Black Friday began as a potentially sweet day for Husker Athletics all over: Nebraska football was on the verge of capturing a bowl berth to end the nation's longest postseason drought in college football. Nebraska volleyball was set to continue its pursuit of perfection and its quest to get another monkey off its back. The Huskers' soccer team had the chance to take another step in a historic season with its first-ever Final Four appearance.

By the time the dust settled, it was a gloomy day – truly a Black Friday – for Nebraska Athletics as the Huskers went 0-for-3 on the rare opportunities that were in front of them.

Matt Rhule's Huskers once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They have done so in increasingly heartbreaking fashion, beginning with a 13-10 loss to Minnesota to open the year, only to win five of six during one stretch for a 5-3 mark, which all gave way to a four-game losing streak to end a season that culminated in the third 13-10 loss of the season on Saturday.

Read all of Inside Nebraska's Friday and Saturday postgame coverage at these links with much more to come:

>> Snap Judgments: Instant analysis of Iowa 13, Nebraska 10

>> Five Impact Plays: The biggest moments in Nebraska vs. Iowa

>> Grades: Evaluating Nebraska offense and defense in loss to Iowa

>> Marik: Loss to Iowa stings but Huskers headed in right direction

>> Rapid Recap: Offseason priorities after ANOTHER brutal 3-point loss to Iowa

>> Turning Point: Interception all but seals Huskers' Black Friday loss

The Husker volleyball team began the season 27-0 – the best start since 28-0 by the 2005 national runner-up team after having surpassed the 2006 national championship team's 23-0 start – and was in pursuit of perfection.

Nebraska, the unanimously No. 1-ranked team in the country, was looking to match the 2000 national championship team (34-0) to become the second unbeaten VB team in school history and just the sixth team in the last 40 years of college volleyball since 1981 (the year the NCAA Women's volleyball tournament began) to finish undefeated (Long Beach State at 36-0 in 1998, Nebraska at 34-0 in 2000, USC at 35-0 in 2003, Penn State at 38-0 in back-to-back seasons in both 2008 and 2009).

The Huskers would have had to do one game better than that 2000 team and finish 35-0. But the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers halted that mission in its tracks on Friday, mere hours after the football team's final-minute debacle against Iowa, as the Husker volleyball team is still seeking its first win in Madison since 2013.

MADISON, Wis. – The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team fell for the first time this season, 25-22, 28-26, 25-16 at No. 5 Wisconsin in front of a crowd of 7,229 at the UW Field House on Friday afternoon.

The Huskers, who wrapped up the outright Big Ten title last weekend, fell to 27-1 overall and 18-1 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin improved to 25-3 and 16-3 in the Big Ten. Nebraska finishes out the regular season on the road at Minnesota on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Nebraska held late leads in both sets one and two before Wisconsin made plays down the stretch to win both. In the third set, the Badgers led most of the way after separating from a 7-7 tie with a 6-2 run.

Harper Murray had 15 kills and hit .257 with eight digs to lead the Huskers. Ally Batenhorst added 11 kills on .409 hitting, and Merritt Beason also posted 11 kills.

Bergen Reilly had 32 assists and 10 digs as the Huskers hit .243 for the match. Lexi Rodriguez had eight digs.

Wisconsin clicked offensively, hitting .357. Anna Smrek had 18 kills, while Sarah Franklin added 16 as the Badgers remained undefeated at home this season.

>> SET 1: The Huskers controlled the early part of the set, taking a 5-1 lead. After Wisconsin got within 6-4, Batenhorst and Jackson posted kills to keep NU up 8-5. Two Wisconsin hitting errors made it 10-6 Huskers, but Wisconsin scored four of the next five to pull within one, 11-10. Beason got a kill for a sideout, and the teams sided out back and forth for five rallies before a Wisconsin attacking error put the Big Red up 15-12 at the media timeout. Wisconsin got within 16-15, but Beason and Murray stepped up with kills to push the lead back to three, 18-15. But the Badgers answered with a 3-0 run to tie the score at 18-18 for the first time since 0-0.

Reilly set Bekka Allick for a sideout kill to put the Huskers back in front, 19-18, but the Badgers tied it with a kill by Franklin and won a challenge before an ace serve and another Franklin kill made it 22-19 Wisconsin. The Huskers won a challenge that a Beason shot was deflected on the way out to get within 22-20, but the Badgers got two more kills to take set point at 24-20. Wisconsin served into the net and Batenhorst terminated to force a Wisconsin timeout at 24-22. But the Badgers ended the set, 25-22, on Franklin's eighth kill.

