No. 1 Huskers Top Iowa State, 3-1

Ames, Iowa ?Sarah Pavan tied a season-high with 24 kills, as No. 1 Nebraska turned back a challenge from an upstart Iowa State squad, winning 30-20, 22-30, 30-27, 30-25 in front of a crowd of 2,500 at Hilton Coliseum Wednesday evening.

Pavan, who also had 24 kills in two other matches, hit .321 and totaled eight digs to lead four Huskers (23-0, 15-0 Big 12) with at least 10 kills. Jordan Larson totaled her 17th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 11 digs, while middle blockers Kori Cooper and Tracy Stalls combined for 22 kills. Cooper totaled a careeer-high 12 kills on .429 hitting, while Stalls chipped in 10 kills and a team-high seven blocks.

The Huskers held ISU to .178 hitting and out-blocked the Cyclones, which led the Big 12 in blocks, 14-12. NU also totaled a season-high 85 digs, including 23 by Dani Busboom and 13 by Rachel Schwartz, whose serving sparked several key spurts for Nebraska, which snapped ISU’s five-match win streak.

"It wasn’t the prettiest volleyball, but I thought we did a really nice job of making plays when we had to," Nebraska Coach John Cook said. "Iowa State played really well and they had a very good crowd. I was pleased because we made the plays we needed two in games three and four and kept our composure after they made a big run in game three."

The Huskers used a strong offensive performance to post a 30-20 victory in the opener. The Huskers hit a blistering .364 as a team, as Larson totaled six kills, while Pavan added five kills in just nine swings. Nebraska took control midway through game one, using a 5-2 run to turn a two-point lead into a 19-14 advantage after a Pavan ace. The Huskers pushed the lead to 21-15 on a Stalls kill, but ISU took advantage of back-to-back errors to pull within 21-17 and force NU to take its first timeout. The Huskers regrouped, as kills by Pavan and Larson pushed the lead back to six points. ISU got to within 24-19 on a Katie Jessen kill, but a hitting error and two straight kills by Dani Mancuso extended the Husker lead to eight points as the Huskers closed out the opener with an 8-2 run.

As efficient as the Husker attack was in game one, the Cyclones were as stout on defense in posting a 30-22 victory to send the match into the locker room tied at 1-1. Jessica Klein keyed the Cyclone effort with five kills and six blocks in game two alone, as Nebraska hit just .085. ISU seized the momentum early, running off six straight points to take an early 10-4 advantage. The Cyclones eventually built a 13-5 lead and had a seven point lead at 21-14 before the Huskers mounted a comeback. NU charged back into the game by winning six of the next seven rallies to pull to within 22-20 on a Pavan kill and had a chance to get within a point, but ISU’s Erin Boeve punctuated a spirited rally with a kill to give the Cyclones a three-point lead. The rally sparked the Cyclones, as they ran off six straight points to take a 28-20 lead en route to picking up their first game win over Nebraska since 1994.

In game three, the Huskers started strong, but needed a furious finish to pull out a 30-27 victory. After trailing by as many as eight points, the Cyclones fought back to take 27-26 lead on a Katie Jessen kill, but a Tracy Stalls kill and three straight points off the serve of Rachel Schwartz closed gave the Husker a 2-1 lead. Nebraska, which out-hit ISU, .271-.167, got off to a quick start, jumping out to an early 7-3 lead to force a Cyclcone timeout. Nebraska continued to build on the lead, pushing the advantage to 15-7 on a Kori Cooper kill before ISU fought back. The Cyclones ran off three straight points, including their first two aces of the night, to pull within 15-11. Nebraska quickly regained most of the lead, taking an 18-12 lead on a Pavan ace, but ISU fought back. The Cyclones trailed 24-18, but roared back, using a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the game.

The fourth game was a battle early on, as neither team led by more than three points during the first half of the game before the Huskers began to assert themselves midway through the contest. Leading 17-16, a kill by Pavan sparked a 6-0 run as Schwartz ran off five straight points at the service line. ISU tried to use both of its timeouts to stem the tied, but Nebraska continued the run, taking a 23-16 lead off a block by Stalls and Larson. ISU fought back, closing to within 26-20, but Cooper took over, combining with Mancuso on block before adding a kill to put NU ahead 28-20. ISU made one last run, getting to within 29-25, but Pavan closed out the match with her 24th kill of the night.

