Huskers Crush KU for Big 12 Crown

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Lawrence, Kan. ? <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Jordan Larson totaled 13 kills to lead a balanced attack, as No. 1 Nebraska wrapped up the outright Big 12 title with a  30-16, 30-16, 30-20 sweep of Kansas Wednesday night at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.

 

Larson, a sophomore outside hitter from Hopper, Neb. totaled 13 kills on .571 hitting. The Huskers were also paced by a pair of season-high performance by senior Dani Mancuso, who matched her season high with 11 kills while hitting a season-high .647, as the Huskers wrapped up their ninth Big 12 town in 11 seasons.

 

Larson and Mancuso helped Nebraska (26-1, 18-1 Big 12) hit .476 as a team, marking the third straight Big 12 contest that the Huskers have hit .435 or above and was just .010 shy of the team’s season high. It marked the first time since 1998 that NU hit .400 or better in three straight matches. Rachel Holloway totaled 45 assists and four kills, as seven Husker attackers hit .300 or better.

 

 “We were humming on all cylinders tonight,” Nebraska Coach John Cook said. “They were focused and I could see that in practice this week. They wanted to play well and came ready to play tonight on what is typically a tough night, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. They wanted to win the Big 12 outright tonight.”

 

In addition to performance of the outside hitters, the Huskers also received strong performances from Kori Cooper and Amanda Gates, who combined for 13 kills in 15 swings. Cooper had six kill in six swings, while Gates totaled a career-high seven kills on .778 hitting and a pair of blocks in the win.

 

The Huskers used a strong offense in the opener, rolling to a 30-16 victory. NU hit .588 as a team with five players totaling at least three kills, including seven by Pavan in just nine swings.  Holloway sparked an early 6-2 run, delivering two kills, a block and an ace to help NU turn a 5-all tie into an 11-7 advantage. The Jayhawks pulled to within 11-8 on a Jana Correa kill, but Pavan and the Huskers took over from there, scoring eight of the next nine points to extend the margin to 19-9 and force KU to take its second timeout. NU, which had kills on 16 of its first 21 swings, eventually doubled up the Jayhawks at 22-11 and cruised to the 14-point win.

 

Nebraska continued its offensive barrage in game two, posting another 30-16 win to send the Huskers into the locker room with a 2-0 lead.  Larson was nearly flawless for the Big Red, delivering nine kills in 10 swings, as NU hit .513 as a team. Once again, the Huskers got off to a quick start, racing to an early 9-3 lead after a pair of Tracy Stalls kills. KU got to within 13-7, but Larson took over with three kills in a 5-1 spurt as NU took an 18-8 lead. The Huskers led by as many as 14 points, at 26-12 after a Pavan kill and rolled to a 30-16 win.

 

The Huskers seized the momentum early on coming out of the locker room, using the play of Mancuso to spark a 9-1 run. The senior had four kills in the spurt, as NU turned a one-point lead into a 15-5 cushion. After the Jayhawks pulled to within 17-8, Gates sparked another run with two kills and a block, helping NU extend the lead to 23-10 after a Larson ace. Trailing 26-14, the Jayhawks made one last run, recording three straight blocks to pull within nine points and force a Husker timeout. Nebraska went on to score four of the game’s final five points as Pavan’s 12th kill ended the match.

 

Correa led Kansas (10-18, 3-16) with 12 kills, while no other player was in double digits for the Jayhawks, who were held to .127 hitting.

 

The Huskers wrap up the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 25, as they host the Texas Longhorns. First serve is set for 7 p.m. from a sold-out NU Coliseum and the match will be carried on the Husker Sports Radio Network and televised state-wide on NET-1 and NET-HD. Following the match, seniors Dani Busboom and Dani Mancuso will be honored for their contributions to the Husker volleyball program.

 

                      Nebraska Volleyball

             #1 Nebraska vs Kansas (Nov 22, 2006 at Lawrence, Kan.)

 

 

   Nebraska               |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN

## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE

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5  Schwartz, Rachel....  3|  0   0   1  .000|  1|  1   1|  1| 11| 0  0  0|  0

9  Pavan, Sarah........  3| 12   4  25  .320|  2|  2   1|  0|  2| 0  2  0|  0

10 Larson, Jordan......  3| 13   1  21  .571|  0|  2   1|  1|  6| 1  0  0|  0

11 Stalls, Tracy.......  3|  6   2  13  .308|  1|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  2  0|  0

12 Holloway, Rachel....  3|  4   1   9  .333| 45|  1   0|  0|  6| 0  2  0|  1

15 Cooper, Kori........  2|  6   0   6 1.000|  1|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  1  1|  0

1  Griffin, Maggie.....  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0

4  Bartek, Brooke......  1|  0   2   2-1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0

7  Mancuso, Dani.......  3| 11   0  17  .647|  0|  0   0|  0|  3| 0  0  0|  0

17 Gates, Amanda.......  2|  7   0   9  .778|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 1  1  0|  0

18 Busboom, Dani.......  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  0| 18| 0  0  0|  0

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   Totals..............  3| 59  10 103  .476| 52|  6   3|  2| 49| 3  8  1|  1

 

 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 7.0

 Game  K  E  TA   Pct

   1  22  2  34  .588   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  TEAM RECORDS

   2  23  3  39  .513   Nebraska............ (3) 30 30 30  26-1, 18-1 Big 12

   3  14  5  30  .300   Kansas.............. (0) 16 16 20  10-18, 3-16 Big 12

 

   Kansas                 |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN

## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2  Martincich, Katie...  3|  3   0   7  .429| 26|  1   0|  0|  9| 0  0  1|  0

4  Correa, Jana........  3| 13   4  36  .250|  1|  0   1|  1|  5| 1  1  0|  0

6  Grieb, Melissa......  2|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  1| 0  0  0|  0

7  Brown, Emily........  3|  7   3  16  .250|  3|  1   0|  1|  2| 0  1  0|  0

10 Williams, Brittany..  3|  1   5  12 -.333|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  1  0|  0

18 Noyes, Savannah.....  3|  7   2  20  .250|  1|  0   1|  0|  1| 0  2  0|  0

1  Morningstar, Linsey.  3|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   2|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0

3  Mathewson, Jamie....  3|  0   0   0  .000|  2|  0   0|  2| 12| 0  0  0|  0

8  Mazour, Paige.......  1|  0   0   0  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0

11 Mahoney, Caitlin....  3|  0   0   3  .000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 2  0  0|  0

12 Wittman, Dani.......  2|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  1|  0| 0  0  0|  0

15 Hill, Megan.........  3|  5   7  24 -.083|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 2  1  0|  0

   TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |

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   Totals..............  3| 36  21 118  .127| 34|  2   4|  6| 30| 5  6  1|  0

 

 TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 8.0

 Game  K  E  TA   Pct

   1  10  5  39  .128   Site: Lawrence, Kan. (Horejsi FA Center)

   2  13  6  41  .171   Date: Nov 22, 2006   Attend: 1300   Time: 1:25

   3  13 10  38  .079   Referees: Marty Protchko, Mike Hamilton

                        ID-443058