Saleaumua Shines in Sweep of Texas A&M

Lincoln - Jennifer Saleaumua recorded her third double-double of the season, as No. 1 Nebraska posted a 30-24, 30-21, 30-19 victory over No. 20 Texas A&M Wednesday night.

Saleaumua totaled 10 kills and a match-high 13 digs, while equaling her career high with seven blocks, as the Huskers (10-0, 2-0 Big 12) posted their seventh win over a ranked opponent and won their 25th straight Big 12 match dating back to 2003.

The senior from National City, Calif., was one of four Huskers to record double-figure kills in Wednesday’s win. Freshman Jordan Larson finished with a team-high 14 kills, while Sarah Pavan (13) and Christina Houghtelling (10) each had strong nights. Nebraska hit .384 as a team, the Huskers' third straight match above .350.  Maggie Griffin and Dani Busboom combined for 51 assists, as NU’s 59 kills equaled its season best in a three-game match.

Nebraska Head Coach John Cook was impressed with his team's offensive balance against the Aggies.

“I thought the Huskers did some really good things tonight,” Cook said. “We were attacking them all night with our serve and our attacks. I thought the players did a good job of mixing up their shots. Texas A&M is a team that can get in a really good defensive rhythm, so I thought we did a good job to keep them off balance.”

Cook also praised Saleaumua's performance.

“I thought she played great tonight,” Cook said. “She does so many things to help our team win. She broke down their passes with her serve and she dug (Laura) Jones’ best shots...that’s why she is an All-American.”

Saleaumua tied middle blocker Tracy Stalls for match-high honors with seven blocks, as NU dominated the net, outblocking Texas A&M 16-5.  Nebraska had four players finish with at least five blocks, including All-American Melissa Elmer, who had five blocks and moved past Stephanie Thater for second place on NU’s all-time blocking chart. A two-time All-American, Elmer also had nine kills and hit a match-high .571 on 14 swings.

The opening game was a battle throughout, as the two teams traded points before NU pulled away for a 30-24 victory. The Huskers out-hit Texas A&M, .359-.143, as Larson and Saleaumua led NU with five kills each. Saleaumua also had five digs and two blocks in the opener. Leading 26-24, Stalls and Saleaumua combined for a stuff block on Christi Hahn, sparking a 4-0 run to close the opener.

While Saleaumua’s effort highlighted game one, Pavan and the Husker block took command in a 30-21 NU victory in game two. Pavan, who finished the night hitting .550, had seven kills on 10 swings and added two of her three blocks, as NU enjoyed a 7-2 advantage in blocks in game two. The Huskers used a 7-2 spurt to overcome an early deficit, taking a 9-5 lead on a block by Stalls and Christina Houghtelling. The Aggies were within 21-17 before Pavan recorded two kills and a block that gave NU an insurmountable 24-17 lead.
 
Houghtelling, who struggled offensively in the first two games, was unstoppable in the finale, recording eight kills on eight swings, as the Huskers hit .571. NU raced to a 7-2 lead and led 14-10 before putting the game away with four straight points, capped by a kill and a service ace from Houghtelling that put NU up 18-10. NU eventually pushed the lead to as many as 12 points before cruising to a 30-21 win in the finale.

Laura Jones led the Aggies (7-5, 0-3 Big 12) with a match-high 15 kills, while no other Texas A&M player reached double figures. Texas A&M was held to a season-low .109 hitting percentage.

The Huskers return to action Saturday, Sept. 24, when they play host to Iowa State. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the NU Coliseum. The match will be carried on the Pinnacle Sports Network, including B107.3 FM, and also video-streamed live on HuskersNside.

            TEXASA&M vs Nebraska (Sep 21, 2005 at Lincoln, Nebraska)

   TEXASA&M               |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  Kainz, Meghan.......  2|  0   2   4 -.500| 18|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
7  Stanton, Kelly......  3|  4   3  11  .091|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  2  0|  0|   5.0
14 Hahn, Christi.......  3|  6   3  18  .167|  1|  0   0|  0|  3| 1  2  0|  0|   8.0
22 Jones, Laura........  3| 15   5  47  .213|  0|  0   2|  1|  3| 1  0  0|  0|  16.0
27 Yon, Lindsey........  3|  9   7  22  .091|  0|  0   1|  1|  8| 0  1  0|  0|   9.5
35 Felder, Kendra......  3|  4   5  16 -.062|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0|   4.5
4  Bryant, Kelsey......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
6  Kelley, Kari........  3|  0   0   1  .000| 16|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
9  Clay, Holly.........  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  8| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
10 Phillips, Jillian...  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
11 McCrocklin, Courtney  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  4| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  3| 38  25 119  .109| 36|  0   4|  2| 31| 2  6  0|  0|  43.0 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 5.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  9  42  .143   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS
   2  13 10  41  .073   TEXASA&M............ (0) 24 21 19  7-5, 0-3 Big 12
   3  10  6  36  .111   Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30  10-0, 2-0 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1  Griffin, Maggie.....  3|  0   1   1-1.000| 30|  0   1|  0|  5| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
3  Houghtelling, Chris.  3| 11   5  22  .273|  1|  1   2|  0|  5| 0  5  1|  0|  14.5
8  Elmer, Melissa......  3|  9   1  14  .571|  1|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  5  0|  0|  11.5
9  Pavan, Sarah........  3| 13   2  20  .550|  1|  0   4|  0|  5| 1  2  0|  0|  15.0
10 Larson, Jordan......  3| 14   5  28  .321|  1|  0   0|  0|  8| 0  0  0|  0|  14.0
26 Saleaumua, Jennifer.  3| 10   2  19  .421|  1|  1   0|  0| 13| 2  5  0|  0|  15.5
5  Schwartz, Rachel....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
6  Smith, Meghan.......  1|  1   0   1 1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0|   1.5
11 Stalls, Tracy.......  3|  1   0   7  .143|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 1  6  0|  0|   5.0
18 Busboom, Dani.......  3|  0   0   0  .000| 21|  0   1|  0|  9| 0  0  0|  0|   0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  3| 59  16 112  .384| 56|  2   8|  0| 47| 4 24  1|  0|  77.0 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 16.0
 Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  20  6  39  .359   Site: Lincoln, Nebraska (NU Coliseum)
   2  16  7  38  .237   Date: Sep 21, 2005   Attend: 4094   Time: 1:30
   3  23  3  35  .571   Referees: Marty Prochko, Ed Halik                                         1   2   3 Total
                        Tie scores       7   2   2    11
                        Lead changes     3   1   0     4