
Set 2 (Nebraska 25, Arizona 14): The Huskers' offense was even better in the second, posting 17 kills on 32 wings (.438 hitting percentage) in a wire-to-wire win in the second set. UA could not recover from an early 13-1 deficit.
 
Set 3 (Arizona 25, Nebraska 17): Arizona dominated the third set, using an early 6-0 run to separate itself and adding on from there. The set victory was the first by an unranked team against Nebraska since Ohio State on Oct. 24, 2018. The Cats held the Cornhuskers to -.081 hitting and gave up just eight kills in the set. UA had four blocks in the frame.
 
Set 4 (Nebraska 25, Arizona 17): Arizona took its momentum from the third set into an early fourth-set lead. The Cats led the Huskers 8-5 and again 10-9, but Nebraska overcame the early deficit and ran away with a 25-17 fourth-set win to seal the match.
 
UP NEXT
 
Arizona wraps up the SDSU/USD Invitational on Saturday with matches vs. West Virginia (11 a.m.) and San Diego State (7 p.m.).
 
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