More than 2,000 fans filed into Xtream Arena to watch the University of Iowa volleyball team square off with No. 9 Nebraska Wednesday night.

Though, many of the fans in attendance weren’t clad in the hometown Hawkeyes’ Black and Gold, but rather the visiting Cornhuskers Scarlet and Cream.

Nebraska ultimately defeated Iowa in three sets. The Hawkeyes have now lost eight-straight matches without winning a single set.

Despite the uneven match score, Iowa still found some positives to take away from Wednesday’s game.

The Hawkeyes lost by a slim margin in all three sets Wednesday. Iowa fell by no more than four points in each set.

“I was happy with how I played today, but more importantly, how we came together as a team,” freshman Addie VanderWeide said postgame. “Everyone did what they needed to do for us to find success as a team, and although we didn’t get the outcome we hoped for, there was a lot of good to take away from the match.”

VanderWeide was one the lone bright spots in yet another abysmal outing for the Hawkeyes, tallying 10 kills, two blocks, and 11 digs.

Leading Iowa’s offense alongside VanderWeide was senior Courtney Buzzerio, who amassed a match-high 14 kills.

While Buzzerio and VanderWeide provided them with some solid offensive output, the Hawkeyes still struggled to contain Nebraska’s attack, as Cornhusker outside hitter and All-American Madi Kubik racked up 13 kills.

BIG PICTURE

The Hawkeyes’ latest loss dropped their overall record to 2-17 on the season. Iowa has yet to win a conference game this season.

Iowa is currently tied for last place in the Big Ten Conference standings with Rutgers. Like the Hawkeyes, the Scarlet Knights are 0-9 in league play. Rutgers’ overall record, however, is 8-12.

TERRIFIC TRANSFER

UCLA transfer Mari Hinkle had a stellar performance for the Hawkeyes Wednesday night. She finished the Hawkeyes’ match with the Cornhuskers with 16 digs and six assists.

“Mari got some really big time digs,” Hawkeye head coach Vicki Brown said. “They were serving her throughout the match and she stepped up. She dimed a lot of those tough serves and she was all over the court. Nothing but positive things happened every time Mari was near a play.”

Hinkle, a libero, leads Iowa in digs this season with 177.

UP NEXT

Iowa will now travel to Evanston, Illinois, to face Northwestern Saturday. The Wildcats are coming off a 3-1 loss to Illinois. Northwestern’s overall record this season is 8-12.

The Hawkeyes most recently faced the Wildcats on Oct. 16 at Xtream Arena. Iowa was swept by Northwestern.

Ahead of their matchup with the Wildcats, the Hawkeyes are just hoping to limit the number of mistakes they make.

“It’s really just about us maintaining,” Brown said Wednesday. “I thought our errors were much lower [against Nebraska] than they have been in the past, and that allows you to get into a rhythm. So, maintaining lower end numbers of unforced errors is something we want to highlight going into Northwestern.”

Action between the Hawkeyes and Wildcats will begin Saturday at 7 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The match will steam live on BTN+.