Jubilation.

Hugs.

Cheers.

Junior outside hitter Maggie Li found herself swarmed by her teammates’ embrace and surrounded in the echo of cheers at Pauley Pavilion.

All in a match the Bruins lost – a match they were expected to lose.

Yet, even as UCLA women’s volleyball (14-11, 8-7 Big Ten) walked off the court Friday night, the smiles didn’t fade.

Li’s kill to close out the third set – just one of her season-high 20 kills on the night – sent the Bruin faithful into a frenzy and quieted the outnumbering Cornhusker crowd, even if just for a few minutes.

No. 1 Nebraska (25-0, 15-0) retained its undefeated season with a four-set win but dropped its first set since Sept. 16 – shattering a streak of 15 consecutive sweeps and 48 straight sets.

“I’m proud of our squad for tonight,” said coach Alfee Reft. “We never want to tally in the loss column, but it’s a win for us in the direction we’re moving. … We saw that our ceiling was pretty high, and we raised our medium level tonight.”

The Bruins appeared destined to be the Huskers’ 16th-straight victim down 6-1 in the third set, but a 7-2 run gave them their first lead of the frame 11-10.

Amid a 7-1 run, Nebraska burned its first timeout of the set down 18-15, only to burn its second three rallies later at 20-16.

After Li’s sixth kill of the frame brought up set point, her seventh broke the Huskers’ perfect run.

“We just have the belief in us,” Li said. “I know what we’re capable of.”

UCLA first seemed to show promise in the second set, opening to a 10-5 lead after dropping the first frame 25-17.

Li racked up nine kills in the second and the Bruins held a two-point lead as late as 18-16, but a 7-1 scoring run allowed Nebraska to come back 25-23.

Much of the night, unsurprisingly, swayed in the Huskers’ direction. That advantage wasn’t reserved to the hardwood.

Scarlet and cream composed a majority of the 10,498 people at Pauley Pavilion – breaking the previous program record of three-plus years by 3,282 and was 9,373 above UCLA’s average attendance this season entering Friday.

Despite the third-set hiccup, the Husker crowd’s “Go Big Red” chants were back in full force by the fourth set – even commencing during play – as Nebraska collected the fourth set – and victory – 25-15.

Still, the Bruins – who have had an up-and-down season with three ranked wins and four unranked losses – continue to speak on Friday’s loss as a win of their own.

“Tonight was a great teaser,” said senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette. “We know we’re capable of, but seeing it come to fruition in this monumental game was so awesome. … It was just great to see what’s possible for us under the bright lights.”

Leverette recorded 17 kills Friday – her highest total since Oct. 4. Six came in the second set and three came in succession in the third – bringing the set to its first tie at 10.

Reft added that he and his team are aware of the importance of the Bruins’ next five matches – their final five of the regular season and last chance to improve their resume for what could be UCLA’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2021.

But before the next five, there’s the next one.

Though it won’t be UCLA’s last game at Pauley Pavilion, with the squad set to battle Illinois on Thursday, Saturday’s match against Rutgers will be Senior Day.

The Bruins have two graduate students and two seniors on their roster, but only Leverette has remained at UCLA her entire collegiate career – preceding Reft’s arrival in Westwood by a year.

“She is always fun,” Li said. “Sometimes, on the court, I’ll look at Cheridyn and she’ll just make me laugh. … That kind of energy really helped me blend in (with the team) right away. And her leadership – not only on the court but also off the court – really helped me understand what true leadership is.”

Leverette – a 2024 All-American honorable mention – has totaled 1,094 kills in her Bruin career so far, and 773 of those have come in the past two seasons.

“She’s been an instrumental piece in turning this program in a direction that we saw was possible,” Reft said. “She’s been through the gauntlet with us. It’s emotional for us as a staff – for myself – and to see her playing the volleyball. The maturity that’s in her play now versus three years ago is pretty special.”