The Huskers conclude their two-match road trip on Saturday, Nov. 11, as they travel to Boulder, Colo., to take on the Colorado Buffaloes. First serve from the Coors Event Center is set for 8 p.m. (central) and the match will be carried on B107.3 FM and on Huskers.com. Fans can also watch Saturday’s match live on HuskersNside, and for more information on the video streaming, visit Huskers.com.

Media Note: Nebraska Volleyball Coach John Cook will hold his signing day press conference on Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. at the NU Coliseum conference room.

Huskers - -

       Nebraska Volleyball
             #1 Nebraska vs Iowa State (Nov 08, 2006 at Ames, Iowa)



   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....  4|  0   0   0  .000|  1|  0   0|  0| 13| 0  0  0|  0
9  Pavan, Sarah........  4| 24   7  53  .321|  1|  1   3|  0|  8| 1  0  0|  0
10 Larson, Jordan......  4| 15   4  49  .224|  0|  1   2|  0| 12| 1  3  1|  0
11 Stalls, Tracy.......  4| 10   3  23  .304|  0|  2   0|  0|  8| 0  7  1|  0
12 Holloway, Rachel....  4|  3   0  17  .176| 57|  0   1|  0| 11| 0  4  0|  1
15 Cooper, Kori........  4| 12   3  21  .429|  1|  0   0|  0|  2| 2  3  0|  0
1  Griffin, Maggie.....  2|  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
7  Mancuso, Dani.......  4|  9  11  33 -.061|  1|  0   0|  1|  8| 0  3  1|  0
17 Gates, Amanda.......  1|  1   0   1 1.000|  0|  0   0|  0|  0| 0  0  0|  0
18 Busboom, Dani.......  4|  1   0   1 1.000|  2|  1   1|  2| 23| 0  0  0|  0
   TEAM................   |                 |   |       |  1|   |        |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 75  28 198  .237| 63|  5   7|  4| 85| 4 20  3|  1

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 14.0
Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  20  4  44  .364   GAME SCORES               1  2  3  4  TEAM RECORDS
   2  13  9  48  .083   Nebraska............ (3) 30 22 30 30  23-0, 15-0 Big 12
   3  18  5  48  .271   Iowa State.......... (1) 20 30 27 25  17-8, 9-6 Big 12
   4  24 10  58  .241

   Iowa State             |     ATTACK      |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF|  BLOCK |GEN
## Name                 GP|  K   E  TA   PCT|  A| SA  SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
6  Manns, Kaylee.......  4|  2   3  13 -.077| 53|  0   1|  0| 14| 0  4  0|  0
7  Boeve, Erin.........  4| 12   4  35  .229|  0|  3   1|  0|  2| 0  3  0|  0
8  Klein, Jessica......  4| 12   4  30  .267|  0|  0   0|  1|  0| 3  6  0|  0
12 Cummings, Lauren....  4| 16   4  38  .316|  1|  0   0|  0|  2| 0  1  0|  0
13 Lorenzen, Nicole....  4|  5   2  28  .107|  0|  0   0|  0| 22| 0  3  1|  0
15 Jessen, Katie.......  4| 14  10  45  .089|  0|  0   0|  1| 12| 0  1  0|  0
1  Cady, Laura.........  4|  1   1   2  .000|  2|  0   0|  2| 22| 0  0  0|  0
2  Churm, Katie........  4|  0   0   0  .000|  3|  1   0|  1| 12| 0  0  0|  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Totals..............  4| 62  28 191  .178| 59|  4   2|  5| 86| 3 18  1|  0

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME                               TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 12.0
Game  K  E  TA   Pct
   1  12  7  42  .119   Site: Ames, Iowa (Hilton Coliseum)
   2  20  6  51  .275   Date: Nov 08, 2006   Attend: 2500   Time: 1:53
   3  17  9  48  .167   Referees: Jose Jones, Kevin Duggan
   4  13  6  50  .140