Elmer Blocks Jayhawk Upset Bid

Lincoln ? Melissa Elmer totaled a season-high 12 blocks, leading third-ranked Nebraska to a 30-27, 30-24, 30-26 win over Kansas in front of a sellout crowd of 4,132 at the NU Coliseum Friday evening.

The Huskers (23-1, 16-0 Big 12) struggled offensively throughout the contest, but were bailed out by an exceptional blocking performance, totaling 23 blocks in the three-game sweep. The total was the highest by the Huskers since they recorded 23 in the 2000 national semifinals against Hawaii and were the highest in a three-game match under fifth-year head coach John Cook.

Elmer, who led the nation with 1.83 blocks per game coming into the contest, was dominant against KU, as her 12 blocks were the highest in the Big 12 this season, while she also added nine kills on .500 hitting and a pair of service aces.

"Melissa Elmer was on a mission tonight," Nebraska Coach John Cook said. "She is a person that understands what we have to do to win and has the confidence that she can take over a match."

"She just has the great combination of athleticism and blocking instincts," Kansas Coach Ray Bechard said. "A lot of that, you can attribute to Coach Cook, but some of that is innate. She has outstanding feet, and she covers a lot of the errors of other people."

Elmer was one of three Huskers who tied or set season or career highs in blocks in the victory, NU’s 20th straight win. Tracy Stalls matched her career high with nine blocks while Jennifer Saleuamua tied her personal best with seven blocks, while adding nine kills and 12 digs to help the Huskers to their 74th straight win over the Jayhawks (15-10, 6-10 Big 12).

Kansas, which was bidding for its third straight win, took advantage of Nebraska’s slow start in the opener, using a 5-0 spurt to jump to a 10-6 lead after Josi Lima ran off four straight points at the service line for the Jayhawks. KU built the lead to as many as five points and led 17-13 before NU used a 6-1 spurt to tie the game at 19 after a Stalls’ kill. With the match tied at 20, two straight KU attack errors gave Nebraska a 22-20 lead and forced a Jayhawk timeout. Kansas pulled to within 23-22, but NU quickly extended the lead to 26-22 and held on for the 30-27 win. Elmer totaled four kills and six blocks in game one alone, as the Huskers enjoyed an 8-2 advantage at the net.

The Huskers took control early in game two, as Stalls had two blocks and a kill in NU’s 5-0 run to give the Huskers an early 8-3 lead. KU would respond with a 7-2 run of its own to tie the game at 10-all on a Husker attack error. The pattern would continue for most of game two as the Huskers would build a small lead, only to see the Jayhawks chip away. Leading 15-14, Elmer then led the Huskers on a 5-1 spurt, recording two consecutive blocks and a kill, as the Husker took a 20-15 lead. The visitors would get to within 21-18 on a Husker service error, but a KU service error and a block by Ally Rebholz and Stalls on Ashley Michaels gave NU a 23-18 lead. KU got within 28-24, but kills from Saleaumua and Stalls capped the 30-24 win.

In the finale, Nebraska led 15-14 before Elmer struck again. The senior keyed a 5-0 Husker spurt with a pair of service aces, as the Huskers built a 20-14 lead after Stalls and Saleaumua blocked Josi Lima. The Jayhawks came right back, getting to with 24-23 after a kill by Jana Correa and were within 26-25 before the Huskers ran off three straight points on kills by Mancuso and Sarah Pavan and a block by Saleaumua and Stalls to take a 29-24 lead. KU got to within 29-26 before Stalls ended the match with a kill.

Lima led Kansas with a match-high 11 kills, while Andi Rozum had 32 assists and five of the Jayhawks’ nine service aces in defeat.

The Huskers return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 17, as they travel to Missouri for a key conference matchup. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and the match can be heard the Pinnacle Sports Network, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln. The match can also be seen on HuskersNside.

Kansas vs #3 Nebraska (Nov 12, 2004 at Lincoln, Neb.)

Kansas | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 Correa, Jana........ 3| 8 7 24 .042| 0| 1 3| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 9.0 6 Mathewson, Jamie.... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 5| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 7 Brown, Emily........ 3| 6 8 18 -.111| 3| 0 1| 1| 12| 0 1 0| 0| 6.5 8 Caten, Paula........ 3| 8 4 22 .182| 0| 0 2| 0| 1| 0 2 0| 0| 9.0 9 Rozum, Andi......... 3| 2 1 6 .167| 32| 5 1| 0| 5| 0 1 1| 2| 7.5 10 Lima, Josi.......... 3| 11 6 38 .132| 1| 0 1| 0| 10| 1 1 1| 0| 12.5 1 Dorsey, Jill........ 2| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 0| 1| 6| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 2 Michaels, Ashley.... 3| 4 6 16 -.125| 0| 2 2| 0| 2| 0 3 0| 0| 7.5 12 Wittman, Dani....... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 1 1| 2| 3| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Totals.............. 3| 39 32 124 .056| 37| 9 11| 4| 48| 1 8 2| 2| 53.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 16 11 40 .125 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS 2 12 13 39 -.026 Kansas.............. (0) 27 24 26 15-10,6-10 Big 12 3 11 8 45 .067 Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 23-1, 16-0 Big 12

Nebraska | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 Houghtelling, Chris. 3| 4 4 20 .000| 0| 1 3| 1| 2| 0 3 0| 0| 6.5 8 Elmer, Melissa...... 3| 9 1 16 .500| 0| 2 0| 0| 2| 1 11 3| 0| 17.5 9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 9 6 22 .136| 1| 0 0| 1| 1| 1 4 0| 0| 12.0 11 Stalls, Tracy....... 3| 4 3 13 .077| 1| 0 1| 0| 3| 2 7 0| 0| 9.5 18 Busboom, Dani....... 3| 1 2 4 -.250| 29| 0 1| 0| 4| 0 1 1| 0| 1.5 26 Saleaumua, Jennifer. 3| 9 2 23 .304| 0| 0 0| 3| 12| 0 7 1| 0| 12.5 1 McCormick, Amanda... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 4| 10| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 2 Lynch, Michelle..... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 3| 1 1| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0 7 Mancuso, Dani....... 2| 5 1 11 .364| 1| 0 3| 0| 5| 0 1 0| 0| 5.5 13 Rebholz, Ally....... 3| 0 1 5 -.200| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 1 2 0| 0| 2.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Totals.............. 3| 41 20 114 .184| 35| 4 9| 9| 42| 5 36 5| 0| 68.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 23.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 14 7 36 .194 Site: Lincoln, Neb. (NU Coliseum) 2 12 5 32 .219 Date: Nov 12, 2004 Attend: 4132 Time: 1:27 3 15 8 46 .152 Referees: Mary Faragher, Gary Houghton

1 2 3 Total Tie scores 4 4 4 12 Lead changes 3 1 2 6