>> SET 2: Batenhorst scored four straight Husker points with kills before a Wisconsin hitting error gave NU a 7-4 lead. Wisconsin tied it 7-7 before Batenhorst, Murray and Beason pounded three kills in a row to make it 10-7 Huskers. Allick and Murray struck back-to-back kills for a 15-12 NU lead, but the Badgers scored a 7-2 spurt to take a 19-17 lead. After a timeout, Murray stopped a four-point Badger run with a sideout kill, and the freshman came up clutch again to tie the score at 19-19. An ace by Maisie Boesiger gave the Huskers a 20-19 lead, and Murray blasted her ninth kill off a block to make it 21-19. With Boesiger still serving, Allick and Murray then teamed up for a block as the Huskers went up by three, 22-19, via a 5-0 run.

But the Badgers answered with the next four points to claim a 23-22 advantage. Murray tied it with her eighth kill of the set, but the Badgers earned set point after a kill by Franklin. Murray answered once again to tie it at 24-24 and then served an ace for a Husker set point. Anna Smrek terminated for Wisconsin to make it 25-25, but Batenhorst answered with her seventh kill of the set for another chance at set point. Franklin kept the Badgers alive, and then a Husker hitting error made it 27-26 Wisconsin. Then a tip by Carter Booth fell to the floor for a 28-26 UW win.

>> SET 3: Trailing 6-5, Wisconsin scored a 4-1 run to go up 9-7 and then gained separation from the Huskers with a 6-0 spurt that made it 21-12. A kill by Maggie Mendelson ended that run and made it 21-13, but the Badgers closed out the sweep at 25-16, hitting .593 in the final set.

>> Up Next: The Huskers finish the regular season at Minnesota on Saturday at 8 p.m. That match will be televised on Big Ten Network.

Game recap courtesy Nebraska Athletics Communications:

The Husker soccer team nearly went on an unprecedented postseason run for the program.

Nebraska soccer had its own stumble against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals – a 3-1 loss that made the Huskers' three main athletics teams of the fall season (football, volleyball, soccer) a winless 0-3 against the Badgers in the month of November.

The Huskers rebounded in a massive way, though, to pump out three consecutive wins – all on their home field at Hibner Stadium – in the NCAA women's soccer team as one of the 16 teams to be awarded with a national seed in the 64-team field. Nebraska rolled through South Dakota State, 5-2, in the first round but ran into trouble with Tennessee in the second round.

Sarah Weber (20 seconds left in the first half) and Ella Guyott (1:01 left in the game) went to work, though, and buried shots just before the final buzzer of each half for a 2-1 win.

The Huskers – seeded No. 5 out of the eight seeds in their 16-team quadrant – then cruised past UC Irvine, 4-0, before traveling to face the No. 2 seed in its quadrant, Stanford, for a Black Friday showdown after Nebraska reached its first Elite Eight since 1999.

Stanford, Calif. – The No. 15 Nebraska soccer team saw one of the best seasons in Husker history come to an end as NU fell to No. 3 Stanford in the NCAA Quarterfinals 2-1 on Friday afternoon.

The Cardinal, who advance to meet the winner of one-seed BYU/three-seed North Carolina next Friday in the NCAA Women’s College Cup semifinals, move to 19-0-4 on the year, while the Huskers finish the season with a 17-4-3 mark.

Junior forward Sarah Weber tied the match in regulation with about three minutes remaining and the teams went into overtime, tied 1-1. Less than five minutes into the first overtime, Stanford regained the lead as Maya Doms scored past NU keeper Sami Hauk. The Cardinal defense held steady in the remaining minutes of the match and held on for the 2-1 victory.

Today’s match, played in front of 1,949 fans at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, started quickly for the Cardinal as Joelle Jung scored her fifth goal of the season, 11 minutes into the match to take a 1-0 lead.

The Huskers, making their third NCAA quarterfinal appearance in school history, had chances to score the equalizer but were unable to find the back of the net, and Stanford held the 1-0 advantage at the half.

In the second half, both teams were scoreless until late in the 86th minute when Weber evened the score for her 16th finish of the season. Lauryn Anglim passed a free kick to Jordan Zade who sent the ball into the box, which was met by Weber with a header that found the back of the net.

Weber’s goal broke Stanford’s four-match shutout streak, and she is now tied for first in the Husker record books with four finishes in the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskers finish the 2023 season with 17 wins, their most since the 2013 season.

Game recap courtesy Nebraska Athletics Communications: