Houghtelling Helps Huskers Overcome Oklahoma

Norman, Okla. - Christina Houghtelling finished with a career-high 20 kills, as No. 1 Nebraska overcame an opening-game loss to outlast an upset bid by Oklahoma with a 28-30, 30-25, 31-29, 30-20 victory at McCasland Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.

 

Houghtelling’s 20 kills topped her previous high of 17 on two other occasions, as the junior outside hitter from <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Cambridge, Neb., hit .405 and recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 digs. Houghtelling was one of three Huskers to finish with double-figure kill totals, as Nebraska improved to 12-0 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12 Conference with its 27th straight conference win.   

 

Jordan Larson added 13 kills and nine digs, while Sarah Pavan chipped in 11 kills, as the Huskers hit .343 as a team, but allowed Oklahoma to hit an opponent season-high .229.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

 “They passed extremely well and we were passive in everything we did,” Nebraska Head Coach John Cook said. “Oklahoma played really well. Oklahoma played great for two-and-a-half games. We were not ready to match their intensity and effort. It doesn’t matter what your rank is, you have to prove it every time you step on the court because teams are not going to roll over.”

 

The Huskers needed their balanced attack, as Oklahoma’s Elaine Santos almost single-handedly carried the Sooners. Santos finished with a match-high 21 kills on .457 hitting while adding three aces and three blocks, but the Sooners still slipped to 5-8 overall and 0-5 in the league.

 

Nebraska, which was out-blocked through the first three games, finally showed its blocking prowess in game four with seven blocks, including four Melissa Elmer's five stuffs on the night. Tracy Stalls led NU with a season-high eight blocks in the victory, and Stalls also contributed a season-best eight kills on .463 hitting. 

 

Game one featured offensive firepower on both ends, as Oklahoma pulled out a 30-28 victory. The Huskers hit .414 as a team, but the Sooners hit .394 and had five service aces in the first game.

 

The Huskers also struggled with four serving errors, as Oklahoma never trailed by more than a point in the opening game.  Santos did most of the damage for OU, recording six kills on nine swings, three aces and a pair of blocks in the opening game.

 

Nebraska fell behind 20-17, but roared back to score four straight points and take a 21-20 lead on a Pavan kill to force a Sooner timeout. It would be the Huskers’ only lead of game one, as Santos tied the match with a kill before consecutive aces gave the hosts a 23-21 advantage. The Huskers tied the score for the 11th time at 28-all on an Elmer kill, but a Husker hitting error and a kill by OU's Sarah Weiland gave the Sooners a narrow win.

 

Nebraska slowed the Sooner attack in a 30-25 victory in game two. Nebraska out-hit OU, .303-.150, and recorded five blocks.  The Huskers, who had just one block in game one, used their blocking to forge an early 8-4 edge, as Pavan had three stuffs in the surge.

 

The Huskers eventually pushed the lead to 15-10, but Oklahoma battled back to score four straight points to claw within 15-14. OU tied the score at 17-all on a Hannah Sharp service ace, and took a 25-24 lead on a Husker serving error.

 

But Nebraska All-American Jennifer Saleaumua rallied the Huskers to victory by tying the score at 25 with a kill before serving the final five points, including an ace that put NU up 27-25 to force an OU timeout.

 

In game three, the Huskers relied on Houghtelling, who came up big with nine kills on .643 hitting, to pull out a 31-29 victory. Oklahoma out-hit NU, .310.-265, but Houghtelling willed the Huskers to victory. With the score tied at six, she had two consecutive kills that spark a 7-3 run to give the Huskers a 13-8 lead and force a Sooner timeout.  

 

The Huskers led 16-10 before OU scored four straight points, including two straight blocks by Laura Tomes and Anna Stadel to pull within 16-14 and force a Husker timeout. Oklahoma continued the run of six unanswered points, tying the game at 16 on its third block of the run.

 

The teams traded points throughout the rest of the game, as neither team led by more than two points. With the score tied at 29 after Santos’ 16th kill of the match, Elmer gave Nebraska the lead for good before Larson’s 10th kill of the night iced the game three win.

 

Nebraska finally got rolling in game four, hitting .438 while holding Oklahoma to just .079 hitting in the decisive 30-20 win.

 

NU jumped to an early 5-1 lead and built a 10-5 cushion after Elmer’s fourth block of the game. The Sooners responded with a 5-1 run of their own to close to within 11-10 on Gabriela Tonan’s kill. The Huskers held a narrow 16-14 advantage before the serving of Rachel Schwartz and the Husker block took over.  

 

Schwartz ran off six straight points, while NU had three blocks in the run to take a 24-15 lead, a spurt that decided the match. 

 

Nebraska returns to action this Saturday by playing host to Baylor at the NU Coliseum. First serve between the Huskers and Bears is set for 7:30 p.m., and the match will be carried live on B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha. In addition, Saturday’s match will be shown live on Nebraska Educational Television (Ch. 12) and on NET-HD (Ch. 112). It will also be televised on a tape-delayed basis by College Sports Television Sunday at 3 p.m.

Nebraska vs Oklahoma (Sep 28, 2005)

• Box Score
• Short Box Score

Volleyball Box Score

Volleyball Box Score Nebraska Volleyball #1 Nebraska vs Oklahoma (Sep 28, 2005 at Norman, Okla.)

