Huskers Beat No. 9 Texas

Austin, Texas ? Sarah Pavan totaled a team-high 22 kills, including six in the decisive fifth game, as No. 1 Nebraska overcame a 2-1 deficit to top No. 9 Texas, 27-30, 30-22, 22-30, 30-22, 15-13 Wednesday night at Gregory Gymnasium.

Pavan struggled offensively through the first four games, but was clutch in the finale, totaling six kills on 10 swings in the finale, as the Huskers became the first Big 12 team to win in Gregory Gym since 2004. Pavan’s 22 kills marked her fourth 20-kill match of the season, as NU joined Penn State as the nation’s only unbeaten teams.

While Pavan carried the Husker offensive in game five, it was the rest of the squad that keyed the Huskers’ comeback performance. All six of NU’s attackers had at least seven kills in the win, including three players in double figures.

Tracy Stalls and Jordan Larson had 13 kills apiece, as Larson totaled her 10th straight double-double, while Stalls hit .417 and added three blocks. Dani Mancuso also came up big with nine kills and matched her career high with six blocks, while freshman Kori Cooper had seven kills and a career-best eight blocks. Rachel Holloway nearly posted a triple-double with 55 assists, a career-high eight kills on .462 hitting and seven digs.

The Huskers, who were out-hit for the first time all season and for only the second time in the last 53 matches dating back to the start of 2005, out-blocked Texas, 15.5-9, while limiting Texas to just two service aces.

For Nebraska Coach John Cook, the Huskers’ gutty performance in overcoming a 2-1 deficit against a Texas team that has been ranked in the top-10 for most of the year was the thing that stood out most.

“The way we did it is the most gratifying,” Cook said. “We didn’t play great tonight, but we kept battling. This team has not had to too battle too often and it was good to see, especially on the road.”

Pavan said that the keep kept believing and found ways to fight back after falling behind.

“We found to a way to win when it mattered,” Pavan said. “Everyone found a way to make a play when it counted, whether it was a dig or getting a pass. Rachel took over the match when she needed to. She had the confidence and was able to find Tracy for match point. It shows how much we have confidence in each other.”

The Huskers, who lead the Big 12 by one game following Oklahoma’s sweep of Missouri earlier Wednesday, survived a career night from Texas outside hitter Destinee Hooker, who totaled a match-high 24 kills on .538 hitting, as the teams battled to five games for the third consecutive year in Austin.

Early on, the combination of Hooker and Jennifer Todd were too much, as Texas opened the match with a 30-27 victory in game one. The duo combined for 14 kills on 18 swings, including eight kills on 10 swings for Todd. NU fell behind early and trailed 9-4 before calling a timeout. Trailing 16-13, NU roared back running off five of the next six points to take an 18-17 lead on a Larson solo block. Texas quickly came back with four straight points of their own to extend the lead to 21-18 after a Heather Kisner kill. The Huskers would forge back, taking a 25-24 lead on a Pavan kill, and led 26-25 before Todd sparked UT’s game-ending run. The Longhorn middle blocker had three kills in a 6-1 spurt, including the kill that gave Texas a 27-26 lead.

The Huskers fought back in game two, out-hitting Texas, .273-.171, in a 30-22 victory. Pavan, who had just two kills in the opener, recorded five kills in game two, while Stalls added four kills on seven swings give NU a spark. NU relied on a quick start, running off five straight points to take an early 7-2 lead on a Stalls kill on an overpass.  Texas roared back with an 8-3 run of its own to tie the score at 10-all on a Dariam Acevedo kill. The teams were tied at 11, but Texas was unable to take the lead, as a Cooper kill and a UT hitting error pushed the lead to two points, an advantage their would not relenquish.  The Huskers lead 16-15 before a Stalls kill and a Cooper block extended the margin to 18-15. Texas eventually whittled the lead to 18-16, but Holloway’s setter dump and a service ace quickly made it five-point lead and forced the Longhorns into its second timeout UT got within 24-20, but the Huskers ran off four straight points, taking a 28-20 lead on a triple block to send the match to the locker room tied at one

In game three, Texas turned in an impressive performance, hitting .378 as a team in posting a 30-22 victory to take a 2-1 lead. The Huskers were held to just .114 hitting, as Texas pulled away to become the first team to take game three from NU this season.  Leading 13-11, Texas used a 7-2 run to take a 20-14 lead after consecutive hitting errors by the Huskers. NU fought back, using a 6-3 run of its own to get within 23-20 after a Texas hitting error. That would be as close as NU would get, as Texas closed the game with a 7-3 flourish.

