Volleyball

Nebraska Hands Missouri First Loss of the Season

Lincoln -- The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team handed Missouri its first loss of the season Saturday night, defeating the Tigers 15-0, 15-9, 15-3 before a season high crowd of 4,167 fans at the NU Coliseum. With the victory, the Huskers, who are now 42-2 when competing as the nation's top-ranked team, improved to 9-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference. Missouri fell to 10-1 overall and 1-1 in the league.

As it has all season, Nebraska produced a dominant offensive performance. Sophomore middle blocker Laura Pilakowski pounded a match-high 17 kills and hit .464, while junior middle blocker Jenny Kropp added 10 kills on .348 hitting. As a team, NU hit .376 behind a career-best .750 hitting percentage from sophomore middle blocker Amber Holmquist, who posted six kills on eight attempts and no errors.

Defensively, the Huskers out-blocked MU 10-4 and recorded 42 digs to Missouri's 27. Kropp led Nebraska with a career-best four solo blocks and seven total blocks. Pilakowski and senior outside hitter Kim Behrends each posted eight digs.

Lisa Morris led Missouri with nine kills. The Tigers posted 28 total kills and committed 21 errors in 102 attacks, hitting a season-low. 069.

"I don't think we saw Missouri's best effort tonight," NU Coach John Cook said. "They're a good passing team, and their hitters are good at using the block and hitting shots."

In the first game, four of the six players who attempted a kill for NU hit .500 or higher, and the Huskers posted just one error on 21 attacks to hit .476 as a team. Defensively, Nebraska held the Tigers to minus -.071 at the net. The NU shutout win marked the third time this season that the Huskers have won a game 15-0.

Missouri bounced back in the second game to tie the Huskers at three, but went on a 6-0 run behind two kills each from Pilakowski, Behrends and Kropp. Nebraska stretched its lead to 12-4 before the Tigers took possession on a kill by Morris. Missouri's Gerber and Myers posted back-to-back blocks, then the Tigers took advantage of two NU attack errors to cut the Huskers' lead to 12-8. A kill by Pilakowski returned control to the Huskers, who scored four unanswered points to take the second game 15-9. Cepero served the game-winning point, while Kropp sealed the victory with her seventh kill of the match.

"The coaching staff has been very pleased with the focus the team has shown in first games," Cook said. "It's a good sign. But we need to keep that going in second games. I think it's natural to take a deep breath and relax after you win the first game 15-0."

The Huskers regained their focus in the third game. Down 3-2 in the third game, Nebraska turned to sophomore defensive Lindsay Wischmeier at the service line. The sophomore defensive specialist came through, serving eight straight points to give NU a 10-3 advantage. Wischmeier's next serve sailed long, but Missouri couldn't capitalize. The Huskers scored five straight, and sophomore middle blocker Pam Krejci sealed the 15-3 win and the match with a kill.

The Huskers return to action Wednesday, Sept. 20, when they take on Kansas in Lawerence, Kan.