LINCOLN, Neb. — The streak of consecutive losses to Nebraska may have increased to 74 this weekend, but the ISU volleyball team is getting closer to overcoming that streak.

The Cyclones are still winless against Nebraska since their first meeting in 1975, but Iowa State did manage to snap a smaller — yet still significant — streak on Saturday afternoon.

The 3-1 victory (25-15, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19) for the No. 2 Huskers marked the first time in 13 matches — since 1994 — that the Cyclones took a set from the Huskers at the Nebraska Coliseum.

“It shows that we are definitely progressing as a program,” said setter Kaylee Manns. “It shows that we’re right there, but not quite where we want to be yet. There’s still plenty of work to be done.”

The last time the Cyclones took a set from the Huskers in Lincoln, ISU head coach Christy Johnson was in her first year as the starting setter for Nebraska.

The ISU program has been steadily progressing since Johnson took over in Ames in 2005, a trend evident in Saturday’s match. This season was a far cry from her first trip to Lincoln as a coach, when the Huskers outscored the Cyclones 90-48 in three sets.

“When I first started at Iowa State, it felt like we had to be absolutely perfect and hope for a small miracle to beat a team like Nebraska,” Johnson said. “But every year we’re making some progress, and now I feel like if we just play really hard we have a chance because now we can hang with them athletically.”

Redshirt sophomore Victoria Henson continued to be the go-to hitter for the Cyclones, as she put down a team-high 15 kills and hit 0.333. It marked her tenth consecutive match with double-digit kills.

“Victoria just continues to be great for us,” Johnson said. “She’s having an unbelievable year, especially the second half of the season. She can really get in a groove where she’s unstoppable and I’m really thrilled with how she’s playing.”

The Cyclones had a tough time handling Nebraska’s redshirt sophomore Lindsey Licht, who notched 12 kills on a 0.435 hitting percentage. Jordan Larson led all players with 17 kills on the afternoon.

“We handled [Licht] fairly well the first time we played them,” Johnson said. “But she played really well tonight and we could never really find a way to stop her. We knew the ball was usually going to [Licht and Larson], and we had two blockers on them a lot of the time but still couldn’t stop them.”

The Cyclones will attempt to bounce back on the road Wednesday, when they head to Lubbock, Texas, to face last-place Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are 0-13 in conference play this season.