Setbacks can mold championship DNA.

And the Bruins faced what may have been their first bout of adversity in over a month last weekend.

No. 8 UCLA softball (29-5, 10-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 6 Nebraska (26-6, 8-1), 6-5 on Saturday before falling 8-4 on Sunday in Lincoln. And the Bruins’ Sunday defeat marked their first conference series loss of the 2026 campaign, after a 4-1 Friday setback to the Cornhuskers snapped their 22-game winning streak entering the series.

[Related: UCLA softball loses winning streak after loss to Nebraska]

The Huskers held the Bruins to just 11 runs across the three-game series, with the latter’s lineup plating double-digit runs in all but one conference contest ahead of the Lincoln showdown.

“Everyone’s focus is the same. We’re looking for quality at-bats. We’re looking to situationally hit. We’ve had some great, outstanding numbers, but the game evens out at some point,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We still have April and May to be at our best at the end, and that’s the plan.”

Nebraska’s pitching staff particularly stifled senior utility Megan Grant, who failed to record an RBI or an extra-base hit.

Still, other Bruins stepped up at the plate Saturday, with senior infielder Jordan Woolery hammering a three-run homer in the top of the first and freshman utility Jolyna Lamar barreling a two-run blast in the sixth to spearhead the triumph.

“By no means was it an easy weekend for anybody,” Inouye-Perez said. “Everyone competed. Everyone knew the game could have gone either way.”

UCLA’s lineup, which ranks third in the country with a .398 team batting average and 360 combined RBIs, has eased the pressure on its pitching staff, which boasts a 4.53 collective ERA.

The Huskers stifled the Bruins’ batting order Sunday, allowing just four hits up until the seventh inning, when the Bruins notched three hits, along with two runs off sophomore outfielder Rylee Slimp’s four-bagger to cut the deficit to four. UCLA also left seven runners stranded throughout the game.

“We’re not taking the loss of the series too hard, and really it’s making us better for the very end,” Slimp said. “It’s not who we are as a team right now, but who will be at the very end.”

Although Inouye-Perez’s team mustered a seventh-inning rally, the deficit the Bruins’ pitching unit mounted proved too much to overcome.

All four of UCLA’s starting pitchers saw action Sunday.

Sophomore Brynne Nally and redshirt junior Sydney Somerndike combined for just 1.2 innings pitched, forfeiting six earned runs as the Huskers built a six-run lead heading into the third.

But Inouye-Perez said the circle newcomers, along with freshman pitcher Natalie Cable, displayed improvement despite team struggles.

“I really challenged them to be able to throw strikes and not give up free passes, and they did that,” Inouye-Perez said. “Natalie didn’t have any walks, Brynne didn’t have any walks. Those are steps in the right direction.”

Senior pitcher Taylor Tinsley, who pitched 14 innings across the three Nebraska contests, relieved Cable on Saturday and Sunday. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, local provided stability in the circle Saturday that allowed the Bruins to build a three-run lead in the top of the sixth after the Huskers tied the affair at three apiece in the fifth.

Although UCLA lost its first games since its 11-7 defeat at the hands of Florida State on Valentine’s Day, Lamar said that the Nebraska series represented a learning opportunity for the Westwood bunch.

“We really do say that this is a family, and … that part of our culture is really important, keeping us together when hard times come,” Lamar said. “We really all want what’s best for each other, and we’re all committed to doing whatever needs to be done to help the team win.”

UCLA will face Hawaiʻi on Thursday afternoon at Easton Stadium for its second midweek matchup of 2026 before hosting Indiana for its fifth conference series.

Regardless of the challenges her team experiences, Inouye-Perez said that the Bruins focus on evolving from adversity rather than sulking in failure.

“Our goal is to be the best version of ourselves every game,” Inouye-Perez said. “Our goal is to score as many runs. Our goal is to stop the opponent. We’re going to get back out there, and every weekend is an opportunity to be able to figure out how to win a series. Every weekend is an opportunity to sharpen up our game.”