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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 10 • 45 match at 25-20. Working primarily out of its 5-2 formation like it did Saturday against Minnesota, Purdue struggled offensively hitting just .098. The Boiler- makers nearly had as many hitters hit a negative percent- age (two) as a positive one (three). Annie Drews led Purdue with 12 kills, while Sam Epenesa was also in double- digits with 10. Val Nichol con- tributed 25 assists, six kills and five digs. Nebraska's defense dominated with 17 blocks, led by a career-high 11 from Meghan Hag- gerty. The Cornhuskers entered the match averaging a Big Ten-leading 2.90 blocks per set. "This is the best effort of the year of our players following a game plan and staying with what we trained," Nebraska coach John Cook told TV. The loss leaves Purdue with just a 2-4 mark this year against ranked oppo- nents. Purdue swept No. 14 San Diego during the season-opening weekend, but the victory doesn't look nearly as good now as the Toreros are just 15-9 and have fallen out of the polls. The Boilermak- ers defeated No. 22 Ohio State on Oct. 18, but have suffered setbacks to No. 7 Penn State, No. 10 Illi- nois and No. 4 Wiscon- sin in addition to the loss to Nebraska. Entering the weekend, only six of the 109 remaining Big Ten matches pit ranked opponents against each other due to the confer- ence's new scheduling format this year. Purdue plays four of five ranked opponents from the Big Ten just one time this season. Purdue's lone remaining match against a ranked opponent comes in the regular-season finale against current No. 4 Wisconsin on Nov. 28. "We can't realistically think that we're going to keep losing to those top-tier teams and win a Big Ten championship," Shondell said be - fore the match. "It doesn't work that way. You've got to break through and start beating those teams." Until their showdown in Madi- son, the Boilermakers head into the potentially easier portion of their conference schedule. Purdue's next 2014 VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time Aug. 29 USF W, 3-0^ No. 14 SAN DIEGO W, 3-0^ Aug. 30 LSU W, 3-0^ Sept. 5 vs. UNC-Asheville W, 3-0 Sept. 6 vs. Elon W, 3-0 at Kennesaw State W, 3-0 Sept. 12 vs. Austin Peay W, 3-0 at Western Kentucky L, 2-3 Sept. 13 vs. Western Michigan W, 3-1 Sept. 19 ST LOUIS L, 2-3 MOREHEAD STATE W, 3-0 Sept. 20 NOTRE DAME W, 3-0 Sept. 26 MICHIGAN W, 3-2 Sept. 27 MICHIGAN STATE W, 3-1 Oct. 3 at Rutgers W, 3-0 Oct. 5 at Maryland W, 3-1 Oct. 8 INDIANA W, 3-0 Oct. 11 at Indiana W, 3-1 Oct. 17 No. 7 PENN STATE L, 2-3 Oct. 18 No. 22 OHIO STATE W, 3-2 Oct. 24 at Northwestern W, 3-2 Oct. 25 at No. 10 Illinois L, 1-3 Oct. 29 No. 4 WISCONSIN L, 0-3 Nov. 1 MINNESOTA W, 3-0 Nov. 5 at No. 13 Nebraska L, 0-3 Nov. 8 at Iowa 8 p.m. Nov. 12 MARYLAND 7 p.m. Nov. 15 NORTHWESTERN 7 p.m. Nov. 19 RUTGERS 7 p.m. Nov. 22 at Minnesoa 8 p.m. Nov. 26 at Michigan State 7 p.m. Nov. 28 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. ^ Mortar Board Premier, West Lafayette * KSU Owls Invitational, Kennesaw, Ga. # Holiday Inn University Plaza Invitational, Bowling Green, Ky. % Active Ankle Challenge, West Lafayette LINKS JCOnline.com: Adelaja solidifies middle for Purdue volleyball PurdueSports.com: Purdue will not renew Klatte's contract PurdueSports.com: McClintock finishes third, women take eighth at B1Gs PurdueSports.com: Men's tennis bows out of B1G Indoor Championships PurdueSports.com: Women's tennis wins four to close out fall season Purdue Val Nichol and the Boilermakers could have only one more opportunity this season to play a ranked program, unless a surprising development happens. LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES Purdue gets just one more crack at a ranked opponent when it takes on No. 4 Wisconsin Nov. 28. Here is how the team has fared against ranked op- ponents the last five years. 2010: 4-7 (.364) 2011: 6-4 (.600) 2012: 3-7 (.300) 2013: 5-6 (.455) 2014: 2-4 (.333)