Husker Volleyball Rolls Past Gophers, 3-0

Lincoln ? Christina Houghtelling and Sarah Pavan combined for 24 kills on .381 hitting, as Nebraska swept Minnesota, 30-14, 30-16, 30-13 in front of a crowd of 1,521 at the NU Coliseum Saturday evening.

The Huskers dominated the match against the 2004 NCAA runner-up, out-hitting Minnesota, .302- (-.071), while also recording nine aces while holding the Golden Gophers without an ace.

Houghtelling hit a match-high .471, recording 11 kills on just 17 swings, while adding six digs and match-high four blocks to pace NU. Pavan, last year’s national freshman of the year, totaled a match-high 13 kills while chipping in a pair of service aces and three blocks. In all, the Huskers out-blocked Minnesota, 9-6, and had 44 digs - including a team-high 12 by Dani Busboom ? compared to Minnesota’s 32.

"I was really pleased with the way we served and the way our left sides played," Nebraska Coach John Cook said. "We were able to get a good tempo, and they struggled with passing throughout the match."

The Huskers took control of game one early, using strong serving performances from Busboom and libero Jennifer Saleaumua to build an early 12-4 lead and cruise to a 30-14 win. NU hit .345 in game one, as Houghtelling has five kills in six swings, while Pavan had five kills and three digs. Dani Mancucso added four kills and had three blocks in holding the Gophers to -.063 hitting in the opener.

The Huskers showed offensive balance in game two, hitting .263 while five NU players had at least two kills in a 30-16 win. UM pulled within 8-5 before Houghtelling’s kill started a 9-1 Husker spurt the gave NU a sizable margin. All-American Melissa Elmer did most of the damage at the service line, running off five straight points, as NU built a double-digit lead at 17-7. The Gophers closed to within 25-16 on a Pavan service error, could get no closer, as a Busboom setter dump and a kill by Pavan quickly made it 27-16 before Minnesota closed the game with three straight hitting errors.

The Huskers continued to use strong serving in the finale, running off an early 10-4 and were never threatened in a 30-13 victory. Pavan had four kills on eight swings and added a pair of services aces, as Minnesota never got into single figures after NU built a 17-5 advantage.

Meredith Nelson and Jesse Jones paced Minnesota with five kills apiece in the losing effort.

The Huskers will continue their spring exhibition season next Saturday, April 16, when they host Wichita State at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5 and $3 and available at the NU Coliseum.

-- Huskers --

 

 

 

 

Volleyball Box Score Volleyball Box Score Minnesota vs Nebraska (Apr 09, 2005 at Lincoln, Neb.)

Minnesota | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Bowman, Kelly....... 3| 2 2 6 .000| 15| 0 1| 0| 12| 1 1 0| 0 5 Nelson, Meredith.... 3| 5 7 22 -.091| 0| 0 1| 2| 4| 0 0 0| 0 10 Byrnes, Jessica..... 3| 3 4 19 -.053| 1| 0 1| 1| 3| 0 3 0| 0 11 Jones, Jessy........ 3| 5 4 18 .056| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 1 4 1| 0 12 Hokenson, Amanda.... 3| 3 5 18 -.111| 0| 0 0| 1| 0| 0 0 0| 0 14 Mallakis, Athena.... 3| 2 5 14 -.214| 0| 0 1| 5| 0| 0 0 1| 0 6 Peniata, Marci...... 3| 0 0 2 .000| 1| 0 0| 0| 11| 0 0 0| 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals.............. 3| 20 27 99 -.071| 17| 0 5| 9| 32| 2 8 2| 0 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 6.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 7 9 32 -.062 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS 2 7 9 34 -.059 Minnesota........... (0) 14 16 13 3 6 9 33 -.091 Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 Nebraska | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Houghtelling, Chris. 3| 11 3 17 .471| 0| 2 2| 0| 6| 0 4 0| 0 6 Smith, Meghan....... 3| 5 1 16 .250| 2| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 4 0| 0 7 Mancuso, Dani....... 3| 8 4 18 .222| 1| 2 0| 0| 9| 1 2 0| 0 8 Elmer, Melissa...... 3| 5 2 14 .214| 0| 2 0| 0| 3| 0 3 0| 0 9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 13 5 25 .320| 2| 2 2| 0| 5| 0 3 0| 0 18 Busboom, Dani....... 3| 3 1 6 .333| 35| 1 0| 0| 12| 0 0 1| 0 26 Saleaumua, Jennifer. 3| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 0 1| 0| 9| 0 0 0| 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals.............. 3| 45 16 96 .302| 41| 9 5| 0| 44| 1 16 1| 0 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 15 5 29 .345 Site: Lincoln, Neb. (NU Coliseum) 2 17 7 38 .263 Date: Apr 09, 2005 Attend: Time: 3 13 4 29 .310 Referees: Daryl Korinek, Clark Radcliffe