Huskers Open NCAA Tourney with Sweep

East Lansing, Mich. ? Playing in the first postseason match of her career, freshman outside hitter Dani Mancuso pounded 14 kills to lead Nebraska to a 30-19, 30-22, 30-21 win over Valparaiso Friday night at Michigan State’s Jenison Field House. Mancuso, who also added three service aces in the NCAA Tournament first-round victory, also swung for a match-high and career-best .571 hitting percentage.

Senior outside hitter Anna Schrad led all players with 15 kills and hit .483, marking the sixth straight match in which she has posted double-figure kills. Sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Saleaumua posted a match-high 15 digs. The Huskers hit .321 as a team while holding Valpo to .073 at the net.

With the win, the Huskers improved to 27-4 on the season and 55-19 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska, the tournament’s No. 9 seed, advances to Saturday night’s second-round  to face Dayton, which upset Michigan State, for a spot in the regional semifinals in Lincoln next weekend. First serve tomorrow is at 7 p.m. CST.

"We had a lot of players tonight who were playing in their first NCAA Tournament match, and I thought they responded well," NU Coach John Cook said. "We’ve really been working with Dani on her attacking, and I think that showed tonight. We’re halfway to our goal of making it through this weekend. We just need to find a way to win tomorrow night."

In game one, Valpo closed the Huskers’ lead to 14-10 with a kill by Lauren Moulton. Saleaumua answered with a kill and added another before Mancuso pounded a kill to make it 18-11, NU. Mancuso continued to cause problems for the Crusaders in game one, and the Huskers widened their lead to 15-15 after a kill and an ace by the Omaha Gross graduate. Mancuso drilled a Valpo overpass to make it 29-19, Huskers, and NU secured the 30-19 victory on a kill by Kelsey Fautsch.

Mancuso posted six kills on eight attempts in game one for a .750 hitting percentage to go along with an ace and two blocks. The Huskers hit .487 in game one, committing just two hitting errors in 39 attempts. Every NU player hit .300 or better.

In game two, the Crusaders trailed 16-12 before out-scoring NU 8-2 to take their first lead of the match at 20-18. Nebraska committed three consecutive errors at the end of the Valpo run before Cook called timeout. Mancuso then stopped the run with a kill. The Huskers finally regained the lead when Schrad blocked Moulton to make it 23-22, NU. Mancuso served the final nine points of game two, including back-to-back service aces on the final two points of the 30-22 victory.

The Huskers controlled game three throughout. Elmer served four points in a 5-0 run that gave the Huskers an 18-10 lead. The Crusaders pulled within four with a 4-0 run, but Schrad answered with a kill. Nebraska scored six straight to increase its advantage to 28-19 in a run that included two more kills from Schrad. NU wrapped up the 30-21, third-game win on Schrad’s 15th kill of the match.

Michelle Robinson led Valparaiso with 10 kills but hit just .125. Valpo ended its season with a 27-8 record.