NU Ties School Record with 16 Aces in Texas

Austin, Texas - The eighth-ranked Nebraska volleyball team produced a season-high 16 service aces to tie the school record for service aces in a three-game match and cruise to a 30-20, 30-19, 30-19 victory over Texas Saturday night in front of 1,960 fans at Gregory Gymnasium. The total was NU's highest since Oct. 6, 1990, when it produced 16 aces against Missouri at the NU Coliseum.

Three Huskers had at least four aces, including sophomore setter Michelle Lynch, who led the way with five. Freshman middle blocker Christina Houghtelling and sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua each tallied four service aces.

Saleaumua also led NU in kills, pounding a match-high 13 while hitting at a .407 clip. Saleaumua contributed six digs and tied her career-high with five blocks.

With the win, Nebraska improved to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12, while Texas fell to 5-5 and 1-1 in the league. NU also extended its streak of regular-season Big 12 Conference wins to 72. The Huskers have won 73 straight matches (includes one victory over Kansas State in the 2001 NCAA Tournament) against league teams.

"Serving won the match for us tonight," NU Coach John Cook said. "We challenged the team before the match to attack with the serve. That's just something you have to do on the road. Texas hung with us for about the first 15 points of game one, but then our serving started to take over. Once that happened, our block got involved."

NU hit .245 overall while holding Texas to .099 at the net. NU out-blocked the Longhorns, 9-3. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Elmer led the Huskers with seven blocks.

Houghtelling rescued the Huskers from a 10-7 deficit early in game one, serving three straight points, including two service aces, to tie the score. The game was tied eight more times before Lynch produced a service ace to give NU the lead for good. The Huskers took over the game with aggressive serving. Lynch served another ace in a 4-0 run, and Saleaumua reeled off six straight points, including three aces, as Nebraska cruised to a 30-20 first-game win.

NU hit just .125 in game one but had eight service aces in game one and out-blocked UT, 4-1. Junior outside hitter Ally Rebholz led the Huskers with three first-game kills. Rebholz would finish the match with eight kills on a .375 hitting percentage.

Nebraska carried its momentum into game two and had little difficulty securing a 30-19 win. Saleaumua posted five kills and hit .444 while coming through with her fourth service ace of the game. NU again out-blocked the Longhorns 4-1, holding them to a .024 hitting percentage.

The Huskers had six more aces in game three, including two each from Lynch and Houghtelling. Nebraska led, 18-12, after Rebholz slammed a kill. Texas pulled within four after back-to-back kills, but Schrad's tip on the next play fell to the floor to make it 19-14, NU. The Longhorns never got closer than that. Rebholz drilled a kill to make it 29-19, Nebraska, and the Huskers wrapped up the 30-19 third-game win on a kill by Saleaumua.

Saturday marked the second time this season but the first time since Clemson Aug. 29 that Nebraska has recorded at least 10 service aces.

"I think serving is a sign of confidence," Cook said. "I really applaud the Huskers for coming out and showing the confidence to serve tough. This was a great step for us tonight."

Texas was led by Bethany Howden, who recorded 12 kills. UT falls to 5-5 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

The Huskers return to action Wednesday, Sept. 24, when they face Iowa State in Omaha. First serve at the Civic Auditorium is set for approximately 7:30 p.m.