Huskers End Season With Loss to Stanford in NCAA Semifinals

San Diego, Calif. -- The Nebraska volleyball season ended its 2001 national title hopes with a 31-29, 30-28, 30-21, loss to Stanford Thursday night in the NCAA semifinals at Cox Arena. The Huskers, who were making their eighth NCAA Final Four appearance in school history, ended their season with a 31-2 overall record.

Senior right side hitter Nancy Metcalf led the Huskers with 14 kills while adding six digs and three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Laura Pilakowski added 12 kills, while Amber Holmquist notched nine kills on a team-best .292 hitting percentage to go along with four blocks. The Huskers hit just .186 overall, and were out-blocked for just the second time this season, totaling nine stops to Stanford's 12.

U.S. National Team member Logan Tom led Stanford with 22 kills, while Oganna, Nnamani added 13.

"At the end of the first and second games, their jump servers got hot, and we didn't execute," Cook said. "Their servers were better than our passers in the crunch. Their servers stayed aggressive when the game was on the line, and that shows a great amount of confidence. They were constantly putting pressure on our passers, and that can make you timid. You have to give them credit. Also, there's something that Logan did that you can't prepare for."

The loss capped an otherwise highly successful season for the Huskers. After losing, 3-1, to Long Beach State Sept. 1, NU reeled off 29 straight wins. Nebraska went 20-0 in the Big 12 Conference, dropping just three games in conference play. NU Coach John Cook was named Big 12 Coach of the Year, and Metcalf was named the Big 12 Player of the Year. Metcalf and Holmquist were named first-team AVCA All-Americans, while Jenny Kropp and Greichaly Cepero were named to the second-team.

Stanford, which improved to 32-2 overall, advanced to Saturday's NCAA championship match. The Cardinal will face Long Beach State at 2 p.m. CST. Long Beach State (33-0) defeated Arizona, 3-0, in the first semifinal match of the night to advance to the national title game. The Wildcats, who were making their first NCAA Final Four appearance, ended their season with a 25-5 record.

The Huskers trailed by three in game one when a 5-0 run that included two kills by Metcalf made it 15-13, Nebraska. Stanford tied it at 16 after two NU errors, and the score was tied six more times before the momentum swung the Huskers' way. Nebraska scored four straight and went up 28-24, in a run highlighted by a Jenny Kropp block of Tom. A kill by Metcalf two rallies later forced a game-point situation. But Stanford fought back, as Nnamani produced three kills to spark a 6-0, game-winning run for the Cardinal.

"We didn't execute at the end of game one, and we didn't pass well," Cook said. "In rally scoring, you have to make plays at the end if you want to win."

Nebraska bounced back to take an 18-17 lead in game two. With sophomore defensive specialist Lindsay Wischmeier at the service line, NU reeled off five straight points in a run that included an ace serve by the Burchard, Neb., native. Ashley Ivy halted the Huskers' run with a kill, but Metcalf answered to return control to NU. The Huskers took a 27-23 advantage after a kill by Pilakowski and looked to be in control of the game when Stanford staged another comeback. The Cardinal scored five straight, sparked by three kills by Tom, to take a 28-27 lead. A Stanford overpass that sailed out of bounds on the NU side of the net made it 28-28. Tom, who tallied 10 kills in the second game, broke the tie with a kill, and Ivy and Conrad combined to block Pilakowski for the 30-28, second-game win.

The game two loss marked the first time since Dec. 19, 2001, that NU had dropped the first two games of a match, as Nebraska fell, 1-3, to Penn State in the national semifinals.

The Huskers battled Stanford closely in game three before the Cardinal all but put the game out of reach. Stanford took a 25-16 lead with the help of three service aces from Ivy. Stanford's Tara Conrad made it 28-21 with a kill, and a Nebraska hitting error forced a game point situation. The Cardinal wrapped up the 30-21, third-game win and the match on a kill by Conrad.