Without its leading attacker out of the lineup, even a sellout crowd at Cliff Keen Arena couldn't push the Michigan volleyball team to challenge No. 7-ranked Nebraska.

The No. 17 Wolverines dropped their second match of the season, and second in three outings, in straight sets on Saturday night.

“Certainly we’re disappointed, we feel like we can compete at a higher level than we did and that’s frustrating,” Michigan coach Mark Rosen said after the 25-17, 26-24, 25-16 loss. “But I think there were some areas we did really well in tonight.”

Michigan (14-2, 2-2 Big Ten) senior outside hitter Alex Hunt missed her second consecutive match after suffering a shoulder injury during a loss at Purdue last week. The team’s leading attacker, Hunt’s absence was a huge hole to fill for the Wolverines.

“Obviously we missed her presence and we could’ve really used her tonight,” said freshman setter Lexi Dannemiller, who finished with 33 assists and 22 digs. “But we always say this in practice, 'We’re a team of 15.' We aren’t just focused on one big hitter or one big defender.”

Nebraska (11-1, 4-0) was able to use its size to dominate the net and influence the Michigan attack, something the Wolverines thought they were prepared for.

“We scouted them, we knew that they would be big and we knew that we would have to attack hard," Dannemiller said. "But I think we did a good job handling it. We just need to come out stronger next time.”

Nebraska 6-foot-5 right side hitter Morgan Broekhuis and 6-4 middle blocker Brooke Delano led the Cornhusker attack with 13 and nine kills, respectively.

Rosen said execution had more to do with the outcome than size.

“They executed much more consistently than we did, so there’s the bar, that’s where we have to be at,” Rosen said. “At the same time, if that’s the level that we need to play at to compete for a Final Four, to be there at the end, I feel like we have the ability to do that.”

It was the first visit to Cliff Keen Arena for one of the nation’s most storied volleyball programs and Big Ten newcomer. Nebraska has three national championships and eight Final Four appearances in the past 16 seasons.

Senior middle blocker Courtney Fletcher had 11 kills and sophomore outside hitter Lexi Erwin 10 kills for Michigan.

After losing the first set 25-17, Michigan trailed 17-12 in the second when Rosen took a timeout. When his team returned to the floor, they stormed back and tied the match at 23.

“We just talked about really playing together, fighting hard and we noticed that the court was really quiet before that,” Dannemiller said.

The turnaround was short-lived, however, when Nebraska won the set 26-24 for a commanding lead.

Michigan hosts Minnesota (Friday) and Wisconsin (Saturday) next weekend. Both games will be at home for the Wolverines. Both games start at 7 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena.