No. 1 Huskers Sweep Wildcats

Manhattan, Kan. ? Behind Jordan Larson’s 15th double-double of the season, No. 1 Nebraska improved to 20-0 on the season with a 30-21, 30-24, 30-22 sweep of Kansas State Saturday evening at Ahearn Field House.

Larson, who had a career-high 20 kills in the first meeting on Oct. 4, totaled 16 kills and 10 digs to lead the Huskers (20-0. 12-0 Big 12) to its 16th sweep of the season. Sarah Pavan joined Larson in double figures with 12 kills, while Tracy Stalls    and Dani Mancuso chipped in nine and seven kills, respectively. Stalls finished with nine kills on .643 hitting with four blocks, while Mancuso established a season high for the second straight match with her .455 effort.

While the Huskers enjoyed a balanced offense, NU shined on the defensive end, recording 12 blocks and holding Kansas State to a season-low .050 hitting percentage. Dani Busboom tied her career high with 23 digs, while Rachel Schwartz added 13 digs and turned the momentum with a key serving run in game two.

“It was a very workmanlike effort tonight,” Cook said. We did some really good things tonight with our serving, especially with Maggie (Griffin) and Rachel (Schwartz). They broke all three games open, and they struggled with our serve. I also thought our blocking did a good job of terminating for points, which was good to see.”

The Huskers held Kansas State to just .022 hitting in posting a 30-21 victory in the opener.  Larson totaled five kills on .333 hitting and five digs, while Pavan had four kills on .364 hitting. NU took control early, running off five unanswered points, primarily off the serving of Tracy Stalls, taking a 13-8 lead on a Larson kill.  Leading 19-14, Mancuso sparked a 4-0 spurt with a kill before consecutive solo blocks by Mancuso and Stalls pushed the lead to 23-14 and forced a KSU timeout. The Wildcats fought back, pulling to within 26-20 on a pair of Sandy Werner kills, but could get no closer, as two kills by Larson and Pavan slammed the door.

In game two, the Huskers relied on some clutch serving from Schwartz to overcome a four-point deficit en route to a 30-24 victory. Once again, the Huskers’ relied on their floor defense, totaling 26 digs while holding KSU to just .065 hitting in game two. The hosts jumped out early, taking advantage of NU’s offensive struggles and built a 17-13 lead before Cook called timeout. Rachel Holloway’s tip stemmed the momentum and sent Schwartz to the service line looking to cut the deficit. Schwartz did that and more, running off eight straight points as Nebraska built a 22-17 lead. Kansas State regrouped and used a 6-2 spurt of its own to pull within 24-23 after an Angie Lastra kill. That would be as close as the Wildcats got, as Nebraska used kills from Pavan, Mancuso and Larson to extend the lead back to four points at 27-23, as the Huskers pulled away late.

In the finale, the Huskers pulled away late, closing the match on an 11-4 run en route to a 30-22 victory. NU relied on strong blocking, totaling six blocks and holding KSU to just .061 hitting.  Leading 15-14, NU used a kill by Stalls and a KSU hitting error to push the lead to 17-14 and force a Wildcat timeout. The Huskers extended the lead to 18-14 before the Wildcats fought back, pulling to within 19-18. Nebraska went on a 5-1 lead, taking a 24-19 lead on a block by Cooper and Pavan that forced the Wildcats to use their timeout. Larson continued the run with a pair of kills to make it a seven-point game, as the Huskers became the second team to sweep the Wildcats in Manhattan this season

Megan Kroeker led Kansas State with 12 kills, while the Huskers held Angie Lastra, who had been averaging 4.25 kills per game over the last five matches to eight kills on -.128 hitting.

The Huskers return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 1, when they travel to Lubbock, Texas, to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be carried on selected Husker Sports Network Stations, including B107.3 FM in Lincoln and Omaha. In addition, the match will also be video-streamed live on HuskersNside.

Nebraska vs Kansas State (Oct 28, 2006)

• Box Score
• Short Box Score

Volleyball Box Score

Volleyball Box Score Nebraska Volleyball #1 Nebraska vs Kansas State (Oct 28, 2006 at Manhattan, Kan.)

Nebraska | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Schwartz, Rachel.... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 1 0| 0| 13| 0 0 0| 0 9 Pavan, Sarah........ 3| 12 4 35 .229| 0| 0 3| 0| 2| 0 5 0| 0 10 Larson, Jordan...... 3| 16 7 39 .231| 0| 0 2| 1| 10| 0 4 0| 0 11 Stalls, Tracy....... 3| 9 0 14 .643| 0| 1 0| 0| 1| 2 2 1| 0 12 Holloway, Rachel.... 3| 3 2 8 .125| 43| 1 0| 0| 6| 0 0 0| 0 15 Cooper, Kori........ 3| 2 2 12 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 6 0| 0 1 Griffin, Maggie..... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 1 0| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0 7 Mancuso, Dani....... 3| 7 2 11 .455| 1| 0 0| 0| 3| 1 0 0| 0 17 Gates, Amanda....... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 1 0| 0 18 Busboom, Dani....... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 2| 0 2| 3| 23| 0 0 0| 0 TEAM................ | | | | 3| | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals.............. 3| 49 17 119 .269| 47| 4 7| 7| 61| 3 18 1| 0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 15 3 35 .343 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS 2 18 9 46 .196 Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30 20-0, 12-0 Big 12 3 16 5 38 .289 Kansas State........ (0) 21 24 22 9-14, 1-12 Big 12

Kansas State | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN ## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Farr, Megan......... 3| 7 1 20 .300| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 4 1| 0 5 Lastra, Angie....... 3| 8 13 39 -.128| 0| 1 2| 1| 7| 0 2 0| 0 6 Werner, Sandy....... 3| 3 6 21 -.143| 0| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 0 0| 0 7 Chipman, Kelsey..... 3| 3 2 16 .062| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 2 1| 0 15 Spiegelberg, Stacey. 3| 2 3 8 -.125| 30| 3 1| 0| 8| 0 1 0| 1 33 Kroeker, Megan...... 3| 12 4 34 .235| 1| 0 0| 0| 1| 0 3 1| 0 4 Townsend, Leslie.... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 1 0| 0| 12| 0 0 0| 0 10 Jantsch, Jenny...... 3| 1 0 2 .500| 0| 1 2| 0| 8| 0 0 0| 1 11 Rosenthal, Lauren... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 3| 1 0| 2| 14| 0 0 0| 1 TEAM................ | | | | 1| | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals.............. 3| 36 29 140 .050| 34| 7 5| 4| 51| 0 12 3| 3

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 6.0 Game K E TA Pct 1 12 11 45 .022 Site: Manhattan, Kan. (Ahearn Field House) 2 10 7 46 .065 Date: Oct 28, 2006 Attend: 1894 Time: 1:26 3 14 11 49 .061 Referees: Eric Fisago, Dave Chalupa

Short Box Score

Short Box Score (Match) Nebraska Volleyball #1 Nebraska vs Kansas State (Oct 28, 2006 at Manhattan, Kan.)

Nebraska def. Kansas State 30-21,30-24,30-22

Nebraska (20-0, 12-0 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Larson, Jordan 16-0-4; Pavan, Sarah 12-0-5; Stalls, Tracy 9-1-4; Mancuso, Dani 7-0-1; Holloway, Rachel 3-1-0; Cooper, Kori 2-0-6; Gates, Amanda 0-0-1; Schwartz, Rachel 0-1-0; Griffin, Maggie 0-1-0; Totals 49-4-12.0. (Assists) - Holloway, Rachel 43. (Dig leaders) - Busboom, Dani 23; Schwartz, Rachel 13; Larson, Jordan 10

Kansas State (9-14, 1-12 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kroeker, Megan 12-0-3; Lastra, Angie 8-1-2; Farr, Megan 7-0-4; Chipman, Kelsey 3-0-2; Werner, Sandy 3-0-0; Spiegelberg, Stacey 2-3-1; Jantsch, Jenny 1-1-0; Townsend, Leslie 0-1-0; Rosenthal, Lauren 0-1-0; Totals 36-7-6.0. (Assists) - Spiegelberg, Stacey 30. (Dig leaders) - Rosenthal, Lauren 14; Townsend, Leslie 12; Spiegelberg, Stacey 8; Jantsch, Jenny 8

Site: Manhattan, Kan. (Ahearn Field House) Date: Oct 28, 2006 Attend: 1894 Time: 1:26 Referees: Eric Fisago, Dave Chalupa