Huskers Close Spring with Sweep of Wichita State

Lincoln ? All-American Sarah Pavan and Christina Houghtelling combined for 29 kills, leading Nebraska to a 30-28, 30-27, 30-21 sweep of Wichita State in front of over 2,000 fans at the NU Coliseum Saturday afternoon.

Pavan, a first-team AVCA All-American and National Freshman of the Year last season, led the Huskers with 15 kills on just 27 swings, while adding two service aces and three blocks, as the Huskers concluded the spring portion of their schedule with a 3-0 record, including sweeps of NCAA runner-up Minnesota and NCAA qualifier Wichita State.

Nebraska Coach John Cook was impressed with the performance of both outside hitters, as well as the efforts of setter Dani Busboom, who put both outside hitters in favorable situations throughout the match and finished with 44 assists.

"Houghtelling and Pavan were unstoppable today," Cook said. "I really thought Dani (Busboom) set well in games two and three. She did a very good job of setting the hitters and getting them into one-on-one situations. Instead of being just a distributor, she is becoming more of a natural setter and that is an encouraging sign."

Christine Houghtelling also shined with 14 killls on .455 hitting, while also adding five digs, as the Huskers hit .298 as a team, while holding the Shockers to .114 hitting. Melissa Elmer and Jennifer Saleaumua added nine and eight kills, respectively. Dani Mancuso also chipped in with a match-high 15 digs while playing libero in a match for the first time in her career.

The Huskers trailed 10-6 in the opener before getting back into the game with an 8-2 spurt, as Pavan’s ace tied the match at 14. The game was tied four more times, the last at 26-all, before Houghtelling’s kill gave Nebraska the lead for good at 27-26. Houghtelling’s sixth kill of the game gave NU a 29-27 lead before closing the game out moments later on a Shocker attack error.

"I thought Wichita State came in ready to compete and that challenged us early on," Cook said. "We didn’t come out ready to play, but we made some adjustments and played well in the final two games."

In game two, the Huskers overcame an early deficit, taking command of the game with a 7-3 spurt, as the Shockers committed four hitting errors and an attack error in the run. NU eventually pushed the lead to 22-15 on an Elmer kill, but the Shockers came back, getting to within 26-25. Kills by Pavan and Houghtelling made it 28-26 before Pavan closed out game two with her second ace of the afternoon.

In the finale, Nebraska led 11-9 before strong serving by Mancuso and Saleaumua sparked an 8-3 Husker spurt, giving the host a 19-12 lead after a Busboom kill. WSU never got within five points the rest of the

match, as the Huskers hit a blistering .483 en route to a 30-20 win.

Cook was pleased with the strides the Huskers, who return six starters from a team that went 30-2 and reached the NCAA regional finals, throughout the spring.

"We saw improvements from every player on the roster from the end last year," Cook said. "We pushed hard throughout our training in the spring knowing that there will be some high expectations in the fall. We will get everyone’s best shot, and we have to be ready and come out ready to play in every match."