Nebraska would turn the tables on Texas in game four, holding the Longhorns to .086 hitting in a 30-22 win. Mancuso provided the big offensive spark for NU, delivering four kills on six swings while also chipping in a pair of blocks. Once again, NU was keyed by a fast start, jumping out to an early 7-1 advantage, including a service ace by Dani Busboom. Leading 11-7, Nebraska seemingly took control with a 5-1 sport to make it 16-8 after a Mancuso kill. The Huskers extended the lead to 21-11 after a Pavan kill, but were forced to withstand one more Texas flurry. Texas was down 22-13, only to respond by scoring seven of the next eight points to close to within 23-30. Following a timeout, a Cooper kill and a UT hitting error quickly got the lead to five points and the ?Horns could not cut into the Husker lead.

In the finale, the Huskers relied on their reigning Big 12 Player of the Year, who totaled six kills in the 15-13 victory. The teams battled through the first half of the game, with neither team leading by more than one point. NU finally got the advantage at the break, taking an 8-7 lead on a Cooper solo block. A kill by Pavan and a UT attack error gave NU its largest lead in game five at 10-7, only to see Texas regroup with four straight points, taking an 11-10 lead on an Ashley Engle kill. Nebraska didn’t wither under the pressure, as Pavan tied the match before Holloway’s kill gave NU a 12-11 lead. Cooper and Mancuso then came up with the biggest play of the match, stuffing Todd to put the Huskers within two points of victory. The teams then traded errors before Hooker’s final kill of the night closed the NU lead to 14-13. That would be Texas’ final point of the match as Stalls slammed home match point moments later, silencing the Longhorns’ largest home crowd of the season.

Todd, Dariam Acevedo and Jennifer Todd all totaled 14 kills for Texas, which dropped to 12-5 on the season and 7-3 in the Big 12, moving them into a tie with Missouri for third place in the Big 12 race.

The Huskers return home to take on Missouri next Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 7:30 p.m.  The match will be carried on the Husker Sports Network and on Huskers.com, while the match will also be shown on FSN Midwest.

                              Nebraska Volleyball
            #1 Nebraska vs #9 Texas (Oct 18, 2006 at Austin, Texas)



   Nebraska               |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7  Mancuso, Dani.......  5|  9   4  24  .208|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 1  5  1|  0
9  Pavan, Sarah........  5| 22  12  57  .175|  1|  0   3|  1|  2| 0  2  0|  0
10 Larson, Jordan......  5| 13   6  53  .132|  3|  1   4|  1| 13| 3  2  1|  0
11 Stalls, Tracy.......  5| 13   3  24  .417|  0|  0   1|  0|  3| 0  3  0|  0
12 Holloway, Rachel....  5|  8   2  13  .462| 55|  2   1|  0|  7| 0  2  0|  0
15 Cooper, Kori........  5|  7   2  15  .333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  7  0|  0
1  Griffin, Maggie.....  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
4  Bartek, Brooke......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
5  Schwartz, Rachel....  5|  0   0   1  .000|  4|  1   0|  0| 15| 0  0  0|  1
18 Busboom, Dani.......  5|  0   0   0  .000|  5|  1   1|  0| 19| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  5| 72  29 187  .230| 68|  5  10|  2| 62| 5 21  2|  1

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 15.5
Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  15  6  44  .205   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  5  TEAM RECORDS
   2  17  5  44  .273   Nebraska............ (3) 27 30 22 30 15  18-0 (10-0 Big 12)
   3  11  7  35  .114   Texas............... (2) 30 22 30 22 13  12-5 (7-3 Big 12)
   4  19  8  40  .275
   5  10  3  24  .292

   Texas                  |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4  Moriarty, Michelle..  5|  3   2   7  .143| 64|  1   2|  0| 15| 0  2  0|  2
10 Engle, Ashley.......  5| 14   9  42  .119|  2|  0   3|  1| 15| 0  1  0|  0
12 Acevedo, Dariam.....  5| 14   6  40  .200|  0|  1   3|  1|  7| 1  1  1|  0
19 Kisner, Heather.....  5|  1   0   1 1.000|  2|  0   0|  1| 19| 0  0  0|  0
24 Armstrong, Leticia..  5|  4   5  14 -.071|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 1  2  0|  0
33 Todd, Jennifer......  5| 14   7  29  .241|  1|  0   0|  0|  3| 2  2  1|  0
3  Paolini, Lauren.....  1|  1   1   3  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
11 Hall, Kiley.........  5|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0
13 Christian, Jen......  2|  0   0   1  .000|  1|  0   1|  0|  0| 0  1  1|  0
16 Jennings, Alyson....  5|  0   0   0  .000|  3|  0   1|  1| 12| 0  0  0|  0
21 Hooker, Destinee....  5| 24   3  39  .538|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  1  0|  0
   TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  5| 75  33 176  .239| 73|  2  11|  5| 75| 4 10  3|  2

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0
Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  22  8  48  .292   Site: Austin, Texas (Gregory Gym)
   2  14  8  35  .171   Date: Oct 18, 2006   Attend: 3822   Time: 2:25
   3  20  6  37  .378   Referees: Kathleen Ferraraccio, Mary Blalock
   4  10  7  35  .086
   5   9  4  21  .238