Pilakowski, Schrad nearly perfect as NU sweeps Texas

Lincoln, Neb. -- Nebraska outside hitters Laura Pilakowski and Anna Schrad combined for 23 kills to lead the No. 2 Nebraska volleyball team to a 30-17, 30-22, 30-21 victory over Texas Wednesday night at the NU Coliseum. The left side players committed just two errors in 41 attacks for a .512 hitting percentage to produce their best collective match of the season.

With the victory, the Huskers improved to 16-1 overall and 9-0 in the Big 12 Conference, while Texas fell to 10-7 and 5-5.

Nebraska Coach John Cook said that the Huskers took advantage of the match up the 6-foot-1 Pilakowski and the 6-2 Schrad had on the outside against Texas setter Abbie Schindler, who stands at 5-8.

“A few weeks ago, our middle blockers were dominating, and our left sides were struggling,” Cook said. “Now, our middles are struggling a little bit and our left side players are on fire.”

Pilakowski led Nebraska in digs for the second straight match with 11, and her 14 kills (.571 hitting percentage) were second only to Nancy Metcalf’s match-high 15. Schrad added nine kills and did not commit an error in 20 attacks for a .450 hitting percentage.

Mira Topic led Texas with 10 kills, but hit just .156. The Longhorns hit .048 as a team, making them the ninth squad this season to be held to less than .100 by Nebraska.

“Your weaknesses are exposed in a hurry when you play a team like Nebraska that is that physical,” UT Coach Jerritt Elliott said. “They are by far the best blocking team in the country. They are well-balanced, and they have an exceptional setter. So in some ways, it comes down to speed versus size. If Nebraska serves well and passes well, they have a very legitimate chance to win the national title.”

The Huskers breezed to a 30-17 win in game one. NU led 25-12 after back-to-back hitting errors by Texas. The Longhorns pulled within nine points after a kill by setter Abbie Schindler, but Nebraska regained the serve on Schrad’s third kill of the game. Leading 27-17, Holmquist was responsible for two of three straight NU points to close the game. Nebraska held UT to minus -.091 at the net in game one, and Schrad, Jenny Kropp and Pilakowski all had at lead two kills and swung for a .500 hitting percentage.

Nebraska led 19-15 in game two before Lara sparked a 3-0 Texas run with an ace serve to make it 19-18. But the Huskers led, 23-21, after kills by Metcalf and Pilakowski, and two UT errors widened Nebraska’s lead to four. The Huskers closed game two by scoring five straight, collecting kills from Kropp, Pilakowski and Schrad during the run. Amber Holmquist and Metcalf combined to block Kathryn Wilson for the 30-22, second-game victory. The Huskers hit .424 in game two, and Pilakowski tallied five kills while swinging at a .714 clip.

The Huskers were never threatened in game three. They turned a 15-12 advantage to an 18-12 lead with the help of three Longhorn errors and an ace serve by Pilakowski. Texas never got closer than five points after that. Back-to-back kills by Cepero made it 24-17, and the Huskers led 27-19 following two straight kills from Metcalf. Freshman Ally Rebholz checked into the match for the first time and forced a game-point situation with a kill on her first swing. UT’s Bethany Howden answered with a kill, but Rebholz came back with another cross-court strike to give Nebraska the 30-21 game three win and the match.

The win was an important one for NU, Cook said.

“Every win is a good win in the Big 12,” he said. “Texas had problems hanging with us tonight, but we will get a better test from them down there in a few weeks. Jerritt is a very good coach. I thought that tonight, they served very well. They had a good game plan against us, and they executed it well.”