Husker Comeback Falls Short

Lincoln -- The fifth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team fought back from a 2-0 deficit but couldn't hang on in game five against No. 10 Georgia Tech Sunday afternoon, falling to the Yellowjackets, 23-30, 25-30, 30-26, 31-29, 16-14, in front of a season-high 4,240 fans at the NU Coliseum in the championship match of the U.S. Bank/Arby's Classic.

The loss was Nebraska's first regular-season defeat at home since Kansas State upset the Huskers in five games Sept. 22, 1999. It was also head coach John Cook's first regular-season loss in four years at Nebraska. Cook is now 104-5. The five-game match was the Huskers' first since Dec. 8, 2001, when they defeated Florida in the NCAA regional final at the NU Coliseum.

Nebraska finished the tournament with a 2-1 record, defeated No. 13 Santa Clara and No. 17 Michigan State. The Huskers fall to 8-1 on the season.

Junior All-American Lynnette Moster was responsible for Georgia Tech's winning kill, slamming the ball off the Nebraska block for the 16-14 win in game five. Moster finished the match with 15 kills and 11 digs and was named to the all-tournament team. She was joined by teammates Lauren Sauer and Kele Eveland, who was named the MVP after totaling 65 assists, 11 digs and five kills against the Huskers.

Senior outside hitter Anna Schrad and sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer represented NU on the all-tournament team. Schrad pounded a match-best 20 kills against the Yellowjackets and also had 11 digs. Elmer recorded 12 kills, four blocks and two service aces in the loss.

The Huskers also received standout performances from Ally Rebholz (11 digs, team-high six blocks), Jennifer Saleaumua (13 kills, team-high 19 digs) and freshman middle blocker Christina Houghtelling, who produced nine kills and seven digs despite not playing in game one.

"We hate to lose," NU Coach John Cook said, "but it is a humbling experience. I'm proud of our team and the way we fought back. We're a young team, and I can't even tell you what huge strides we've made just in this weekend. This was a good tournament for us, because these are the types of matches we'll play in the Big 12."

The Huskers got off to a rough start offensively in game and trailed most of the way. Georgia Tech led 21-15 after three straight kills by Laura Kuhn. Elmer stopped the run momentarily with a kill. The Yellowjackets regained control on a kill by Sauer that sparked a 5-0 run and increased the advantage to 25-16. Rebholz responded with two kills, trimming the lead to 26-20. However, Georgia Tech eventually wrapped up a 30-23, first-game win when Sara Westling committed a service ace.

The loss marked Nebraska's first game-one defeat in a regular-season home match since Nov. 17, 2001, against Baylor. NU hit just .146, while Tech swung at a .316 clip and out-blocked the Huskers, 3-0.

In game two, Nebraska trailed, 19-13, before Rebholz put up a solo block against Moster. However, Dani Mancuso, who played in place of the injured Kelsey Fautsch, committed a hitting error on the next play. Down 27-20, NU pieced together a 4-0 run that included kills from Saleaumua and Rebholz and a block by Schrad. But after a Georgia Tech time out, Jayme Gergen produced a kill to stall NU's momentum. The Yellowjackets took game two on an NU service ace, 30-25.

The Huskers bounced back in game two, as Schrad was responsible for three kills in a five-point run that made it 15-12, NU. Georgia Tech cut the lead to 19-18 when Kuhn and Gergen blocked Saleaumua, but Houghtelling pounded a kill on the next play. Nebraska never looked back. The Huskers won game three, 30-26, on a kill by Saleaumua.

In game four, Nebraska led most of the way early and held a 20-13 advantage after Rebholz slammed a kill. But Georgia Tech tied the score at 23 after Moster served four straight points, including two aces. Elmer stopped the run with a kill, and the score was tied four more times before Georgia Tech went up 29-27 with the help of an NU attack error and a kill by Moster. Schrad responded with a kill, and the score was tied after an attack error by Kuhn. Mancuso blocked Moster to make it 30-29, NU. The Huskers won, 31-29, when Moster erred on her next attack.

In game five, Nebraska trailed early but tied the score at 9-9 when Saleaumua recorded a kill. The scored was tied four more times before Eveland and Alexandra Preiss blocked Schrad to take a 14-13 advantage. Gergen committed a service error to tie it again at 14, but Eveland and Moster posted back-to-back kills for the 16-14 win.

Nebraska returns to action Wednesday when it plays host to Texas A&M at 7 p.m. at the NU Coliseum. The match will be televised on NETV and can also be heard on the Pinnacle Sports Network and B107.3 FM.

#17 Michigan State 3, #13 Santa Clara 2
Kim Schram pounded 25 kills to lead No. 17 Michigan State to a 30-26, 26-30, 26-30, 30-21, 15-11 upset of No. 13 Santa Clara Sunday afternoon at the NU Coliseum on the final day of the US Bank/Arby's Classic. With the win, the Spartans improved to 6-2 overall and finished the tournament with a 1-2 mark. Santa Clara was winless in the tournament and fell to 5-4 on the season.

Schram hit .367 and was one of three MSU players who had double-figure kills to hit over .300. Senior setter Nikki Colson, a Lincoln Pius X graduate, had 70 assists and 21 digs while leading the Spartans to a .262 team hitting percentage.

Becky Potter had a team-high 20 kills for Santa Clara, while setter Kelli Sousa tallied 63 assists and 10 digs.