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..... 4| 0 0 0 .000| 33| 0 0| 0| 3| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 3 Houghtelling, Chris. 4| 20 3 42 .405| 0| 0 2| 1| 10| 0 3 0| 0| 21.5 8 Elmer, Melissa...... 4| 9 4 15 .333| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 1 4 1| 0| 12.0 9 Pavan, Sarah........ 4| 11 6 29 .172| 1| 0 2| 1| 2| 0 6 0| 0| 14.0 10 Larson, Jordan...... 4| 13 3 23 .435| 0| 0 2| 0| 9| 0 1 1| 0| 13.5 26 Saleaumua, Jennifer. 4| 8 3 20 .250| 1| 1 0| 0| 12| 1 4 0| 0| 12.0 5 Schwartz, Rachel.... 4| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 4| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 7 Mancuso, Dani....... 1| 1 0 1 1.000| 0| 1 0| 2| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 2.0 11 Stalls, Tracy....... 4| 8 2 13 .462| 1| 0 0| 1| 1| 0 8 0| 0| 12.0 18 Busboom, Dani....... 4| 0 0 0 .000| 29| 1 2| 0| 9| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0 TEAM................ | | | | 3| | | | 0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Totals.............. 4| 70 21 143 .343| 65| 3 12| 8| 49| 2 26 2| 0| 88.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 16 4 29 .414 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 4 TEAM RECORDS 2 15 5 33 .303 Nebraska............ (3) 28 30 31 30 12-0, 4-0 Big 12 3 23 10 49 .265 Oklahoma............ (1) 30 25 29 20 5-8, 0-5 Big 12 4 16 2 32 .438

Oklahoma | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE|POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Chester, Julie...... 4| 0 0 0 .000| 25| 2 4| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 2.0 3 Stadel, Anna........ 4| 9 2 16 .438| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 2 6 0| 0| 14.0 6 Weiland, Sarah...... 4| 12 8 31 .129| 0| 1 3| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 0| 13.0 8 Schmitt, Joanna..... 4| 5 8 34 -.088| 1| 1 2| 1| 9| 0 5 0| 1| 8.5 12 Santos, Eliane...... 4| 21 5 35 .457| 0| 3 5| 0| 2| 1 2 1| 0| 26.0 15 Tonon, Gabriela..... 4| 10 3 19 .368| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 2 0| 0| 11.0 2 Jackson, Rachel..... 4| 0 0 0 .000| 31| 0 0| 0| 4| 0 0 1| 1| 0.0 4 Tomes, Laura........ 4| 4 1 16 .188| 0| 0 0| 0| 5| 0 1 0| 0| 4.5 9 Owens, Abbi......... 2| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 1| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0| 0.0 10 Monsen, Anna........ 4| 1 0 1 1.000| 0| 0 0| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0 14 Sharp, Hannah....... 4| 0 0 1 .000| 1| 1 0| 0| 14| 0 0 0| 0| 1.0 TEAM................ | | | | 2| | | | 0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Totals.............. 4| 62 27 153 .229| 58| 8 15| 3| 44| 3 16 2| 2| 81.0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 11.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 17 4 33 .394 Site: Norman, Okla. (McCasland FieldHouse) 2 15 9 40 .150 Date: Sep 28, 2005 Attend: 759 Time: 2:!5 3 17 4 42 .310 Referees: Mary Faraghen, Marcia Alterman 4 13 10 38 .079

1 2 3 4 Total Tie scores 14 12 11 1 38 Lead changes 6 3 2 1 12

Short Box Score

Short Box Score (Match) Nebraska Volleyball #1 Nebraska vs Oklahoma (Sep 28, 2005 at Norman, Okla.)

Nebraska def. Oklahoma 28-30,30-25,31-29,30-20

Nebraska (12-0, 4-0 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Houghtelling, Chris 20-0-3; Larson, Jordan 13-0-1; Pavan, Sarah 11-0-6; Elmer, Melissa 9-0-5; Saleaumua, Jennifer 8-1-5; Stalls, Tracy 8-0-8; Mancuso, Dani 1-1-0; Busboom, Dani 0-1-0; Totals 70-3-15.0. (Assists) - Griffin, Maggie 33; Busboom, Dani 29. (Dig leaders) - Saleaumua, Jennifer 12; Houghtelling, Chris 10; Busboom, Dani 9; Larson, Jordan 9

Oklahoma (5-8, 0-5 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Santos, Eliane 21-3-3; Weiland, Sarah 12-1-0; Tonon, Gabriela 10-0-2; Stadel, Anna 9-0-8; Schmitt, Joanna 5-1-5; Tomes, Laura 4-0-1; Monsen, Anna 1-0-0; Chester, Julie 0-2-0; Sharp, Hannah 0-1-0; Totals 62-8-11.0. (Assists) - Jackson, Rachel 31; Chester, Julie 25. (Dig leaders) - Sharp, Hannah 14; Schmitt, Joanna 9

Site: Norman, Okla. (McCasland FieldHouse) Date: Sep 28, 2005 Attend: 759 Time: 2:!5 Referees: Mary Faraghen, Marcia Alterman